Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich expounded upon his views on same-sex marriage today, calling it a “temporary aberration” that will one day go away because it defies convention. “I believe that marriage is between a man and woman,” Gingrich said in Fort Dodge, Iowa, today according to the Des Moines Register. “It has been for all of recorded history and I think this is a temporary aberration that will dissipate. I think that it is just fundamentally goes against everything we know.” This is not the first time Gingrich has spoken out against gay marriage. Gingrich offered his opinion on gay marriage earlier in the campaign season when he commented on New York’s decision to allow same-sex couples to wed. “I think we are drifting towards a terrible muddle which I think is going to be very, very difficult and painful to work our way out of,” Gingrich said. “I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I think that’s what marriage ought to be and I would like to find ways to defend that view as legitimately and effectively as possible.” The thrice-married Gingrich helped corral $150,000 last March to conservative groups fighting against the Iowa judges who repealed the state’s gay marriage ban. Gingrich, who helped sponsor the Defense of Marriage Act while he was in the House, chided President Obama last February when he decided to stop defending DOMA in federal courts. “The president is replacing the rule of law with the rule of Obama,” Gingrich said. “The president swore an oath on the Bible to ensure that the laws be faithfully executed, not to decide which laws are and which are not constitutional.” Gingrich’s own half-sister Candace Gingrich-Jones is a lesbian in a same-sex marriage, and in 2008, she wrote a letter to her brother saying his views on gay marriage are out of touch. “The truth is that you’re living in a world that no longer exists. I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as — and we embrace what it can be. You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past,” Candace Gingrich-Jones wrote in a letter to Gingrich posted on the Huffington Post. “In other words, stop being a hater, big bro.”
A controversy has arisen over the medical credentials of a state senator who successfully pushed through a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions in North Carolina. The Gaston Gazette reports that Senator Jim Forrester, R-Gaston, who is a family physician, lists on his campaign website that he is, among other things, a “fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.” A representative of that organization said Forrester is not one of its fellows. “Dr. Forrester is not a member of the college; he is not a fellow of the college,” said Jennifer Edwards, director of member services and development at the American College of Preventive Medicine. Forrester is certified by another organization, the American Board of Preventive Medicine. The amendment pushed by Forrester banning same-sex marriages and domestic unions will be on the ballot in North Carolina on May 8. Forrester said that while he is not now a member of the American College of Preventive Medicine, he used to be. “I’m actually not a member of the board of the College of Preventive Medicine because I have not paid my dues,” Forrester said. “I have been a member of the American College of Preventive Medicine. I think it was about 1960.” The American Board of Preventive Medicine’s records show that Forrester was certified in 1984 and has a certificate that is valid indefinitely. The discrepancy arose in a Blue NC blog, a pro-Democratic Party site, when an email from Scott Rose, a contributor to TheNewCivilRightsMomement.com website, questioning Forrester’s credentials was posted on the blog, TheNewCivilRightsMovement.com. Rose said that Forrester was providing misinformation when he mentioned at a forum that homosexual men die 20 years earlier than heterosexual men. “He brings that phony stat up in the context of hoping to convince people to vote for his anti-gay constitutional amendment,” Rose said. Forrester said that opponents of the amendment are slinging mud at him because of his sponsorship of the gay marriage ban amendment. “Why should I falsify any records?” Forrester said. “They’re just trying to make me look bad because of my involvement with the bill against gay marriage.”
Gay rights activists are ramping up pressure on Jeff Kennett to resign as chairman of the charity following his comments that children have better mental health if raised in heterosexual marriages. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that that the Gay and lesbian radio station Joy FM is running a campaign for gay men to boycott beyondblue's major sponsor, the men's health charity Movember - which last year contributed $10 million to the organisation, a third of its budget. The station has launched a rival “Homovember” campaign. The Joy FM president, David McCarthy, said the campaign was to draw attention to "serious misgivings" about Kennett's role. "They have to understand there are a lot of people saying why should I give money when it ends up with beyondblue, which is headed by a guy who clearly doesn't get it?" Mr McCarthy said. Adding to beyondblue's woes, a spokesman for Movember refused to guarantee its financial support of the organisation into the future following concern by health professionals about some of Kennett's statements. Movember chief executive Jason Hincks said the feeling within the gay community was being taken “very seriously.” Last week, Mr Kennett refused to step down or apologise for his comments. Attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.
0 comments:
Post a Comment