Bill Donahue is wrong about Town Clerks
By: Cahir O'Doherty | Published Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 2:37 PM | Updated Friday, September 9, 2011, 10:24 PM
50 years from now it's going to seem incredible - and tragic - how much energy was expended on preventing gay people from forming legal unions.
All the effort it took to malign and scold and target and belittle them: all for nothing, idiot salvos against love.
And make no mistake, it is love we're talking about. That's why common sense is prevailing and marriage equality is becoming the law of the land. To the youngest generations of Americans it's a fait accompli - just ask them.
Not everyone gets to live in an era of enlightenment, but there's no question we're in one right now.
Well, most of us. In New York judges are volunteering by the hundred to perform marriages for same sex couples when it finally becomes legal to this weekend.
But there are dissenters. Men like self-appointed Catholic defender Bill Donahue, for example, can't seem to tell the difference between being the duties of a religious leader and a public servant.
For Donahue, enforcing the law to all of the public is now a form of bullying.
'Now it is fatuous to say that it would cause an undue hardship in the workplace if clerks, and deputy clerks, who do not have an issue with giving marriage licenses to homosexuals handled these matters for those who do," Donahue wrote this week.
'It cannot be said too strongly: Bullying those who have religious objections is despicable. There is an obvious hole in New York's gay marriage law: religious exemptions need to be extended to lay people, not just the clergy.'
I wonder what would happen if these same principled Christians refused to serve divorces to heterosexual applicants, again citing their religious beliefs?
Donahue can't help himself. He cannot conceptualize gay people other than through a separate, diminished status that blinds him to the consequences of his own logic.
Under his religious exemption rubric, all governance could grind to a speedy halt under a new apartheid in state government.
Throughout his long career as a professional malcontent, Donahue has never seemed to grasp the separation of church and state, so I'll spell it out for him.
Town clerks are public employees. Their salaries are paid by the Citizens of New York, and their duty is to the public of New York, not the Vatican.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.BishopSean | Aug 03, 2011, 10:29 AM EDT
One should ask also what does a homosexual marriage look like? Holland was 1st to legalize gay marriage. Researchers there found out the the average gay male marriage lasted 18 months and during that time, men have eight other sex partners per year, or 12 during average length of marriage. In USA, researchers say 75% of heterosexual married couples report being faithful to the vows, despite media reports that make it seem much lower.
BishopSean | Aug 03, 2011, 09:49 AM EDT
PhlutiePhan's and Katiemac's arguments are more subtle than given credit for here. What about people who cannot in good conscience go along with same-sex or other marriages they regard as immoral? For example, polygamists, polyandrous, incestuous, underage, even bestiality? If you see a certain type of "marriage" as societal approval for immorality, how to react? Daniel Monyhan described this phenomenon as DD-Up, DD -Down. I.e., "define deviancy down; define deviancy up." The new "deviants" are being defined as Bible-believing Christians who are called "homophobes," because they can not in good conscience promote homosexuality.
eiriamach | Jul 26, 2011, 08:42 PM EDT
People who faint at the sight of blood should not become doctors, nurses, or hospital workers. People whose religion requires them to discriminate against any group should not become government workers. This 'freedom of conscience' ploy is getting ridiculous! What kind of 'freedom of conscience' deprives other people of their freedom of conscience?
cillowen | Jul 24, 2011, 04:39 PM EDT
saw spit swapping sames this morning on tele. Breivik wrote that it was essential to "fight" for a "Judeo-Christian Europe", praised the rejection of "anti-Jewish views" and stated that "the new Conservatist ‘new right’ is rapidly developing into a pro-Israel, anti-Jihad alliance." He applauds Israel, and considers Israel to be a victim of "cultural Marxists" who "see Israel as a 'racist' state".
quixotic | Jul 22, 2011, 12:18 PM EDT
Rebelforce said it perfectly. A pathetic human being is Bill Donohue.
Rebelforce | Jul 22, 2011, 12:28 AM EDT
It should be obvious to everyone by now that Bill Donohue DOES NOT represent the majority of American Catholics. He represents an obsessive and virulent strain of right-wing republican Homophobia that is slowly dying out with each passing year.
seanomelbourne | Jul 21, 2011, 08:52 PM EDT
katiemac always trying to defend the indefensible.
slainte9 | Jul 21, 2011, 06:46 PM EDT
New York State can require its public officials to do whatever's appropriate for their job. However, government needs to get out of the marriage business, stick to contract law, and pay people for the work they do, not how many dependents they have.
jamieLM | Jul 21, 2011, 05:49 PM EDT
@mayoman - well said. hollabackgurl and olovely are right. I support the right of all Americans to marry whomever they wish. @katiemac, so far, all the gay marriages in America have not affected my straight marriage one iota. People used to think that American society wouldn't be able to go on if interracial marriages were allowed. Well, it did. Try not to feel so threatened by 2 people who want to formalize a committed relationship by being legally married.
mayoman | Jul 21, 2011, 03:31 PM EDT
hollabackgurl and olovely: Well done!!
hollabackgurl | Jul 21, 2011, 01:45 PM EDT
katiemac, i wonder why you feel the need to comment on every thread about gay rights or marriage equality if you find these issues so important? you're a transparent bigot, love. no one gives a monkeys about a government employees personal values, that's NOT what they're paid to promote or exhibit.
olovely | Jul 21, 2011, 12:23 PM EDT
What insulting and insufferable nonsense to compare marriage equality to the Third Reich. Nazi's sent gay people to the concentration camps and it's the worst kind of demagoguery to compare their actions to that of town clerks tasked by the law to marry qualifying couples. Resorting to that makes an idiot of you PhlutiePhan and it diminishes your argument.
mayoman | Jul 21, 2011, 11:06 AM EDT
It appears that Bill Donohue is a bigot first, and a Catholic second. And so we see him continually citing his Catholicism in support of his bigotry. Donohue really needs to become a bit more Christian, and get over his hatred.
jamieLM | Jul 21, 2011, 10:54 AM EDT
If your religious beliefs interfere with following the laws of the government as required by your job as a public servant, you should look for another job. There are a lot of us who have to put our personal and religious beliefs aside when doing the job we were hired to do. As an RN, I have to give the same level of care to a pedophile or killer as I do for Mr. & Mrs. Law-abiding Citizen - and I do.
PhlutiePhan | Jul 21, 2011, 10:34 AM EDT
Jesus the Christ Himself was a "professional malcontent". I am quite sure that Bill D would view this as a compliment. Town clerks indeed do the will of the State. It is just that they are obligated to condone immorality. Wasn't that the view of those who followed Adolph? Even D. Bonhoeffer had enough.