Love And War

I wasn't shocked and appalled when gay "Comic Turned Talk Show Host" Ellen DeGeneres married "Men Can't Believe She's Gay" Portia de Rossi. But I was shocked and appalled when I read the newly married couple served only vegan food at their reception.

As a dairy-loving carnivore, I was offended. As a heterosexual... not so much.

Of course, after the passing of California's Prop 8, the DeGeneres/de Rossi marriage is now DeNull and de Void.

This past weekend, angry gays, lesbians and their supporters gathered in major and not-so-major cities (apparently the marchers in Fargo were very polite) to protest their shocking political defeat. In an effort to equate the gay marriage issue to the civil rights struggles of the 1960's, some held signs proclaiming "Gay is the new Black."

I don't think most Americans-- including African-Americans-- are buying the comparison.

I think what the gay movement lacks is their own equivalent of Dr. Martin Luther King. It's hard to get mainstream credibility when Rosie O'Donnell is your most visible spokesperson.

Where are the memorable and passionate speeches that can be quoted for generations? Where are the stirring words that will convince people to judge a man by the content of his character and not the genitalia of his chosen partner?

And for Pete's sake, when you march on Selma please tell the drag queens named Selma to leave the high heels at home. If you want to convince fly-over country that homosexuals are just like everybody else, then maybe, just maybe you should put away the dog collars and leather vests. It's Public Relations 101!

Some of the more militant gay activists decided to skip the marches to spend their hard-earned time harassing the Mormon church and their many members who donated millions of dollars in support of Prop 8.

Sorry folks, but interrupting church services will not help you in your cause. It will only serve to piss off all the other religious groups who like to worship in peace. This is not the way to change hearts and minds. More likely this will only serve to change more hearts and more minds against you.

Besides, I can sort of sympathize with the Mormons. If the definition of marriage is changed from "one man/one woman" to "one man/one man" or "one woman/one woman" then it's only a matter of time before polygamist insist that it should also include "one man/many ugly women."

Contrary to what you see on HBO's Big Love, mainstream Mormons do not want polygamy back in their church. The Osmond tour bus is already bursting at the seams.

Redefining an institution that's been around since before recorded history, should not be taken lightly. The concerns of those who defend the status quo should be taken as seriously as those of gay marriage proponents. Asking questions does not automatically make you homophobic. Having reservations does not mean you hate or fear gays.

Dialogue is what's needed now. Thuggish tactics will not help.

And please, do yourself another favor and tell Prop 8 opponent Brad Pitt to keep his sexy trap shut. A man who destroys his first marriage through infidelity and then refuses to wed the mother of his three biological children has zero credibility when it comes to matrimony-- gay or otherwise.