Ediitorial: Rainbow flag at the Richmond Fed bank
A gay pride flag flies
The rainbow flag has Del. Bob Marshall seeing red.
Happy Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month! As the presidential proclamation declared, “Each June, we commemorate the courageous individuals who have fought to achieve this promise for LGBT Americans, and we rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Equal rights are a worthy cause for commemoration. At least they are unless one lives in Virginia Del. Bob Marshall’s America. There, acknowledging gay pride is an “endorsement of costly, anti-social, immoral behavior.”
June 7, 2011 - 7:57 AM
Nice! Thanks for writing!
Well said!
Hate to break it to you but the majority of people agree with Mr Marshall,and I agree with everything he said.Perversion should be frowned upon,not celebrated.
Actually Nofilter, the majority don’t agree with Del. Marshall. Perhaps the majority in this area, but not the majority of the US.
@4
The majority of this Country is by far Conservative.40% Conservative,21% Liberal.It is mainly liberals that support “gay pride” and they are outnumbered 2 to 1.
Not being anti-gay, at all, but only a state flag should fly below the American flag, and something like that should certainly not displace the flag of the Commonwealth.
You fly flags like the rainbow flag, or the Confederate flag, on your front porch.
You’re right Rick H.
Nofilter, not to quibble too much but I’m pretty sure the tide has turned on being anti-gay. The citizenry may self-identify as 40% conservative but leaves 60% probably not anti-gay.
I am not at all sure this nation is as conservative as is reported by some.
The Progressive Majority:
Why a Conservative America is a Myth
Democrats and especially Barack Obama’s election proved that the conservative, by and large bigoted, ideology expressed by Marshall and others is not the norm any longer IMO.
#3 The perversion I think is not only how you think but how you might treat others that may be different then you.
And here is another thing you might want to chew on, there are many in the gay community that is conservative. Being for equal rights is not just a liberal thing but we always seem to be fighting for it.
Perversion is still frowned upon and well you know it. Gay people are not perverted. They do not engage in any activity that every other couple in this nation is not able to engage in and to condemn them is to be guilty of a sin yourself. Obviously some folks feel their own sin of judging and bigotry is less immoral, but I disagree.
I can agree with Rick H that the flag was perhaps improper under the US Flag but that would mean condemning a POW/MIA flag as well as other commemorative flags I have seen flown on flagpoles bearing out nation’s flag so I am not going to go there.
Sandi, I’m as conservative as they come, on many issues (mostly fiscal), but I’m not so sure electing Barack Obama is a rejection of conservatism by the nation, in terms of a general slant.
It was more of a concern of having Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the White House, as much as anything. McCain torpedoed his own ship, so to speak.
Otherwise, the whipsaw swing back to the right in 2010 would not have occurred, if the country were leaning toward a more liberal slant.
@#3 “Perversion should be frowned upon, not celebrated.”
Correct. But homosexuality isn’t perversion.
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Sexual+Perversions
Perversions, or paraphilias “differ from what some people might consider “normal” sexual activity in that these behaviors cause significant distress or impairment in areas of life functioning.”
“Paraphilias include fantasies, behaviors, and/or urges which:
* involve nonhuman sexual objects, such as shoes or undergarments
* require the suffering or humiliation of oneself or partner
* involve children or other non-consenting partners”
None of these apply to consensual homosexual acts.
Rick H #12, that is not what I said. The election of Obama was not a “rejection of conservatism by the nation”. I said it proved that the conservative, by and large bigoted, ideology expressed by Marshall and others is not the norm any longer IMO. Two VERY different things.
I have said before that had McCain picked a better VP he would be President now.
I also do not agree that the “whipsaw” of 2010 was coming home to Conservatism. I think it was a reaction to the panic in the economy and a scream of “DO SOMETHING”! Since those folks have fairly proven ineffective, entrenched and even less likely to compromise and make the tough decisions, I think many people regret that vote more than the Obama vote. Where is the Congress’ approval rating? People voted for solutions and we still have only fighting and rhetoric.
Sandi does bring up a good point, indirectly. Isn’t there an official protocal about flag flying? With regards to what is under the US Flag? Do you fly the American Flag, the State Flag, but what else? Anything?
The MIA/POW flag brings up a good question. I guess the flag pole could have flags down to the ground, if one is not careful.
I suppose the bigger point/problem I have with it is a doing it for a month. It may look silly, but fly the US, VA, and some other flag – no more than one – and no more than a day.
Fly the rainbow flag on Gay Pride DAY – not a month. Fly a special flag on MLK DAY – not for all of Black History Month. Fly a VT flag the DAY after Tech finally wins a national championship in football or basketball, but not the entire month. The list could go on, and on, and on.
Pervert…
“to lead astray morally”
Can you really say that homosexual acts are moral?
“They do not engage in any activity that every other couple in this nation is not able to engage in”
Being”able” to engage in something and doing it are 2 seperate things. Im “able” to rob a bank,but I dont do it.
And remember something. Gays dont want equality,they already have it.But what they actually do have, like many special interest groups, is a political agenda.Govt. owned buildings should not promote their or any other groups agenda.
#16 From my point of view comparing of robing a bank to being gay is a bit of a stretch. Again, your kind of thinking I hope will maybe one day go away. Or think of it this way, do you think the way you are thinking on this subject is anyway moral?
Not everyone is “normal” like you.
It makes me glad to see so many who self-identify as “conservative” refuse to get caught up in gay bashing. I think at this point, rampant homophobia is confined to people of the outgoing generation and a few cranks. Like Marshall, who says something bent almost every time he opens his mouth.
VT Hokie,
If we are going to let the free dictionary define what is and isn’t sexual perversion, then we should also let the Bible chime in on the subject, too.
Who’s with me?
Nofilter,
We’ve been through all of this here before. While I agree with you that gays have all of the same rights as straight people and nobody here can seem to name one that they don’t.
And don’t start with the “straight people can marry the person they love” routine. I am straight and I can only do that *IF* the person I love is of the opposite sex. Same applies to gay people. *IF* the person they love is the opposite sex, they can get married.
Bold of you to tell us “don’t start” and then proceed to Jack!
The very fact that you offered that silly little *IF* comparison makes me want to scream “strawman”. The argument is not simply marrying whom you love. It is discrimination to decide homosexuality is the same as being incapable of consent due to mental incapacity, not being of legal age, or wanting to marry more than one person, an animal or a billboard (the other legal reasons people may not marry), because you or a verse in the Bible says so. How often does breaking a rule in the Bible impact someone’s daily life and pursuit of happiness in this nation? People can marry convicts on death row FGS! The law of this land says that the government does not discriminate in contracts and legal treatment of citizens. It is discrimination therefore to allow a heterosexual couple the marriage contract and all that implies and deny that same contract to a homosexual couple. PERIOD. It is simple, they “couple up” just like we do and they should have the right to a legal marriage contract the same as the rest of us.
It is not illegal to be homosexual, most enlightened people believe that it is as innate as which hand you use or certainly as innate as your sexuality is to you. Maybe you think you have a switch that has to be flipped or some “choice” but most us us know better. Just like races and religions could not intermarry at one time, this discrimination too shall pass!
@20…Jack
I guess we’re all supposed to live by your definition of equal rights. I’m sorry to inform you that you are sorely mis-informed.
But marriage isn’t the only area of discrimination. I myself am going to have to spend thousands of dollars ensuring that my partner will have the same rights as that of a “married” spouse to attend to my needs if/when I should become incapacitated either medically or mentally. I will also have to spend thousands of dollars making sure that my material and monitary possessions are left to him without question as opposed to immediate blood relatives.
Gay people haven’t had the right to openly serve in the military protecting and defending the country that they love just as much as you do. They’ve done so closeted in the fear that if word got out, they would be discharged for what they are rather than being recognized for outstanding service to their country.
You see, Jack, the deck isn’t stacked evenly at all. I would challenge you to walk in our shoes from time to time and I think you would crow a different tune.
I didn’t choose to be gay anymore than you chose to have whatever color eyes/hair that you happen to have. No one in a sane frame of mind would choose to live their lives knowing that there are those among you who believe you are something less than human and that you deserve to be treated as some life form on the same footing as an aemeba.
Now as for the flag…I personally don’t think it was appropriate to be flown in front of the Federal Reserve in Richmond or any other Federal Reserve Bank. The flag of the United States is the one that trumps all others. There are plenty of more appropriate places that the gay flag could have been displayed and it would have been given far more meaning.
At the end of the day Jack…I am just as staunch an American as you are. I pay my taxes (and for the love of mud…I pay dearly), I pay my bills on time, I love my family, my family loves me…my neighbors are great to us…etc., etc., etc.
So it’s time for conservatives to move beyond gay issues…simply put, if a gay couple somehow prevents you from loving your spouse, partner or whatever you want to call your other half (if you have one, and I hope you do) then the problem isn’t with the gay couple…it’s with you and your other half.
“I think at this point, rampant homophobia is confined to people of the outgoing generation and a few cranks”
Thats because the left lives in the “pretend PC world”.I live in the real world.
Great example.I once lived in a City that was 70% black.I had a black friend there.As we were talking one day,I mentioned that blacks in the US were about 12% of the population.He was shocked and didnt believe it.Why? Because he grew up in a black city and thought that was reality.
Just as the left dominated these blogs,as they are run by the left.This gives the people on the blogs the opinion that they are the majority,when in realty they are a small faction.That is the case here.
@23…Nofilter
I must admit that the dream world in which you live must be quite unique among worlds.
I don’t pretend to live anywhere but where I am. The fact that there are those of your particular belief that somehow want to proliferate the false notion that I am somehow beneath you is sad but indeed is reality.
The fact of the matter is that I believe that I am just as good, just as right and perhaps even a little better. I’ve fought pretty hard for what I’ve achieved in 55+ years. Someone like you or those of your mindset don’t have the capability to take it away.
You simply aren’t that good.
I see an open breasted woman standing on a dead guy every day on a flag, and this is the one people get upset about?
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/06/gay-pride-flag-flies-richmond-federal-reserve
Here is what the Flag Code has to say about it.
(e) The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs.
(f) When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the United States flag’s right.
As to the appropriateness of the display I ask this. Does the bank display the flags of other groups in the same manner? If so, no problem. If not, preferential treatment.
Thanks for the info and good point alfaux.
I stopped reading at #5. I have 2 lesbian sisters and a gay brother. Although I love them and support their right I do not believe that the minority, yes the MINORITY, should have such a position! But then, look at what, excuse me, who, champions them, oh the minority,
@Will: “I myself am going to have to spend thousands of dollars ensuring that my partner will have the same rights as that of a “married” spouse to attend to my needs if/when I should become incapacitated either medically or mentally.”
I am heterosexual. Are you saying that if I were to pick someone that I am not married to to do the same thing that it would cost me much less? I don’t follow.
@#19
The Bible defines what was considered sexual perversion in that day and time (which it seems like in that time was pretty much anything besides the missionary position). Masturbation was frowned upon as well…sure hope no one here is guilty of that horrible abomination. If so you can expect to go to hell with the homos.
I’d like to think our minds have opened a little more over the past 2000 years or so.
“But what they actually do have, like many special interest groups, is a political agenda.”
What is their agenda? What is politically motivated about wanting to legally marry their chosen life partner? I hear over and over about this gay agenda, but no one ever explains what the agenda is.
@VTHokie….here is my ‘gay agenda’for the day
go to Kroger
cook supper
wash dishes
watch TV
#29 Uh, Jack, they want to be married.
“Thats because the left lives in the “pretend PC world”.I live in the real world.
Great example.I once lived in a City that was 70% black.I had a black friend there.As we were talking one day,I mentioned that blacks in the US were about 12% of the population.He was shocked and didnt believe it.Why? Because he grew up in a black city and thought that was reality.
Just as the left dominated these blogs,as they are run by the left.This gives the people on the blogs the opinion that they are the majority,when in realty they are a small faction.That is the case here.”
Your story is touching, and proving the point exactly about what we have here in southern Virginia. What we have here is a majority of the population who think its immoral to engage in homosexual behavior, but in reality, that view is the minority, because the larger part of the American Population don’t think it’s immoral. They may not agree with it, they may not support it, but they don’t condemn with such ferocity that we do here, and other fringe pockets of close-minded America.
To relate what’s going on, nofilter, you are the black person in your story. And you are shocked to find out you are truly in the minority in the grand scheme of things, even though you are in the majority of your part of town.
Welcome to “The Real World.”
@34 scott – Well played! or should I say well PWND!?
@gdad #33… As a heterosexual, I, too, am restricted from marrying certain people. Specifically those of the same sex. I still see no difference in what I can do and what they can do.
@36…but your ‘restriction’ is not a government sanctioned restriction, it is based on your sexuality…same as LGBT’s. The difference is that you, as a heterosexual, have access to over 1,300 government sanctioned rights and responsibilities the moment your marriage license is signed. LGBT Americans do not have access to those same rights….that’s discrimination.
@#36 “I still see no difference in what I can do and what they can do.”
You can marry the person of your choice. You would not choose to marry someone of the same sex because you are heterosexual. You can legally marry someone to whom you are physically attracted.
A gay person can be attracted to someone, fall in love with them, but cannot legally marry that person. Sure they are “allowed” to marry someone of the opposite sex, but why would you expect them to want to? Their chances of falling in love with someone of the opposite sex is the same as your chances of falling in love with someone of the same sex.
Think about it this way. What if the law was the opposite of what it actually is?
What if you lived in a society where it was legal to marry a person of the same sex but not of the opposite sex?
So, you are heterosexual, you meet a woman and fall in love. You love her very much and you have reached a point in your relationship where you want to ask her to marry you. Problem though, the law says you cannot be married.
How would you feel about that? Would you feel like you had the same rights as someone who could legally marry just because the person they love is the same sex?
Sure, in a purely academic sense you have a choice of who to marry, and people marry for reasons other than love all the time. But we all would prefer to be married to someone we love and have a physical chemistry with. You cannot chose who you love. A gay person, by definition, will always love someone of the same sex. You, being straight, by definition will always love someone of the opposite sex. You can marry your love, the gay person cannot. How is that equal?
36 Jack: “As a heterosexual, I, too, am restricted from marrying certain people. Specifically those of the same sex. I still see no difference in what I can do and what they can do.”
Here’s another way to demonstrate that logic: as white person in the 1950s, I, too, am restricted from attending certain schools. Specifically, black schools. I see no difference in what I can do and what black people can do.
Here’s the difference: the law privileges one subset of people while simultaneously disadvantaging another subset of people. In the case of segregation, the white majority, who holds most of the wealth and all the positions of authority, made the laws and constructed them to benefit the whites and marginalize blacks. With homosexuality, the majority of people are heterosexual and the law explicitly benefits them while excluding (barring) homosexuals from the privileges of the law.
You see, you don’t want to marry someone of the same sex, lucky you! You don’t have to marry someone of the same sex to get the benefits of marriage! For those that want to marry someone of the same sex, tough luck! You have to be like me or else our government won’t recognize you.
Just fyi… I switched to being gay yesterday afternoon. By late evening I had found myself bored with the whole being gay thing and switched back. But, my point is, can be done.
Well done VT Hokie and wpghsc!!
@#41 “I switched to being gay yesterday afternoon”
Interesting. Elaborate please.