RI Senate Hearing on Marriage Equality Part II

New policy for this blog. When a post starts approaching 3,000 words it’s time to split it off into another post.

This round of hearings really ticked me off because I’ve heard the same tired arguments for the last three years and it doesn’t get any better over time.

I’ve already touched on Chris Young and his fiance Kara Russo. In that case I guess there really is someone for everyone, the mentally unbalanced seek out and find the other mentally unbalanced. Sometimes they even reproduce and whoa be to us.

But another perennial numb nuts is Dr. Dan Harrop. This idiot has run for Mayor of Providence among other things. His take is that Domestic Partnership laws are enough, that we should not have access to marriage because we’re gay. He cites studies about children raised by gay people and how it isn’t optimal. He also cites a certain pediatrician by the name of Michelle Cretella.

Cretella is a frequent letter writer to the Providence Journal. Things like “Humans are more than animals” are popular but her anti-gay screeds are always fun.

Both Harrop and Cretella have their medical doctorates (M.D.) which is relevant in this case.

I’ve noted that many of the M.D.’s I meet or correspond with have a certain mental disability that enhances their belief in the almighty. Yes, I’ve met a lot of Jesus freak doctors.

Part of that I believe has to do with the fact that medicine is equal parts art and science. But sometimes the art overtakes science.

As to Harrop and Cretella’s contention that gay people don’t make good parents I decided to do a little searching to see what I could dig up.

Here’s the one from the APA. This one pretty much dashes the arguments of Harrop and Cretella.

Of course NARTH has their take on it too, which says there is an effect. NARTH = National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuaity. I just bet the dynamic duo is taking material from this.

Here’s one from WebMD. The score is now 2:1 against Harrop and Cretella.

Know what, run wild with this.

Here’s the google search on “gay parenting studies”

And on “gay parenting research”

The other feature of the NOM crowd were a number of them invoking the “I’m not a bigot.” defense.

Yes you are all bigots.

Main Entry: big·ot
Pronunciation: \ˈbi-gət\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, hypocrite, bigot
Date: 1660

: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices ; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance

As it was I was seated next to a gentleman dressed in all black and hold a cane. As luck would have it, he had on a NOM 1 Man 1 Woman sticker.

During some of the testimony of the pro side I heard him mutter “How intolerant of them.” at which point I looked at him and said “So, you’d like to talk about intolerance?”

During one part of the testimony my new found neighbor got up with her partner and their infant daughter. The neighbor made a very interesting point, we’re no different from anyone else. It’s just who we choose to love that sticks in their craw.

So my seat mate then mutters “They can’t even have kids.” at which point I turned on my seat, looked right at him and said “One of them could be her biological mother, or have you not heard of IVF or even the old turkey baster method?”

It was at this point he just got up and left. Good, I’m glad I rocked your precious little world a little bit.

Another of the opposition was this cute old couple. They went on about their 9 kids, 23 great grandchildren, etc. and how gay marriage would devalue all of that.

Figure, of their 9 kids if they all married they had a kid of their own, so that’s 18 people. Add the 23 great-grands and you’ve got 41 people.

Applying the 5% to 10 % rate at least 2 to 4 are probably gay. Chew on that for a bit.

I really hope we can put enough pressure on House Speaker Murphy to let a marriage equality bill come to a vote. The reason I say this is that since the House is more proportionately representative of the population centers we have a much greater chance of a yes vote on H5744. It already has 30 co-sponsor including the team of Reps. Arthur Handy, Gordon Fox, Edith Ajello, Frank Ferri and Amy Rice.

I’m also told my Rep. Steven Costantino is on board as one of the co-sponsors and I’m trying to find out who the others are.

I also not the top survey on the ProJo is “Should same sex couples have the right to marry” Right now it’s 60/40 in favor with 976 votes. Statistically it’s not a valid sample size or distribution but this is encouraging.

Same Sex Marriage Poll