Gays Ruin Rapture for Millions!

No, I have not actually heard that spin—yet—but in light of our Minnesota legislators’ recent approval of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage to be put on the statewide ballot in November 2012, can it be far behind? A bigoted, antigay Creator pettishly denying bliss to 200,000,000 faithful?

Icing the cake was the GOP’s invitation of antigay, hate-filled preacher Bradlee Dean to deliver the opening prayer in the Minnesota House chamber. Ironically, Minnesota sinks to this new low just as Focus on the Family President Jim Daly concedes that they’ve effectively lost the argument on same-sex marriage.

A friend who wrote senators protesting their proamendment votes received replies laden with boilerplate and misdirection: “I can certainly understand your frustration, because I share that same frustration”; “I want to be clear that this bill does not change a single state law or have a single impact on the existing civil rights of any Minnesotan”; and “A ‘yes’ vote on the bill means, yes, the legislator wants all Minnesotans to decide whether or not to amend the constitution.”

Consider these last two assertions being applied to the 1960s civil rights struggles—we’d still have miscegenation laws on the books.

Speaking to The Advocate, Senator Al Franken stated, “Every Minnesotan deserves dignity and equal treatment under the law, and our state’s same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as anyone else—period….This amendment would do nothing more than write discrimination into our state’s constitution and add to the barriers same-sex couples already face to the full recognition of their families.”

Meanwhile, in Minnesota-South, Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam ponders signing legislation prohibiting cities in the state from passing antidiscrimination laws protecting GLBT individuals.

Under current state law, it is not illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. In Nashville, however, it is, so the immediate effect would be to void the city’s strong civil-rights ordinance.

I’m reminded of William Manchester’s view of the Dark Ages in A World Lit Only by Fire: “a mélange of incessant warfare, corruption, lawlessness, obsession with strange myths, and an almost impenetrable mindlessness.”

Note: Apocalypse preacher Harold Camping has bumped the Rapture date to October 21. Don’t unpack.