Well, it looks like the über-religious, nutjob busybodies will not be happy until they are dictating the personal lives and controlling the bedrooms of every man and woman in America, gay or straight. They now want to make it more difficult for straight couples to divorce in Texas, effectively forcing children to grow up in bitter, toxic households void of love and affection. (These “moral values” meddlers don’t seem to realize that if their extremist views come to pass they will surely be contributing to a rise in adultery. That is, until that ban that… and premarital sex… and abortion… and contraception… and before you know it we’re back in the Middle Ages.)
After Prop 2 success, conservatives also push national amendment
08:07 AM CST on Thursday, November 10, 2005
By ROBERT T. GARRETT and WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Texas social conservatives want to translate their resounding victory on a gay marriage ban into broader results: reducing the state’s divorce rate and passing a nationwide amendment to prevent same-sex unions.
Rep. Warren Chisum, who wrote the amendment, Proposition 2, endorsed by Texas voters by a ratio of more than 3-1, said Wednesday that it’s too easy for spouses to split up. The state should consider repealing or modifying its no-fault divorce law, the Pampa Republican said.
“Gee whiz, our divorce rate’s higher than New York,” Mr. Chisum said. He proposed that between now and their next regular session in 2007, lawmakers study ways “to make marriage thrive more in our state.”
— SNIP —
Cathie Adams, president of the conservative Texas Eagle Forum, said she favored a ban on gay and lesbian foster parents that the state House passed this spring. But, she said, “Until there are some changes in the Senate, that might have to wait a while.”
She endorsed Mr. Chisum’s call for a review of the no-fault divorce law, which took effect in 1974.
“It is a system that is broken,” Ms. Adams said. “Men, women and children are getting hurt with that current law, with revolving-door marriages.”
Supporters of Proposition 2 said that during debates, they regularly heard gay rights activists cite Texas’ divorce rate. Texas had about 3.9 divorces for every 1,000 residents in 2002, a higher rate than New York (3.4) or Massachusetts (2.5), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mr. Chisum said he planned to ask House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, to convene a panel to examine no-fault divorce, longer waiting periods for marriage applicants and “covenant marriage,” an idea tried in three other states.
A covenant marriage provides an alternative to the traditional marriage contract for couples who oppose no-fault divorce or who want to demonstrate a stronger commitment. Couples selecting a covenant marriage must get premarital counseling and may divorce only after a separation of two years or after proving adultery or domestic abuse.
Enough is enough. Where the hell is the Religious Left, that so many liberals insist is the majority in this country? Why aren’t they speaking out? Why aren’t they pushing their membership to resist these outrageous, bigoted measures? Is the American public going to finally wake up and realize that the Dobsonites are attempting to create a New Inquisition in this country? Gay Marriage and Terri Schiavo were only the beginning.
Let’s face it, a majority of Americans, (and this includes “liberal” Democrats), were more than willing to look the other way and let the wingnuts ban gay marriage. They were complicit in marginalizing fairness and equality in this country through their own ignorance. But now they have emboldened the enemy, and one day they’re going to wake up and realize that they’ve created a monster that’s more than willing to bite them in the ass.
