Pullout Oct 10, 2012 at 4:00 am

A Tense Talk with My Relatives in Port Orchard

Robert Ullman

Comments

1
Dan Savage had a good analogy to use for talking with people like my conservative Christian family members who might still be convinced to vote for marriage equality. Most churches consider divorce to be a sin. (In fact, Jesus condemns divorce, although he is not recorded to have said anything about homosexuality.) As regrettable and "sinful" as these conservatives might consider divorce to be, they would agree that divorce should be a legal option, a right. And so with marriage equality.
2
I had a very similar conversation with my family, but it didn't go as well.

I grew up in Ohio, and my family still lives there. Ohio is starting a petition to get same sex marriage on the ballot, and I tried to get my family to sign the petition. My 80ish mom and dad were no problem. But my asshole older brother (so conservative he won't read the New York Times) just refused to sign. When I asked him why, he refused to say anything. That was the worst part. No "Gay sex is icky" or "Gay people are going to hell", just nothing. Nothing to go on, nothing to respond to, nothing other than pure hatred.

Oh well. No goodbye hugs from his gay/bi nieces then!
3
I guess conservatism is relative. Try discussing the topic with someone who won't buy a Android cellphone because Google isn't fighting state laws restricting online advertising for firearms.
4
You gotta argue in a way they can't deny. Some of my own conservative relatives in Ohio have stated something that will put why the whole "they're just fighting for the right to love each other" doesn't work with the far right into perspective. They stated that all non-hetero people are "evil" because they lifestyle makes them incapable of having monogamous relationships. If you're trying to fight for equal rights in marriage, you won't get anywhere by saying it's the right to love who you want if they think that they're not going to respect marriage like they supposedly do. You have to make it an argument about people they have met and know who fit their moral standards or relate it to different issues they support (like religious freedom and taxes). It's sad that people will promote restrictions on people's right to live a life in the manner they see best fit while they hold the very same privilege.

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