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02/16/2010

To us, they're nephews. To Maggie, they're potential votes against us.

by Jeremy Hooper

My husband and I have three little nephews in our life, ranging in ages from one to nearly-eight. All three were in our wedding. All three are around us on a regular basis. All three have known us since they were cognizant as being just as much of a couple as anyone else in the family.

But if Maggie Gallagher had her way, she'd indoctrinate these three little boys into believing that our marriage is a lie. Because to America's social conservatives, the only values worth valuing are the ones that devalue gay couples, and the only families that deserve familial treatment are the ones that put gay members in the marriage penalty box. This from The Mormon Times:

"The most important thing is to speak up, in love, for the truth about marriage," said Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage and co-author with Waite on the book, "The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off Financially."



"Right now, it's less about which arguments are more or less effective than it is about the attempt to intimidate or embarrass marriage supporters into silence," Gallagher told the Deseret News, "especially those of us who believe marriage is and should remain in America the union of one man with one woman."



Gallagher said it's important to talk to children, siblings, friends and family members about why marriage matters so much.



"We tend to raise kids to be good workers and students," she said. "We need to raise them as well to be and to value being good husbands and wives, because children need moms and dads they can count on."

Marriage leads to better overall health, scholar says [Mormon Times]

Uhm, we're trying to embarrass folks like Maggie into silence? Oh that's cute. Really. Because last time we checked, we're the ones having to beg our neighbors to support basic fairness. We're the ones enduring the indignities of having our marriages personally attacked. We're the ones hearing elected leaders condemning us in our halls of power. We're the ones spending Valentine's Day protesting rather than planning our overcommercialized night of message hearts and Anne Hathaway rom-coms. We're the ones who have to pause our lives to fight against this historical embarrassment!

And again: If Maggie had her way, she'd turn the peace-loving kids in this writer's life into adults who'd vote against a marriage that they so easily and lovingly embrace. That's not embarrassing: It's reprehensible. And Maggie deserves to be called out for this, the immeasurable harm that she is causing in the name of "family protection'!

Your thoughts

Our nieces and nephews, who have grown up with us being a couple, are horrified we might not show up at their weddings. We always tease them a bit and tell them we shouldn't be there since we can't be married. Every one of them have yelled, "YOU GUYS HAVE TO BE THERE!"

Posted by: Gus | Feb 16, 2010 4:52:25 PM

The Gagger knows that the under 35 crowd is overwhelmingly in support of their LGBT neighbors, and that the only way that her hatemongering can continue into the future is if they start raising a new generation of supremacists now. It more than likely is way too little, and way too late to ignite the flames on those future crosses, but you've gotta give her some credit for trying.

Posted by: Dick Mills | Feb 16, 2010 10:41:37 PM

I totally agree with the last part of Mrs. Srivastav's statement, "We need to raise them as well to be and to value being good husbands and wives, because children need moms and dads they can count on." I've had this conversation with my brothers and sisters-in-law. They will raise my nieces and nephews to be good husbands, wives, moms and dads, in whatever forms of relationships develop for each of these individuals. They will be loved and supported whether they are straight gay, bisexual, transgendered or whatever. We call this family values, Mrs. Srivastav, get some.



Posted by: sammyseattle | Feb 17, 2010 4:02:43 AM

So, by the subtitle of her own book, Maggie apparently wants everybody other than heterosexuals to be sadder, sicker, and worse off financially?

Posted by: Dan T. | Feb 17, 2010 1:15:00 PM

Dan: That always gets me, too. And it's not just Maggie: Focus on the Family routinely puts out studies about how much better off married people supposedly are (financially, emotionally, etc) right next to their pieces attacking LGBT unions.

Posted by: G-A-Y | Feb 17, 2010 1:20:44 PM

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