In commenting on Norway becoming the sixth country to legalize gay marriage (Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, South Africa, Spain being the others), he makes this stupid statement:
Next week, California - only marginally smaller in population than Spain and South Africa - will join the list. Added to Massachusetts, more gay people will be able to marry in the US than in any other country in the world. In the end, America still came through as the pioneer of full equality.Whaaaaaat? In what way is that statement even marginally correct?
First, the absolute numbers don't matter. What matters is the percentage of the population. Ever last gay person in The Six can get married. In the US, it's a tiny fraction of the population.
Second, "pioneer of full equality"? Such nonsense. For every state that has legalized gay marriage, there are 11 with constitutional bans (23 total) and 8 that ban it by statute (17 total).
It might well get banned in California. And it's not getting better any time soon.
The US holds itself out as a role model for freedom but it's a johnny-come-lately most of the time. Think slavery, interracial marriage, women's suffrage, and letting black people vote.
2 comments:
Yes, it is sort of akin to saying that the US was a beacon of freedom in the mid-1800s because, hey, not all the states had slavery and there was that underground railroad thing for the rest.
Sometimes stretching becomes full-blown gymnastics, I guess.
That’s quite a stretch alright, even for Sully to make — and he’s a guy quite used to twisting himself into logical pretzels.
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