It’s Christmas time. A time of giving, of charity, of compassion. At least, it is supposed to be. This Christmas season however, we get to watch GOP Presidential contender Mike Huckabee travel about Iowa selling his views of America – an America where not only is it not ok to be gay, it’s just plain illegal.
For those who don’t follow politics much, Huckabee came under attack from Ann Coulter a few days ago for comments he made in 2003 where he said the Lawrence v. Texas decision (the one that struck down sodomy laws) was "probably" ok. In Ann’s view, as well as most of the members of the radical fundamentalist crowd, it is ok for the government to dictate what you do in your bedroom.
Huckabee’s campaign, eager to prove they are just as anti-gay as Coulter, quickly issued a statement claiming ignorance as to what the decision was at the time he made the original comments. Now, according to his statement, Huckabee feels that the decision, "is an extreme example of judicial activism." Why is it that every time the court issues a ruling limiting the power of government the religious right, who claim to be small government conservatives, start jumping up and down and screaming about judicial activism? It goes deeper than that, though. As the dissenting opinion to Lawrence points out, if sex is not the government business, then dictating who can marry and who can’t is not the government’s business either.
So why is this important to the gay community? Simple. If Huckabee has his way, it will, once again, be illegal, in several states, to be anything but celibate if you are gay. If Huckabee has his way, the police will be able to kick down a gay person’s door and arrest them and their partner for having sex (which is what sparked the original Lawrence case). Given the opportunity, he has made it clear that he will stack the courts with judges who will rule not based on the law, or on the Constitution, but on extreme interpretations of the Bible. The Founding Fathers promised us a nation where "all men are created equal" and where "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are "inalienable rights." But that is not Mike Huckabee’s vision for America. Huckabee’s America is one where gay people must live in shadows, fearing the power of the state and being denied the most basic of civil rights. The fundamentalists have made their mission clear – they want to roll back each and every advance the gay community has made and force us back into the closet. We cannot let them succeed.
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This article was adapted from one of my blogs. To read more of my blogs, please check out my myspace page at http://blog.myspace.com/dauger1975
