Majory of Amerins Contue to Oppose Gay Marriage

Contents:

• GROUPS OPPOSED TO GAY RIGHTS RAKE LNS AS STAT BATE ANTI-LGBTQ BILLS
• THE PEOPLE WHO OPPOSE THE GAY MARRIAGE LAW
• THE GAY PEOPLE AGAST GAY MARRIAGE
• SHOULD GAY MARRIAGE BE LEGAL?
• MAJORY OF AMERINS CONTUE TO OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE

GROUPS OPPOSED TO GAY RIGHTS RAKE LNS AS STAT BATE ANTI-LGBTQ BILLS

The multiln-dollar war cht has bolstered a movement that jt a few years ago appeared to be losg ground Ameri’s slong culture war around lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer rights.

“Many of those, while not specifilly tied to a church, are rooted the nservative Christian, biblil sense of human sexualy, ” said Stt McCoy, the terim puty legal director for LGBTQ rights and special ligatn for the SPLC and the SPLC Actn Fund, the group’s polil actn simply holdg a relig belief that views homosexualy or transgenr inty as sful do not tomatilly land a church or an anizatn on the SPLC’s list of hate groups. 'The hard re of the anti-gay movement' When the SPLC began trackg anti-LGBTQ hate the early 2010s, the anizatn noted that “a small terie of groups now prise the hard re of the anti-gay movement. C., that, acrdg to s webse, believ “homosexual nduct is harmful to the persons who engage ” and “is also harmful to society at large” — jumped om over $12 ln to more than $23 ln.

“The groups that are opposed to LGBTQ equaly did their msage ttg and found that attackg gay people is no longer the broadly popular culture war totem that they ed the ’90s, ” Gberg said. Nearly eight ten Amerins (79%) favor laws that would protect gay, lbian, bisexual, and transgenr people agast discrimatn jobs, public acmodatns, and hog, cludg 41% who strongly support them. Last month, Gallup found that a rerd high of 71% of Amerins support , cludg a majory of are the nam of every Republin reprentative who opposed feral protectns for gay marriage:Robert Arholt (Ala.

THE PEOPLE WHO OPPOSE THE GAY MARRIAGE LAW

There is more energy the GOP for help for gay and transgenr issu than a lot of issu Bin r about, ” said Tyler Deaton, a Republin nsultant and senr adviser to the Amerin Uny Fund, which works to advance LGBTQ rights.

Bh’s 2004 printial n, apologized for the anti-same-sex marriage rhetoric of that mpaign and for his role fightg marriage equaly, while announcg that he was gay. Hedge fund billnaire and Republin donor Pl Sger quietly donated to pro-gay rights and formed the Amerin Uny PAC and Amerin Uny Fund, which fights for LGBTQ and relig eedom.

THE GAY PEOPLE AGAST GAY MARRIAGE

A smopolan md bs person, Tmp did not prrize LGBTQ issu durg his mpaign and, fact, ma overt appeals to gay voters, though not by pledgg support for laws to protect them. “For the first time we got to walk to the race wh a ndidate we didn’t have to apologize for or expla away his reluctance to embrace the gay muny. Probably Reagan was the last ndidate where we were like ‘this ndidate has gay iends, ’” said Charl Moran, spokperson for Log Cab Republins, a LGBTQ GOP group.

SHOULD GAY MARRIAGE BE LEGAL?

“Donald Tmp’s embrace of people who are LGBT tly did help make OK to be an out, gay Republin, ” said former Whe Hoe puty prs secretary Judd Deere. “As print, he hired and promoted LGBT Amerins to the hight levels of ernment, cludg posns at the Whe Hoe, of which I was honored to be one of those people, Cabet agenci, cludg the first openly gay Cabet member, and ambassadorships. Sometim the bate on gay marriage has been polarised, stg those who supported the measure as the right-thkg and those who opposed as irratnal and guilty of tac homophobia.

The relig scepticThere are relig people who oppose gay marriage primarily out of a fear that one day equaly laws will force a church, mosque or temple to host a ceremony. As an atheist gay who regards marriage as part of the baggage of heterosexual society which I have e to rpect but n never fully share, I am tempted to say a plague on both your ho, " he wrote the Daily Telegraph source, Getty ImagImage ptn, The historian David Starkey: "I'm torn on gay marriage"Actor Rupert Everett perhaps gave the most lourful argument agast, a 2012 terview the Guardian. It's jt a waste of time the heterosexual world, and the homosexual world I fd personally beyond tragic that we want to ape this stutn that is so clearly a disaster.

MAJORY OF AMERINS CONTUE TO OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE

"Society gave legal and stutnal exprsn to what many hold to be te - that gay and lbian people should have the same rights to formalise their mment to each other and enjoy the social and legal benefs that oppose-sex upl have, " said the Lord Bishop of Exeter to the Hoe of Lords 2013. After France's first same-sex marriage, and a vote the UK Parliament which puts England and Wal on urse for gay weddgs next summer, two US Supreme Court lgs expected soon uld hasten the advance of same-sex marriage across the Atlantic. "It's monstrably not the same as heterosexual marriage - the relig and social signifince of a gay weddg ceremony simply isn't the same.

A send lg will be ma on the legaly of California's gay marriage while favourable lgs will spark celebratns among pro-marriage supporters across the US, some gay men and women will stead see as a victory for a patriarchal stutn that bears no historil relevance to lbians are opposed to marriage on femist grounds, says Cldia Card, a profsor of philosophy at the Universy of Wisns-Madison, bee they see as an stutn that serv the terts of men more than women. "Gay activists should stead put their energi to environmental issu like climate change, bee there's a chance to make a morally more fensible and more urgent difference. "Support for gay marriage among Amerins general has risen above 50% acrdg to Gallup, but what the figure is among gay people is harr to quantify.