(For those who missed Part I, you can read it here.)
If you can't twist them to conform to your standards, shove them back in the closet where no one can see the dirty laundry.
Them are gay, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people. The dirty laundry is the topic of sex. And the closet is on the fringe of society where most people won't bother to take a gander.
In the conservative right's and Christian right's effort to marginalize homosexuals and make them appear as less than normal, they have banned books, banned discussions of homosexuality in public schools, recinded discrimination and equal rights laws, and now - in at least one county in Florida - have banned official recognition of "gay pride, little g, little p".
The county is Hillsborough. Thanks to the effort of one homophobe, Ronda Storms, the county has deleted all references to homosexuality in its Human Rights Ordinance and now refuses to recognize gay pride. It is unclear if the ordinance means just the Gay Pride celebrations during the month of June or anything gay. Storms apparently wanted the ambiguity by refusing to capitalize the g and p.
Since the county is intent on setting the moral standard for America by example, what has the county produced so far?
- A father who beat his three year old son to death because he "wanted to toughen him up". During testimony in the father's murder trial, she said he was afraid his son might be gay.
- A 24-year-old teacher who had sex with her 14-year-old student in the backseat of her car while the boy's 15-year-old cousin drove them around. No, she wasn't teaching sex ed and drivers ed at the same time. She may claim a temprary insanity defense.
- We can't forget about the 8-year-old boy who beat his 7-month-old half-sister to death because her "crying made him mad". The murder occurred while the boy and his half sister were visiting the boy's father and his girlfriend. Note the "stability" of the heterosexual relationships involved.
- And let's not forget the plight of two migrant workers from Mexico - Areli Nava, 15, gave birth to Leonel Reye's son in a Florida hospital. Reyes is 24. The state immediately seized custody of the newborn. You see, in Florida, the sexual relations between the two are illegal because Areli is 15 - even though in their own country, their relationship is perfectly legal and, in this case, supported by both families. In fact, in Reyes country, a woman over 17 is "too old" to marry. The two, accompanied by Areli's parents, braved hurricanes to get their family reunited. The mother and child are still in state custody and the father is allowed supervised visits. He showed up to court with pay stubs in hand to show he can support the mother and child. The mother's parents showed up to plead with the court to allow Reyes to marry their daughter as all parties had planned. "He's a good man," pleaded Areli's father. Until Reyes completes a sex offender program, he won't be allowed to be reunited with his bride-to-be and son. He is required to complete the program even though he has never been charged with a sexual offense nor ruled a danger to Areli or his son. This is one story among thousands of migrant worker's cultural clash with Florida laws.
In all fairness, one can't judge a county, or any locale for that matter, by picking and choosing cases to present as evidence. One has to wonder, though, if these cases are symptomatic of a failing conservative agenda liberally infused with Christian philosophy.
Tell Hillsborough County what you think of their "gay pride, little g, little p" ban.
No comments:
Post a Comment