Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Too Soon to Go Full Totalitarian
Townhall.com ^ | April 10, 2015 | Erick Erickson

Posted on 04/10/2015 4:19:08 AM PDT by Kaslin

The gay rights movement has tended to be a well-choreographed stage production over the last number of decades. Over time, behind the scenes, they pushed hard for gay characters in film and television. They pushed gay actors out of the closet and encouraged celebrations of diversity.

A population that, according to the census, makes up less than 10 percent of the nation, gives the impression that it represents at least a quarter of the population. Many Americans are surprised by how few gay Americans there actually are. To its credit, the gay rights movement has worked hard to shift culture and opinion. The growth of acceptance of gay marriage is one of those areas.

With the Supreme Court set to mandate gay marriage nationally this summer, it might have been wise for such a well-orchestrated campaign to coast. Let the sentiment continue to grow. But a movement hostile to tradition and religion could not stop there. As I write regularly, you will be made to care about the issue, and the gay rights movement is rushing things sooner than they probably should.

The federal government enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Action in the mid-nineties, and now 21 states have similar laws. But in the past two weeks, gay rights activists and their allies in corporate America signaled that protecting religion has come to an end. While they do not think a gay baker should have to bake a cake for a bigoted Christian, they are insistent that Christian bakers bake cakes for gay weddings or be driven from business.

Anthony Kennedy, America's black-robed master on the Supreme Court who decides every case based on what will enhance his power to referee the decisions of Americans, is set to impose gay marriage. It will be his Brown vs. Board of Education. But Kennedy, for all his faults, is a civil libertarian at heart.

Kennedy's notions of jurisprudence tend to play out with a "live and let live" attitude. Suddenly, on the verge of total victory, gay rights activists are letting their inner totalitarian out too soon. In Indiana, a local pizza restaurant owner dared tell a reporter that her business would gladly make pizzas for anyone, including gay customers. But the owner answered truthfully that she was a Christian and did not want to cater a gay wedding. Mind you, she had never been asked, but merely saying it was enough to generate death threats and calls to burn the restaurant to the ground.

In the New York Times, liberal columnist Frank Bruni insists that Christians must be "made" to change their church doctrines on sexual immorality, doctrines that are 2,000 years old. Bruni actually quoted a gay rights advocate that "church leaders must be made to take homosexuality off their sin list." Bruni called this "worthy" and "warranted."

Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia, in 2012, wrote to his congregation on abortion. He told them, "Evil talks about tolerance only when it's weak. When it gains the upper hand, its vanity always requires the destruction of the good and the innocent, because the example of good and innocent lives is an ongoing witness against it. So it always has been. So it always will be. And America has no special immunity to becoming an enemy of its own founding beliefs about human freedom, human dignity, the limited power of the state and the sovereignty of God."

Americans can disagree on gay marriage. The Supreme Court declaring it legal and imposing it on states that voted to prohibit it will not, like with abortion, change church doctrines that have existed for 2,000 years. The faithful will not suddenly redact First Corinthians or Matthew 15:19 from the Bible.

In a nation that has prided itself on individuality and free conscience, it seems we should allow the mom-and-pop shop of committed Christians to opt out of gay weddings. But, even before Anthony Kennedy rules, we are seeing that will not happen. The gay rights movement, a part of the left, is showing its totalitarian nature.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: religiousfreedom; supremecourt
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last

1 posted on 04/10/2015 4:19:08 AM PDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Why don’t they use the real figure, 1.6%?


2 posted on 04/10/2015 4:24:42 AM PDT by stockpirate (A corrupt government is the real enemy of the people.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
The whole thing is built on the ghost of manufactured consensus. Gay marriage supporters keep claiming vast support but they don't appear willing to actually put it up for a vote.

Posted last night

Michigan AG's legal team defends fight to uphold same-sex marriage ban
3 posted on 04/10/2015 4:25:03 AM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

My opinion remains the same... a perverted self chosen lifestyle. They need to crawl back in the closet and stay there.

Their tactics, like all liberals, are on par although opposite in reason with Westboro Baptist Church freak show.


4 posted on 04/10/2015 4:28:17 AM PDT by maddog55 (America Rising a new Civil War needs to happen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: stockpirate

You caught that too, didja?


5 posted on 04/10/2015 4:29:18 AM PDT by Old Sarge (Its the Sixties all over again, but with crappy music...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: stockpirate
Why don’t they use the real figure, 1.6%?

That's what I was going to say. The true number is between 0.9% and 2.5%, depending on definitions (are you gay if you are only willing when in prison? are you gay if you did it once as a teenager and never again? are you gay only if you prefer gay to straight? or to hit 10% are you gay if you were ever molested by a gay?).

6 posted on 04/10/2015 4:32:05 AM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek

Thanks, good post


7 posted on 04/10/2015 4:32:55 AM PDT by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

>> Christians must be “made” to change their church doctrines on sexual immorality, doctrines that are 2,000 years old

The righteousness of YHWH since before time begin has no place for the sexual perversion that Satan brought forth soon after YHWH created man and woman.

It’s not “church doctrine”. It’s a precept of the Almighty Creator.

And no New York times columnist will change it.


8 posted on 04/10/2015 4:33:02 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (There is no "allah" but satan, and mohammed was his demon-possessed tool.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: maddog55

I agree with you 100 Percent


9 posted on 04/10/2015 4:35:35 AM PDT by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Pollster1

Yup. That 10% figure must be abandoned and ridiculed. Think of your own personal experience, let’s say in high school. I went to a small school, with a little more than 100 kids in each class. There’s no f’n way 10 of them were homosexual, regardless of the definition. I can think back and imagine the figure was one or two — which fits right into the correct number of 1.6%. I know the 10% figure came from research in prisons, whatever. But now we know it isn’t true. Why do we keep using it????


10 posted on 04/10/2015 4:44:58 AM PDT by duckworth (Perhaps instant karma's going to get you. Perhaps not.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: stockpirate

“Why don’t they use the real figure, 1.6%?”

Because numbers like % of campaign donations and % of movie screen time are driving this anyway


11 posted on 04/10/2015 4:59:38 AM PDT by ReaganGeneration2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek

It’s gone to vote in several states, and got about 65-35 refusal in all.

Then the queeristas, like their ‘Democratic’ butt buddies, used sympathetic judges to challenge/overturn the exceedingly clear will of the people.

They are a cancer in America.


12 posted on 04/10/2015 5:05:07 AM PDT by polymuser ( Enough is enough)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Societal: Even in ancient Greece - and Rome to a significant extent - where pederasty was practiced as a societal norm, and would also have tended to flow over into adulthood, if any such marital institution was ever contemplated it would quickly have been viewed as deteriorating their entire society, of which such decadence was as likely a contributing cause nonetheless.

Judeo-Christian Religious: Prohibitions are well established and known from Leviticus 18:22 forward throughout the Old and New Testaments. There are NO exceptions.


13 posted on 04/10/2015 5:05:54 AM PDT by onedoug
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: duckworth

Its all part of the manufactured consensus that was developed by the Wilsonian progressives. Its about creating the appearance of greater numbers as a means of manipulating the human desire to be part of the crowd or not stand out.

Edward Bernays was a Wilsonian propagandist and advertising expert. In those days tobacco companies recognized that they were missing out on all the money that could be generated if women took up smoking. What Bernays did was hire models to go where there were crowds and media. The models would light up on cue and look glamorous doing it.

The same tactics are being used today with every TV show or movie having gay characters. In social media a few can become many.


14 posted on 04/10/2015 5:09:16 AM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: stockpirate
That percentage is probably larger now and growing. Homosexuality, or rather, omnisexuality is the natural state of men where there are no strong religious strictures. Consider the ancient Greeks and the modern Afghans.

Judaism's Sexual Revolution

15 posted on 04/10/2015 5:09:27 AM PDT by arthurus (it's true!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek

Liberals proclaim themselves the majority no matter what the numbers show. The actual numbers are irrelevant. Liberals are far and away the majority in the socially visible areas of life like education, entertainment, media, judgeships, Congress, etc. We are ruled by a “majority” that is no more than 20-30%.


16 posted on 04/10/2015 5:23:35 AM PDT by arthurus (it's true!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Nervous Tick

17 posted on 04/10/2015 5:30:57 AM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: arthurus

That Prager article is a sobering but great article about that revolution. I had never known most of what is in it. I’ve read it three times, and I don’t generally tend to read long articles.


18 posted on 04/10/2015 5:33:45 AM PDT by tenger (It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for. -Will Rogers)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: arthurus
Liberals proclaim themselves the majority no matter what the numbers show.

Unless they are busy being victims. Then 51% of the population can claim to be a "minority".

19 posted on 04/10/2015 5:37:38 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek

Yes. They fear the vote, because they know their support is much thinner than the media would like us to believe. Americans generally have a live and let live attitude. That’s why tolerance sells, but using government to enforce acceptance? Not so much.

I honestly believe majorities in most states would STILL vote against homosexual “marriage.”


20 posted on 04/10/2015 5:44:42 AM PDT by CitizenUSA (Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson