Tim Gunn Calls Prop 8 "Unattractive"

Tim Gunn urges everyone to vote "no" on Prop. 8:

Take action at the No On Prop 8 Web site by clicking here.

Comments

[Harley-Daddy]

Tim Gunn is one of the hottest gay men in America. It is nice to see that he also is intelligent and politically aware.

[tomriddlesmate]

What about us in Arizona? We face Prop 102 with no celebrity contributions to fight. I have even been phoned by the "YES ON 102" campaign. They are very organized and determined to shoot gays down...all in the name of Jesus.

[CowboyinBRLA]

Tomriddlesmate,

Don't you understand? To the powers-that-be in the gay world, the only places that matter are California (but only the Bay area and the LA to SD corridor), the metro NYC area, and southeast Florida. Those are the places where the important gays live--you know, the ones the rest of us in flyover country need to dig into our pockets to help out. They didn't see any need to help us, the peasantry, in the early days of this decade, when state after state passed laws like this. Only now, when the exalted few may be affected, do they get excited, and for some reason we're expected to dig deep and underwrite the "No on 8" campaign. Fuck them. Let 'em find out what it's like to live like the rest of us do.

[Adam]

This is addressed to the commenter who said "Let 'em find out what it's like to live like the rest of us do" I will use your own tactics against you.

YOU ARE A BIG REASON WHY WE CAN'T MOVE FORWARD AS A COMMUNITY!

Seriously, it's always the petty arguments, the bitching back and forth, and just plain attacking each other that is hurting us just as much as the religious right could do.

[Idahomen]

tomriddlesmate in AZ. What have you done to stop this bill? Like most gays nothing?

[Vance]

Thanks for the observation Adam - but seriously, add this to the list of illegal activities endorsed by the current government administration as an impeachable offense - this is a stupid attempt to legalize discrimination, and is not allowed by the Constitution of the United States of America. Some sabotaging 'CowboyinBRLA' would like you to believe that you don't matter and not to worry... ...however, this is a failure to obey federal law, something that all government officials must swear to do to hold office, so any politician who thinks they can legally be in office while breaking the law is a criminal, and not in office at the time they said you could vote to discriminate.

Thanks!

[bill in florida]

CowboyinBRLA, you placed among your places that matter Southeast Florida. So explain why nobody is helping with Amendment 2 in Florida? Florida is being ignored just as much as Arizona.

[Ben Raines]

"Legalized discrimination"? What a load of horse squeeze!

[Rndmacts]

I find it very disturbing that in the states you choose to fight marriage equality as a battle against religion. Three courts have now told you how to fight this issue, yet you ignore it. The government in itself has no rights to the convention of marrage, that is a concept of the church. The government on the other hand can recognise civil unions, which marriage is after all. The preamble of your constitution states "We the people" not we the whites, not we the straights but we the people have inaliable rights to government of the people and for the people. The blacks won their freedoms by fighting for their civil protections which the federal government is responsible for. No amendment to the Declaration of Independence can lessen the statements of the preamble. The founding fathers knew about what we call gay, its not a new concept, churches have practiced it when convenient and so have monarchs, dictators, presidents and other governing persons. But the important point to remember is that your legal system is based on civil law, the church can have no position in its interpretation, otherwise this is interference, which is preculed by the Declaration of Independence. In Canada, we had one province that relied on Canon law, which was based on fairness as presented in the new Testament. When that Canon law tried to place itself above civil law it was overthrown, the people of Quebec were not going to be denied rights given to others.

So even if Props 8 and 102 were to pass, and the others that already have passed, should be considered illegal under the constitution of the US. Your constitution has never been amended to accept Canon Law over the concept of civil law. The preamble precludes this interpretation and also the declaration that church and state are to be seperated. Now unfortunatly Gays in the US are fixated on the word marriage, grow up and realise you are fighting for civil recognition of your unions not church recognition. "Marriage" is a church concept not a government concept, any law containing the word "marriage" is unconstitutional. Straight people are married under civil law not canon law, the only important line in the whole ceremony is "By the power vested to me by the State of (whatever), I now pronounce you (fill in the blank)". One line in the whole ceremony, that has any meaning and it doesn't need the word marriage to make it legal. Any other interpretation is introducing a religous concept into state affairs. The Jewish concept of marriaqe is different from the Roman Catholics, the Presbytarians, the Muslims or the Hindus, which the government already does not recognice, we do not let Muslims or Mormons have multiple wives, we do not allow men to consider women as property which some religions do, and there are many other instances of inequalities of the sexes in these religions. Is the government going to throw the whole constitution out based on a religous interpretation of sexuality, which can easily be pointed out is ignored when convenient, Archbishop of Boston anyone, refusal to acknowledge common ideas on sexuality, a well rounded person has a balanced concept of ying and yang and that every person contains both, there is no such thing as 100% gay or straight. If so then the US is dead and the constitution means nothing because you no longer have government of the people for the people.

In Canada we rectified the whole situation by redacting one word that was placed in our laws which did not belong there, remove the word marriage and everyone becomes equal in the eyes of the government, the courts and the same rights can be accorded to all.

[John Michigan]

I am not versed in the history of such proposals in Michigan, but I know that the people here have voted repeatedly to make sure that we cannot get married.There are like 3 layers of legalized biggotry here. A lot of Michigan people move to California because of the narrow minded attitude in this state. So California is a little more important in that most other states are not going pass marriage anytime soon. We should help protect our brothers and sisters who have left the fly over states for the more enlightened land of CA. Trends start there, maybe in 50 years Arizona, Florida, and probably in 100 years Michigan will have it too. And yes we should help the other states as well.

[niceguyina2]

Rndmacts...

Thank you for your thoughtful words, the most telling of which are:

"If so then the US is dead and the constitution means nothing because you no longer have government of the people for the people."

Yep. That's pretty much what's been happening over here, at least for the last 8 years anyway.

[bigpook]

Rndmacts is SO right on! Who cares about that one little word - 'marriage?' Get it out of the civil lawbook and replace it with 'furble' or something. The civil law then reads that any two adult people can get furbled for any reason they see fit - with all the civil legal rights and obligations that go with it. Then let the Catholics, Baptists, Mormons, and whoever else battle it out about what is true 'marriage' - 'cause frankly I don't care. Doing this as Canada did gets the government out of the marriage business - where it has no right being - as marriage is inherently a religious institution. And what better way to reduce the influence of the religious nutjobs we have such and abundance of here in the US than to make their arguments irrelevant to most of the people?

[J]

I think the reason the focus is on CA is because it's such a state that "sets the standard". Big state more people too. I know its unfortunate people are forgetting about Florida and Arizona, but CA is where youre going to get the most media attention (seeing as.. the majority of the media is IN california!!)
Just my idea why.

[JPR]

I think a spokesperson like the Mayor of San Diego (Republican who supported ban on gay marriage before and is now against Prop 8) is much more powerful than a celebrity like Tim Gunn. We gays might love Tim, but I dont think he will be effective in convincing anybody who is not already in our camp (pun intended).

[TVC]

People ARE stuck on the word "marriage"... I agree call it whatever the hell you want. Let the straight people have the word, it really means NOTHING in the long run. As long as you get from Point A to Point B, does it really matter if you follow the same road as someone else? Persoanlly, if it ever comes down to it, they can give me whatever term they want, as long as it accords me the same rights as a straight couple would have in their union.
I think the thing that cracks me up the most about the conservatives, religious right, etc etc etc, is that they claim that "allowing gays to legally marry would make a mockery of the institution of marriage". Excuse me? I think they've done a fine job of that all on their own. 10 minute and drive-thru marriage chapels in Vegas, Liz Taylor's infamous amount of divorces, Brittany Spears getting drunk and married for a whole 16 hours, marrying the girl you could care less about because you got drunk and knocked her up and "have to", and the fact that they say 75% of marriages don't last the first year anymore. Hell, even people staying in loveless marriages for decades because their religion says its "wrong" to get divorced. Doesn't the concept of commitment and promising to "love, honor, and cherish" someone you can't stand make a mockery of the whole thing? Yah, gee, ANY of that has to do with gay people. Guess they need to realice, that when they point a finger at us, there's 3 fingers on that hand pointing right back at themselves.
We need to wake up, and stop fighting for a word, and start fighting for the rights, its the only chance we have to get anywhere.

[unfashionable]

Hey, Tim...Let's get married on November 5!

[Lance]

I wish people would stop using religion as a reason why gay's shouldn't be allowed to marry...I mean...not EVERYone's a Christian you know.. Are these people's marriages less valid because they weren't married in a church??
Stupid