Testimony on House Bill 1727, designed to expand the rights and responsibilities of state registered domestic partners, concluded a little while ago. As usual, there were fired-up supporters and opponents testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in Olympia—which is chaired by Rep. Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle).
Pedersen mostly listened during the testimony, allowing the spokespersons, priests and, at one point, a small business owner, to speak their mind on why the bill should or should not be passed. Naturally, the opponents went to great length to lay out why HB 1727, if passed, will ruin everything that they love about our state and society.
Kim Sheeley, representing the Washington State Catholic Conference, argued that while “discrimination…is contrary to church teaching concerning the dignity of persons,” the WSCC opposes the bill. Pastor Peter Colake said that, as a refugee from the Soviet Union, he knows what it means to be oppressed, citing the prison terms his grandfather and father served for their faith. But he believes this bill “threatens the freedom of our conscience” and that America “will not be a country of refuge” if it is passes. Maureen Richardson from Concerned Women for America argued that, given the budget deficit, “it makes no sense to promote anything but what is proven to work.”
This woman from Lydia Fellowship won the award for being the most energetic and ill-informed bigot of the day. Her argument began with the always persuasive dictionary citation. Webster’s, she testified, provides “the definition for a lot of our bills.” Therefore, she continued, the passage of HB 1727 will create an “oxymoron.” At one point a committee member had to remind her to respect those present after she described homosexuality as a terrible condition that can be cured.
The climax of her testimony occurred when Rep. Pedersen challenged her claim that “the people” had voted 60 percent against domestic partnerships. His request that she provide the instance when such a vote had occured received, at first, just a blank stare. Then, inexplicably, the representative from Lydia Fellowship said something about the Supreme Court. Rep. Pedersen, not giving up, asked her if she was referring to a vote that took place in Washington since, as he reminded her, no such vote has ever actually happened. A few helpful people in the audience shouted inaudibly and she turned around for help. Finally, Rep. Pedersen generously suggested that she may be referring to a vote in the state legislature and allowed her to step down.
HB 1727 is going to pass. But today was, essentially, an opportunity for vocal bigots (most of them associated with either a religious institution or religion-based policy group) to display their opposition to equal rights for same-sex unions. Which made the live-feed on the Washington State Public Affairs TV Network difficult to watch. Its value, mainly, is as a reminder of how entrenched prejudice is in our society and how long the struggle for full equality is going to take.
Go Jamie !!!
Remember when — the Stranger insulted you and backed Ms. Pure in your first race – just saying – you have done a great job.
Don’t sell the day short, Unpaid Intern-
it was also an opportunity for slog to display its bigotry against all things religious.
@2: Hey, us unchurched Sloggers are chipping in for a beautiful “Big Cats of the Savannah” petting zoo at Qwest Field for you guys, stop being an ingrate.
God bless Jamie Pedersen
If you’re the pro-religious type, Slog is probably not the blog for you.
Aaron Pickus Rocks.
@2 Rebecca, these are people who represent their religious group, coming to the state legislature to fight legislation that supports those that do not share their religious views. They deserve every ounce of criticism we can muster. Since when did “all things religious” just mean Christians who hate gay people? I think there might be a few religious groups (not to mention other Christians) you’re forgetting about. Please don’t leave them out of your pity-party invite list, though I doubt they would attend.
Slog isn’t telling you how to worship, they’re telling you to stop jacking-around with other people’s lives. Like any reasonable person would.
Ps. Thank you Aaron.
#3 FTW.
@5: Yes, you wouldn’t want anyone here who might disagree with the mob.
Never forget that those who are without sin like to cast stones.
Wait … I thought they were all sinners in the eyes of the Lord … so that means …
My …
Thank you, 7 (and thank you, Aaron.)
@9 I’m referring to the writers of the Stranger, who are typically very critical of religious interests in politics and society. When you have people like this woman from Lydia Fellowship calling homomsexuality a “terrible condition” on the floor of the state legislature, it’s easy to see why.
*homosexuality. Can’t spell today.
“given the budget deficit”? Okay, I can see wanting to bring in the big legislative problem of the moment, but did that speaker explain just how this would cost the state big money? (Maybe those sea urchin gathering licenses are a lot more profitable than I realize.)
@12 “homomsexuality”
Freudian slip! Old joke: “My mother made me a homosexual…”
Bigotry and ignorance are regrettable where ever they occur and in whomever they reside and against whomever they are directed.
The slogger railing against ‘fundies’ is only a different flavor of the same substance as the Alabama redneck hissing the ‘N’ word or the Westboro member screaming ‘faggot’.
We Liberals take pride in being open-minded, fair and a little smarter than the red team; slog doesn’t always reflect that.
@16 FTW
I was moved to tears when the thousands of hetero couples testified that tha humahseckshals gay domestic partnerships had destroyed their traditional marwahges. Oh why, baby Jeebus, why??
Oh right, that never happened.
As a liberal, I don’t take pride in being open minded so much as I take pride in being right.
Do you think that Alabama rednecks hissing the word nigger, or Westboro members screaming faggot bring anything to the table? If they don’t, then their only purpose is to be destructive. If their only purpose is to be destructive, then they deserve to be ridiculed, belittled, and minimized as much as possible. Because it increases the net gain of progress.
Your problem, besides being a stupid pussy, is that you equate religious hatred of slog posters, with hatred of “all things religious”. Even the most uptight and pompous atheist doesn’t give a shit about a religious person who keeps their beliefs to themselves. We religious bigots have no problem coexisting with and even befriending religious people. They just need to keep their filthy story books out of our fucking government.
Did you know you get a cool plastic card with your domestic partnership? It has both your names printed on it and a web address to search for what it is supposed to authorize. Must be too confusing and ever changing to list on the card itself.
I call it our “license to fornicate”
Shorter: Fundamentalist Christians are the kids who take all the candy from the “Please take only one candy from the candy bowl” Candy Bowls at Halloween. Slog posters, by and large, find it hilarious when someone dresses up like a scarecrow next to the bowl, and scares the shit out of those asshole kids who want all the candy for themselves.
Go ahead and be openminded, and leave an unattended candy bowl of your rights on your porch. What do you care if someone takes them away from everyone else.
@2: There are many religious people in Washington who would consider those testifying today to be Pharisees.
#2 Rebecca, it’s one thing to call the Radical Religious Extremists nuts, bigots, haters, horrible people, bad cooks, imbeciles, poor dressers, or anything one would like to think to call them. It’s a totally different world to deny American citizens Civil Rights that other Americans enjoy. THAT is the situation today.
I am waiting for the Radical Religious Extremists to be denied a civil right that, let’s say Gay-Americans enjoy. Can you think of one such right #2? I can’t, because there are none. But I CAN think of several hundred Civil Rights that Gay-Americans are denied and that the Radical Religious Extremists in America are working overtime to prevent Gay-Americans from ever enjoying.
So stop the whining as it’s empty and meaningless. NO ONE is denying Religious people their right to be Religious.
@ 20,
This one time, this gawd fearin’, True Christian het couple saw these hawt gheyz kiss then flash their ghey domestic partnership cards like teh sassy, terrahists that they are.
Now all that’s left of their marwhage is the proverbial mushroom cloud.
True story.
Rebecca, as a Christian and as a liberal I am far more offended by bigotry than by anything I have seen posted in this Slog article. If you are a member of a church where these ideas are common why not try to change it from within rather than getting defensive when nonreligious people point out that the church is far from perfect? A great man–I forget who–once said something about removing the log from your own eye before concerning yourself with the speck in your neighbor’s.
16 My dear Rebecca, you are so very wrong. You put “fundies” in quotes and accused Aaron of railing against “fundies” in your comment. That did not happen. When you added quotations, you did not make it happen either. Did you read Aaron’s article? The one where it doesn’t say, “fundies?”
What he is “railing against” is persecution of a minority by bigots. These specific, self-professed representatives of the religious views of their churches, not all religious people the world over. You are in dire need of a dictionary so you can look up the word “bigot” and possibly use it correctly in the future.
Aaron is not close-minded. These people addressing the state legislature to force their particular religious views in to the legislative process are close-minded. Did you watch the videos? These people ARE indeed bigots. There are no lies or obfuscations here.
You (I’ll assume you were using the royal “we” because I can’t imagine what liberal group would include you as their buddy) don’t get points for saying you’re an open-minded liberal when you’re accusing Aaron of things that are patently false.
Has anyone noticed Lydia Fellowship’s face when others testify? You can see her in the background. She even mouths things. I am cracking up.
NOTED – in conversation today, it was the Catholic Bishops of Washington that testified out in the open against LGBT rights … Slog always hacks at every body else while the elephant-hippo-rhino, all in one, lurks in the corner.
And the grouping is the beginning of the real fight, gay marriage.
California fallout anyone?
Of course the catholics are against gay marriage. If gays get to marry there’ll be fewer kids being born for the priests to fuck. That’ll hurt their bottom line priest recruitment numbers.