Moral bankruptcy of nearly comic proportions.
The Sacramento Bee reports:
Leaders of the campaign to outlaw same-sex marriage in California made an offer to businesses that have given money to the state’s largest gay-rights group: Give us money or we’ll publicly identify you as opponents of traditional unions.
Supporters of same-sex marriage called the tactic “an attempt to extort people” and “a bit Mafioso.”
The certified letter – which has apparently been sent to numerous businesses of various sizes – appears below in full. I like this part:
We respectfully request that [name of business] withdraw its support for Equality California. Make a donation of a like amount to ProtectMarriage.com which will help us correct this error and restore Traditional Marriage [sic]. A donation form is enclosed…
…Were you to elect not to donate comparably, it would be a clear indication that you are in opposition to traditional marriage…The names of any companies and organizations that choose not to donate in like manner to ProtectMarriage.com but have given to Equality California will be published.
Once again, here’s where you can donate to help the No on 8 campaign keep marriage available to everyone.
Update: Here is one company’s answer (I presume) to this unfortunate attempt at extortion, via the Dish:
Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.
I never understood the argument that the extension of marriage rights and responsibilities to “non-traditional” couples is somehow in “opposition to traditional marriage”. If somebody could explain how that could be, it may advance the conversation.
It’s less an argument than it is a tortured linguistic invention, like “pro-family.” To express their dislike and rejection of some aspect of reality like the existence of GLBT people and our families, these activists make up their own terminology. Here’s a really absurd one: “those who advocate homosexual behavior.” Huh?