Why must the wingnuttery always, always, always emanate from Lancaster County?
Because you look at the state of the commonwealth, you see economic issues, you see the plight of our cities, you see questions about gaming revenues and tax issues. So clearly, we can understand why state Sen. Mike Brubaker should make a priority out of: gay marriage.
Dave Pigeon has a piece in this morning’s Intell detailing how Brubaker, who did not return several messages seeking comment, has decided to pick up the ball dropped by state Rep. Scott Boyd and run with it, trying to get a ban on gay marriage written into the state Constitution.
Brubaker is a Republican so this sort of hate teh gay business is a natural. But over in the House the bill is being sponsored by a Democrat, Rep. Richard T. Grucela of Northampton County.
And the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which supported this nonsense last time around, when Boyd was the big backer, is firmly behind this one again - seeing the chief threat to the stability of marriage and society not in divorce (because what percentage, do you think, of its financial supporters have themselves been through a divorce?) but in Teh Dreaded Gays.
“Recognition of other relationships such as same-sex marriage don’t have equivalent benefits to society, and therefore don’t deserve the same level of recognition,” Geer said.
Utter and complete nonsense; mendacious nonsense. What are the benefits of marriage to society, Mr. Geer? Stability in neighborhoods and stability for children? In what respect would a union of two men or two women as opposed to a man and woman take away from this? There is zero evidence to back this up; but then, this assertion isn’t really meant to be taken seriously. Because this is a religious jihad, first and foremost; the other, flimsy rationales are put there merely as cover, to pretend that this is something other than what it is.
I tend to doubt that Brubaker, personally, hates teh gay - just as I’m relatively sure that Boyd didn’t, either. But this is all pure politics, a misdirection play designed to get leather-lunged voters to look the other way, to finally forget all about the pay raise, to reinvigorate the Republican base, that sort of thing. To achieve these goals, neither Brubaker nor Boyd before him has any qualms about throwing gays under the bus; neither hesitates to write into the freakin’ state Constitution a measure specifically stripping rights from one, narrow segment of society. Again, it’s nothing personal. But that doesn’t make it any less execrable.
And I would like to think Pennsylvanians on the whole will see this nonsense and tell legislators to knock it off - to focus on the issues that actually, you know, need to be addressed; that affect Pennsylvania. But that’ll never happen; we’re Pavlovian that way. Brubaker and the others behind this know that, are banking on it. For once, I wish we’d disappoint them.
