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Maggie Gallagher Calls the Kettle Black

By Fannie

Yesterday, we saw how a group of conservative Christians celebrated their own awesomeness by comparing themselves to Martin Luther King, Jr. and imbuing same-sex couples with the power to destroy society. They did this in a document called the Manhattan Declaration.

Maggie Gallagher, of the National Organization for [Heterosexual] Marriage, was one of the signees of this document. Last week, whilst celebrating New York's recent failure to pass marriage equality legislation, Gallagher complained:

"The debate was also lopsided: a remarkable display of self-indulgence, tone-deafness and hubris on the part of gay-marriage advocates. Many senators suggested people who see marriage as a male-female union are like slave owners or segregationists. They compared themselves to Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and even Nelson Mandela. Sen. Suzie Oppenheimer upped the ante by suggesting the hate and intolerance of those of us who think marriage is the union of husband and wife is akin to the Nazism that killed her husband's family.

This kind of disrespectful treatment of diverse views on gay marriage really needs to stop. Now. Today."

I have stood up for Gallagher before, as I believe she is sometimes the victim of unfair, sexist attacks regarding her looks and weight. I do this despite the fact that she works tirelessly to deny my family equal and me rights. I don't expect kudos or cookies for that. It's just the right damn thing to do.

Yet, as usual, Gallagher disappoints with her immature argumentation that creates one set of standards for her side and another set for ours. Bemoaning same-sex marriage advocates for supposedly comparing "marriage defenders" to Nazis and themselves to moral heroes, she has made a career out of creating a narrative that tells society that Very Bad Horrible No-Good Things will happen if same-sex marriage becomes legal. Most recently, she has signed onto a declaration in which "marriage defenders" compare themselves to moral heroes like Dr. King and that dismisses Extremely Dangerous marriage equality argumentation as a mere "fashionable ideology."

It takes a lot of gall and arrogance for Gallagher to demand our side to "stop. Now. Today."

You get what you put out into the world, Maggie. Maybe others will tone down their rhetoric once you do the same.

Full post as published by Fannie's Room on December 09, 2009 (boomark / email).