Compiled by Howard Israel
S/he Said
"The reason the Left has gone after same-sex marriage is because it's a two-fer. When you redefine marriage, you cheapen marriage. You make it into something less valuable, less special … it is a sure bet that will undermine faith."
-Rick Santorum, Republican presidential candidate, at a GOP dinner, responding to New York State's historic marriage equality bill, http://www.caucuses.desmoinesregister.com, June 27. As a campaign promise, Santorum has pledged to continue his fight against same-sex marriage.
"New York now has 'gay' marriage. This 'freedom' will include much more than a perpetual pansexual pagan party. It will, and already does, include libel, slander, intimidation, corruption of youth, revolt in congregations, suppression of parental rights, revision of language, disease, loss of employment and loss of life. Oh, and did I mention public sex, the porn explosion and public nudity? Welcome to entitlement sex."
-Linda Harvey, in her essay "Welcome to entitlement sex," about the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, World Net Daily, http://www.wnd.com, June 27.
"History shows that every time some blowhard pounds the podium in defense of 'natural law,' he is in fact defending brute religious bigotry. 'Natural law' has been the cry against the abolition of slavery, the end of aristocracy, and equal rights for women. The reason for all the bluster should be made plain: old-time religion, be it Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, is authoritarian, and its authority derives from a simple claim: 'We have God's Word, and we'll tell you exactly how to obey it, or else.' To accept same-sex marriage is to reject that claim. It's not society that's undermined, but these ancient, authoritarian structures."
-Clay Farris Naff, in his column "New York's Gay Marriage Debate Exposes Moral and Intellectual Bankruptcy of Old-Time Religion," http://www.huffingtonpost.com, June 26.
"It's huge, though, isn't it? Gay marriage in the third-most populous state in the nation, passed by the elected legislature and not through the courts. And voted for by Republicans. Plural! Just a few years ago, all of that would've seemed absurd or impossible. … The small-minded and the bigoted are losing, albeit slowly."
-Alex Pareene, in his column titled "The biggest victory for gay marriage yet," about the New York Senate's 33-29 vote to legalize gay marriage in the Empire State, http://www.salon.com, June 24.
