Gay Marriage Ban Is the New Jim Crow

Anyone who thinks that the Florida ballot amendment banning gay marriage isn't legislating bigotry is kidding themselves. The whole hetrosexual couples' marriages are threatened if gays and lesbians wed has always been a silly argument. The amendment is a Jim Crow law for GLBT. The amendment will not allow gay couples to have the same benefits as hetrosexuals. Similar bans on gay marriage has had disasterous affects on GLBT couples.

But when the amendment passed in Michigan, an appeals court ruled that because of the amendment, local and state government offices could no longer legally allow same-sex couples to share benefits such as health insurance. That case is before the Michigan Supreme Court.

Opponents of the amendment in Florida say the same thing could happen here in government offices where domestic partnership benefits are offered, and that even private-sector businesses could be open to lawsuits.

Florida Politics. assessment that the RPOF is using gay marriage as a wedge is dead on. Florida Republicans can't run on balancing the budget and lowering property insurance. The GOP will have the same fate as the Whigs Party if it wasn't for wedge issues.

Republicans can't stand the Christian Right. That doesn't stop them from pandering to bigotry. Dick Cheney (father of Mary Cheney) allowing Bush to support a Constitutional amendment against gay marriage is the height of hypocrisy. For Cheney to say that he can't tell Bush not to back the amendment is outrageous. Cheney runs much of the administration's policy through his office. No one will mistake Cheney for Spiro Agnew or Dan Quayle. It illustrates how cynical conservatives are about social issues. Mitt Romney' and Rudy Giuliani's sudden metamorphose into conservative Christians is how the the Christian Right and the GOP enable each other. It's less about Christ than maintaining power.

Just replace gays with blacks and it's the Southern Strategy. Republican candidates capitalizing on people's inner-fears. Fearmongering isn't leadership. For the ROPF it is a campaign strategy.