Confusing the Confused: The 'Christian' Art of Obfuscation
OBFUSCATION: "A deliberate attempt to confuse or to prevent understanding."
The Traditional Values Coalition propaganda piece, Homosexual Marriage = Civil Unions = Domestic Partnerships, attempts to make gullible readers think that distinctly different entities are all the same thing. The funny thing is that in attempting to do so, the TVC disproves its own lie.
For example, while attempting to show that a domestic partnership agreement equal civil marriage, "it confers basically the same rights and privileges to homosexuals as do laws dealing with traditional marriage," it points out just a few of the 1,138 benefits and protections of civil marriage that domestic partnerships do not provide, such as post-breakup spousal support and child support. Oops! Thanks, TVC, for exposing your own lie.
Next, TVC claims that "Parties to a civil union are given all the same benefits, protections, and responsibilities under law, whether they derive from statute, administrative or court rule, policy, common law, or any other source of civil law, as are granted spouses in a marriage." If this were true, then couples with civil unions would be granted all of the 1,138 benefits and protections of civil marriage. Since there is no legal entity named "civil union" that qualifies couples for the 1,138 benefits and protections of civil marriage, this cannot be true. Oops .... false again, TVC.
The Traditional Values Coalition reserves it biggest lies for its section on the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling in GOODRIDGE, et al. v. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH. The TVC makes the outrageous claim that "The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in November, 2003, that the state had to pass a law granting homosexuals the “right” to marry." Nothing could be further from the truth. The court found that existing laws violate the Massachusetts constitution. "Limiting the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage to opposite-sex couples violates the basic premises of individual liberty and equality under law protected by the Massachusetts Constitution."
The TVC goes on to claim "The court discovered this non-existent right in the Massachusetts Constitution, which was written in 1780 by John Adams." Apparently they count on their gullible readers' inability to look things up for themselves. The court's actual statement is, "All people are born free and equal and have certain natural, essential and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness. Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed or national origin."
And then the conclude with the most outrageous lie of all, "The court is insisting that state laws on marriage must be changed to grant this alleged “right” to marriage to homosexuals." The truth is that the court ruling requires that laws must be updated to eliminate the gender-based discrimination, precisely as other Massachusetts laws have been updated with gender-neutral language.
The TVC Propaganda Piece is located here.
Copyright May 29, 2005, by mggm. All rights reserved, except that free distribution via any medium is permitted as long as author's credit is given and no profit is involved.
