A law was passed by the state legislature called the "Everything but Marriage" bill and subsequently signed by the governor that essentially gave gay couples all the benefits of marriage without the ceremony.
There is a group of people circulating a petition to have the law repealed. In order to get on the ballot, they need to gather 120,000 signatures.
The left is against it, of course, and they are outraged. Since Leftists don't believe in freedom (It's their way or the gulag) they are organizing to publicize the signers of this document. From KOMO-TV News:
In a statement Monday, WhoSigned.org says it expects people who see the names online to contact the signers for what may be uncomfortable talks about gay rights. (emphasis added)
What this means is that they will publicize their list and try to extort money and/or apologies. They did it in CA with proposition 8 supporters. I'm certain that if some of these whack job extremists had their way, they'd open their own brand of "Gitmo" and send the signers off for more than just waterboarding session.
I've been on record saying that since the state has already hijacked marriage, it should either get out the business, or everyone gets a civil union and marriage would be left to the churches. My wife and I have a civil union. We were married in front of a judge. Heretofore, I was rather ambivalent to the petition drive. Not any more. I will oppose thuggery wherever I can.
I tell you now, if I see a person asking me to sign one of those petitions, I will sign it. Bring it you left wing goons!
VW
So you're going to support the removal of equal rights for gay couples - the right to see or make decisions on behalf of a dying loved one, the right to health benefits and inheritance - because you don't like the tactics of a particular group who supports equal rights for gay couples?
Seriously, VW? I thought you were more level headed than that.
That's a level of reactionary spitefulness worthy of any moonbat. If you saw that thinking from a liberal blog, you'd deplore it as another glaring example of rabid left-wing mindlessness. That would be like me voting for a radically racist member of a minority because I wanted to get back at white supremacists. Or signing a petition to cut back on veteran benefits because I was angry at members of the military who support the Iraq war. You're mad, and you want to teach this group a lesson by doing something they won't like. That's not going to do a thing.
You won't be making any meaningful statement against left wing thuggery by signing that petition. The idiots who want the petition signers harassed are going to keep using those tactics whether they win or they lose, probably more so if they lose. All you'd be doing is supporting inequality - a social policy that I didn't think you even agreed with.
If you want to deal with this in a way that's likely to get their attention, start your own web site. "whowantstoknow.org" has a nice ring to it, and it's not registered. Expose the goons. If you don't feel comfortable stooping to that, use your own blog to organize resistance, whether it's writing letters to newspapers, this group, or both. Contact this group's ISP if you think it'll help - maybe they have some policy against revealing peoples' names. Whatever comes of any one of these suggestions will be more effective than signing that stupid petition and telling yourself you took a stand against everything that's wrong in America.
Supporting a measure to take away peoples' rights - rights that do not affect in any way at all your own enjoyment of those same rights - is beyond foolish. I don't see you making a convincing argument for conservative practicality right now.
Posted by: Chris | Wednesday, June 03, 2009 at 21:01
I don't really support the measure. I doubt I would vote for it if it made it to the ballot. Signing a petition only means you want it taken to the ballot. I've signed petitions on issues I've disagreed with in the past because I felt that issue needed to be brought to a vote.
I'd sign this simply to make a statement that in this country, your freedom to decide whether to support an issue or not is a fundamental right. No one, from any point of view, should threaten another with some form of coercion over it.
I stand for freedom. That includes freedom of speech and the freedom to associate with whom you choose. I believe that since the state requires a license and a fee to get married, the law should be changed so that we all get civil marriages and if you want it performed at a church, that's the church's business after that. They can choose who they wed.
I don't stand with people who threaten me if I sign a petition. That, my friend is un-American.
VW
Posted by: Violence Worker | Thursday, June 04, 2009 at 06:28
So...
Outing CIA operatives = patriot
Outing petition signers = thug
Ok, good to know.
Posted by: Rusty | Friday, June 05, 2009 at 12:33