Sweet haircut.

Shouldn't someone also tell her that gluttony is a cardinal sin?

Yet who but one of us could delight in giving her such sn awful cut, then teaching her to add sophistication by jerking her head around randomly as she speaks, so the lower half flops around a bit. Definitely one of us did that, I would guess one of our toddler-pageant stylists.

the giant play button in the middle of the clip hides the lopsidedness at first. good lord, what an awful style. i'm delighted.

What is that? Does she see the same thing we do? I don't think she could and still want this public. Actually, she's just odd looking enough to be an asset for us.

Instead of going GOBBLE, GOBBLE this week, I'm at BOGGLE BOGGLE. When Maggie is giving US a lecture on tolerance, well, I'm just BOGGLED and it's no wonder why.

Besides, what ever happened to that lovely ideal that polite people didn't talk about sex, religion or politics at the dinner table (aka you come together to share your commonalities rather than your differences).

But that would mean such a nice event and Maggie would rather pretend to offer solutions to a divisive one. Is it okay if I giggle uncontrollably about the thought of Maggie handing out a copy of her agenda to all gathered around her table? Oops, and don't forget your gavel, Maggie dearest!

Bigots sure have it rough having to defend their hateful views, huh?

Might we add step 4 - stop being an ignorant cunt.

Yes! Support marriage equality in Washington. Donate at Washington United for Marriage.

"until they bring in the pie..."

Well it is clear Maggie you know where the pie is. But hey, I am just treating something that is different differently right?

Her hair is really disgusting. And BTW she is nothing more than a bigoted bitch. I hope she gets cervical cancer.

I like how she's pretending that her views are completely reasonable, well thought out, and not bigoted in the slightest and that people who think otherwise are being unreasonable and childish... but her organization is the 'CULTURE WAR VICTORY FUND.' That name is like a temper tantrum.

It's okay to treat different things differently? Like treating blacks like they had fewer rights?

She hurts her argument with nonsense like that.

Yes, only a man and a woman (not even together though) can make a baby. But what about all those babies and children who don't have a home? They can't have parents because only a married man and woman can adopt them?

From her flopping around of her hair, she obviously thinks this style is the bees' knees.

She disgusts me.

The flame in their logo is shaped very similarly to the flame logo for the Center for Sex Positive Culture.

Wow. So much for etiquette. Those first two responses are likely to draw a storm of fire down on the bigot who decides they want to turn a family dinner into a discussion on law and morality.

But being a charitable man, on the odd chance that anyone who opposes gay marriage and is concerned about how to deal with the subject may read this thread and want some actual guidance, I present the following nonbigoted way to present your beliefs at the table tomorrow:

"I hope it doesn't offend anyone, but I have a sincere religious belief that marriage is only the union of one man and one woman and I apply that belief to my own life and belong to a church with the same belief. However, I recognize that we live in a secular nation which guarantees equal rights to all under the law, and therefore I support legal equality for same-sex couples as a matter of the application of American principles of liberty and equality, just as I hope you agree with my religious freedom to believe what I do and my church's freedom to preach this doctrine to its members."

What fools like Maggie refuse to understand that the bigotry isn't in the religious beliefs. In in the attempts to impose those beliefs by law on others who don't share them in violation of bedrock American constitutional principles.

Wow, but look how on the defense they are! They're not like, "You're a sinner, get out of my house!" Instead, they're like, "Please tolerate me and stop making me feel bad!"

It is certainly considerate of Maggie to provide me with 'handy ammo for the holidays', I'd be happy to provide her with a better stylist. Somehow I just don't think that 'I think that you need to be tolerant of my bigotry' is going to fly, especially at my table.

I agree that she's a menace to society, but tossing around words like "bitch" and "cunt" is pretty un-classy.

I thought Chris March would do better drag....

Is it tradition in Maggie's family to talk about gay marriage over Thanksgiving dinner? What do they do for Christmas, watch gay porn?

In a world without gays, Walmart is considered high fashion, SuperCuts is the leader in the latest hair trends, every floral arrangement is done with plastics plants, hot dogs and Twinkies (The chemical yellow cake variety) are fine foods. (Cuisine is too gay a word, and is banned.)

Thank you, #17.
If only someone with the sentiment in the first sentence of your sample ever uttered the second one!

The "culture war victory fund"? Are you serious, Maggie, that you can use that term with a straight face? I half expected some member of SNL to stick their head in and do something hilarious. You know, I normally stay away from ol' Maggie, but I watched this. And how unhappy do you have to be to want to insist on spreading it to a public who largely seem to have moved into not giving a shit anymore?

Since when it is OK to have a sincere belief in the Bible's principle that all woman should be subservient to men, so much so that they deserve a beat-down or even death if they get out of line?

Exactly.

@21-as a straight girl, I resent your claim.
However, a world without Rupaul's Drag Race is a sad world indeed.

Oh man, I can't wait to see the Muppets movie! This Muppet is a little gross though.

That unfortunate style only serves to accentuate Maggie's head shaking tic. Tourette's is no laughing matter!

Maggs hair does have a "People of Walmart" sensibility about it.

I just don't have a strong enough stomach to listen to this, much less transcribe it. Apologies.

That hair definitely contradicts her past statements claiming to have gay friends. Honey, if a gay talked you into that haircut... they aren't your friend.

Oh, what the heck, I'll transcribe it. Then maybe commenters can focus on mocking her words instead of her weight or hair. There's so much to tear apart ideologically, folks! We don't have to resort to playground taunts.

Hello, this is Maggie Gallagher for the Culture War Victory Fund. A few weeks ago in Minneapolis, a young mother, call her Melanie, asked me a question. "How do I talk about gay marriage over Thanksgiving?" Well, she'd heard me give the big long speech, and now she was asking me for the talking points, those very special talking points that could help her stand her ground over the mashed potatoes and gravies, all without fueling a family mash-up. She, like many of us, come from families [sic] with diverse points of view on abortion, on religion. But somehow gay marriage has become for many people an especially difficult flash point. Probably it's the imbalance. Most of us who believe marriage is the union of husband and wife have no interest in shaming those who disagree with us. We understand good people can disagree, even on extremely important moral issues. But like it or not, the gay marriage movement has cultivated a rather low threshold for moral indignation. If you don't think two men in a union are a marriage, you are a bigot, like people who wanted to hold back African Americans, too many elite voices claim. Well that sentiment sometimes translates into some pretty uncomfortable dinner conversation. So here, in case you, like Melanie, also need some handy MO [or ammo? not sure] for the holidays, is how to talk turkey about gay marriage.

Step 1: State your position briefly. Try this: "Marriage is the union of husband and wife for a reason. These are the only unions that can create new life, and give those children a mom and a dad, if they have children. While other unions may have wonderful qualities, but they are not marriages, and we shouldn't be forced by government to pretend they are."

If you still get fireworks, charges of bigotry, discrimination, hatred, or insensitivity, have this response handy. Step 2: Refute briefly the charge of bigotry. "It's not bigoted or hateful or discriminatory to treat different things differently. It's common sense."

Well if the fireworks continue, and you want to move on with a nice family dinner without surrendering your ground, move on to step 3: A call to tolerance. Step 3: "I think we need to be tolerant of each other's sincere moral differences on these hot-button issues, especially inside families. The millions of Americans like me who do not support gay marriage are not all haters or bigots, and it's really not kind or tolerant to suggest otherwise, especially among family members. Repeat step 3 as often as necessary, or until they bring in the pie, which usually stops the worst of the fight.

Remember, this Thanksgiving, you can stand your ground. You can state your views briefly, refute the charge of hatred and discrimination, and call on family and friends to be tolerant of each other in the midst of serious moral disagreement. You can stand your ground on same-sex marriage, and have the moral high ground, too. Wishing you and your family a very very happy and blessed Thanksgiving. This is Maggie Gallagher, for the Culture War Victory Fund.

Sigh.

Maggie Gallagher who said, "It's becoming increasingly clear that the gay rights movement, the gay marriage movement, really does believe you're like a racist if you think marriage is the union of husband and wife," explained Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage. "They want to rip Genesis out of our Bibles."
[Christian Broadcast Network]

If you get to rip the Gospels from your Bible and fetishize Genesis so you can pad your bank account, then remember to remind your "millions" of followers that Biblical marriage is between a man and his many wives, and a man and his female slave if he chooses, and a man and his dead brother's wife, and a man and the woman he rapes, and, lastly, a man and a female prisoner of war as a reward. Biblically Maggie you're a piece of property and commanded not to teach men. Thus you better let Mr. Brown do the talking and keep your Biblically commanded place in society.

If I were you I'd re-evaluate your swingy hair cut, 1) it accentuates your chin distracting from your prettier features, and 2) Biblically women are to keep their hair long as evidence they have not succumbed to the surrounding culture, see the Pauline letters.

Lastly, look up the word 'bigot' in the dictionary.

it still kills me that she went to the same high school as i did.

Also, if you are gay in an unfriendly family and need to distract attention from your sinful lifestyle, just ask if the turkey is a butterball, as Pamela Geller has just announced that Butterball is selling stealth jihad turkeys to destroy our freedom!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, Mr Alan. You even go so far as to provide them with some shred of response to the question of what should be done by/with/for/about same-sex couples, which most of Ms G's ilk won't touch with a ten-foot pole.

too many mayonnaise sandwiches for her.

and her argument is really ignorant. marriage is about kids? then annul all hetero marriages without kids. and grant marriages to any couple (regardless of sex) to those who want to adopt. that would be a more consistent, defensible line.

Remember, don't be intolerant, even of my intolerance.

Yeah, she's awful. But I have a bone to pick with this post. I don't think it helps the dialogue to make fun of her haircut. And to be specific, I'm not critiquing it based on having a problem with it as name calling. I think she's a bitch or and asshole or a cunt or whatever other term you want to use, but at least that's name calling that is based on her behavior. She's choosing to act like a jerk so I'll call her any of these names and more.

But making fun of her hair or her weight pretty much amounts to a "yeah, well you're ugly" level. It reads as petty and bitchy but aside from that, I think it somehow legitimizes counter-name calling or put downs from people who say don't like gays because they "act faggy" or other shit like that.

Eh. My two cents.

What about those few gays who opposed gay marriage on account that marriage itself is an antiquated construct? Stupid?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Rule

"Rule surprised some in the gay community by declaring herself against gay marriage, writing, 'To be forced back into the heterosexual cage of coupledom is not a step forward but a step back into state-imposed definitions of relationship. With all that we have learned, we should be helping our heterosexual brothers and sisters out of their state-defined prisons, not volunteering to join them there.'"

@38, in this case, actually, her hair and her weight are legitimate targets because she is arguing against gay rights based on Biblical teachings, but her hair and her weight are in direct conflict with those same teachings. Paul had very specific things to say about men and women's hair, and last I checked gluttony was still not just a sin, but one of the cardinal sins and capital vices.

Pointing out her haircut is ugly may not be very constructive, but her hair itself is a valid point to bring up, and her weight definitely is.

However, her bad haircut can also be used as evidence that she has bad judgment and so people might not want to pay too close attentions to the ramblings of an unrepentant sinner with poor judgment like she is.

"I think we need to be tolerant"? Nice talking point for an intolerant bigot who wants to limit the rights of other citizens.

It's not hateful or bigotry to treat different things different. Like white people and brown people. Men and women. Fat people and thin people. Beautiful people and ugly people. CEO's and the guy who picks up your trash. We should treat different PEOPLE differently.

Bitch.

Maggie, we'll stop hurting your fee-fees by calling you a bigot when you stop trying to strip us of our civil rights.

And I agree that the comments about her weight or hair or gender are counter-productive and infantile.

I dunno... anyone espousing opposition to same sex marriage at our Thanksgiving table would be met with probably 30-60 seconds of utter silence until my mother could pop in with a very cheery, "So, how ABOUT that weather we've been having?" and all the rest of us would gratefully jump on board...

If people don't want us to call her a "cunt" or "bitch", they should tell her to stop acting like a cunty bitch.

wow. I only made it to 41 seconds, the second head swish.
I too have a very diverse family with many opinions about, well, just about everything. We are NOT ALLOWED to discuss politics at meals. and religions involvement in politics IE same sex marriage is included in that prohibition.

I can only imagine what would happen if Maggie dropped by for thanksgiving.

I think the lady has a point though - arguing and calling people bigots is not helpful in convincing anyone. Here's my strategy for discussing gay marriage this Thanksgiving:

1. Express interest in the views of the bigot (but don't call them a bigot). Nod politely, so they're in a mood to actually discuss their views.

2. Respond with rational arguments, in the form of questions, and give the person time to respond.
e.g. Is marriage really about kids? To me, it's more about two people declaring their love for each other and agreeing to support each other for life. Don't you agree?
What if you couldn't have kids, would you have ended your marriage?
Gay people have kids. Shouldn't marriage also protect those kids?

3. Drop it. Say you don't agree, but it's interesting to get other people's perspectives. You're not going to change this persons mind today, but the most important thing is that they are made to consider their own views rationally.

Remember, these people think they're right. They should be open to convincing you of that "fact". You are right, it should be possible to convince these people of that.

I know this may come across as naive, but we have to start somewhere. Any other suggestions?

My fingers are crossed she chokes on a turkey leg again this year.

And really, "Melanie", your family discusses gay marriage at Thanksgiving? I'm gay and married, and even MY family doesn't find gay marriage to be a talking point over a meal. And do you know why? Because my family doesn't give a shit. Hell, MOST people don't give a shit if you're married (gay or straight).

Someone's weight may or may not be under their control and it's unfair to mock. However unlike making fun of someone for balding (which they had no choice over) she CHOSE that hairstyle, therefore it's fair game for ridicule.

Ugly from inside to out.

"If I can't have sex with men, NOBODY CAN! GAWHAHAHAHAW!"

I can't watch the whole video. It feels like a vintage manual for young German boys on how to avoid verdreckt Juden.

I'm with 19. Can we find arguments (and even insults) that don't center around her gender or genitalia, please?

The hair, the head shaking, the barrage of intolerance in the guise of tolerance... ugh.

Uh ... treating different things differently?

I wasn't aware that Maggie had been in that diner (probably hiding way in the back) when Rick Santorum was expounding on the huge difference between a napkin (or was it a serviette) and a paper towel. No wonder she's all for the concept.

::sighs::

Yay to number 42. There are unbigoted people who oppose gay marriage. The ones who also oppose straight marriage.

Gravies? Really? Of course a woman who thinks every family gathering is an opportunity to judge others, is probably not going to be bothered by grammar. I for one will be grateful that she and her talking points will not be at our table this year. I will never understand how someone else's marriage is her business, much less a Thanksgiving dinner table topic of conversation. Maybe it's a ploy to distract her guests from commenting on her haircut and weight.

I have to say... In my own subculture of extreme nerds, the gay hair is just as bad as the straight hair.

Sweetie, it's easy to ask for tolerance from others.

When you don't offer the same tolerance, that makes you a hypocrite.

...and most people are too polite raise such a divisive subject at a holiday event. If you DO, you're putting your beliefs above the comfort and enjoyment of everyone else.
If you must do this, do it at a soup kitchen. People there will either enjoy your views or have built up an immunity to well intentioned sermons.

I love how she keeps saying "if the fireworks continue." That's code for "if someone handily demolishes the pathetic excuse for logical premises that you just offered up, then try pathetic argument number 2."

I don't know how many times I have heard those same arguments put forward, and instantly and easily shot to shreds. And they just keep using them.

They are so on the run.

So, my Thanksgiving dinner is, thankfully, going to be with people who are not bigots. Christmas dinner, however, will be with my "born again" family. Any tips on how I should defend my position on marriage equality? Or should I just stand outside the house about 20 yards away from a big pile of stones?
The woman's an idiot. If she thinks that her tips will help anyone in a debate on any subject, she's simply wrong.

This is so typical of the religious right. They lie without a conscience.

It's the adult to adult equivalent of the "Because I said so" argument that parents use with children.

Normally I would never comment on someone's weight, but as several posters have already pointed out, gluttony is a cardinal sin. I'm sure if CPS decided to remove her children from the home because she's not providing a good role model for them she'd (rightfully) wail like a banshee.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

@70, ask them about Gingrich's marriage. And McCain's. And Giuliani's.

@70 . . . "Ooooh, pie!"

Gallagher has written that "[w]e need a social institution, endowed with public authority, that teaches young men and women...that they need to come together in love to raise the children their bodies make together. If this is a core purpose of marriage, then same-sex unions are not marriages."
Wikipedia

If you really believe that you should also only allow people to marry that plan to have children. And if raising children is your criteria you should allow gay people to marry who want to adopt a child.

Assuming the bible is literally true this woman will roast in hell for judging her fellow humans and raising herself above them. And for Maggie hell we be an endless gay pride parade. Looking forward to it!

Why does she waggle her head like a muppet?

Thanks Doot @#42. We realize that somewhere along the lines Dan Savage dropped his ability to see things as radically queer as they could and should be (i.e. trans-hate just for starters) but not all of us who identify as queer are supporters of an institution that only leads to homonormativize the community.

And if you want to have queer/gay males accepted in society, than drop the use of misogynist language like 'cunt' or 'bitch' to describe any woman with an opposing point of view. If you allow gendered insults in any way, what's to limit the use of faggot?

Oh yeah, and real classy on insulting people based on socio-economic class. Real fucking classy.

@77 - good for you and your non-homonormativeness. I support and empower you not choosing marriage for whatever reason.

But this is my life and I like it all homonormative, marriage and all. Please don't fight against me.

It's not merely a difference of opinion if the government can keep you from being at your spouse's side on their deathbed. I was legally married for years and never bore a child - was that a legitimate marriage? Why isn't she opposing Kim Kardashian's sham for-profit marriage? What a hypocrite.

Dear Ms. Gallagher,

When YOU call it a "culture war", don't be indignant if your opponents treat you like an enemy.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Love,
BHL

PS--You're a hateful cunt.

I wonder what her husband looks like. Maybe this is him?

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9G…

Something had to make her so angry and bitter. I can just see her sitting at home binging at night wondering where he is.

I love step 3: if bringing up this contentious issue has completely backfired on you and you've realized that your family now regards you as a hateful bigot, ask them to please tolerate your hateful, bigoted comments. Keep repeating until they've lost what little respect they might still have had for you.

Shouldn't this be entitled "If you can't think of any real reasons to oppose same sex marriage, but still want to cling to your bigotted beliefs, then here are some crap arguments to trot out, and when they fail, point out that you are entitled to be LGBT-phobic and still claim the high moral ground".

@33 Some great points from the bible re. marriage.
@59 Hilarious!

I do wish people would actually stop the personal attacks on her though, tempting though it is. We know that we win on the issue. No need to sink to Bachmann-esque depths. Even though some of them are quite funny.