Well, Sir Savant. I wonder if you are referring to Mitt Romney, the Republican Governor of Massachusetts, who will be a candidate for the office of President in 2008. He would be the first Mormon in the White House. He gave an interview recently on marriage and gays.
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June 25, 2004, 9:24 a.m. In Defense of the Family The Massachusetts governor stands up for marriage.
By Maggie Gallagher
Mitt Romney is a brave man.
While the GOP glitterocracy attended the first gay wedding of one of their own, Gov. Romney was in Washington, D.C., making the single most eloquent and articulate defense of our traditional understanding of marriage I have heard from an American politician.
"Like me, the great majority of Americans wish both to preserve the traditional definition of marriage and to oppose bias and intolerance directed towards gays and lesbians," Romney began by way of preface.
Then he asked the question we should all be asking: "Given the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. . . Should we abandon marriage as we know it and as it was known by the framers of our Constitution? Has America been wrong about marriage for 200 plus years? Were generations that spanned thousands of years from all the civilizations of the world wrong about marriage? Are the philosophies and teachings of all the world's major religions simply wrong? Or is it more likely that four people among the seven that sat in a court in Massachusetts have erred? I believe that is the case."
Then Mitt Romney put his finger on where the error comes from: the limited perspectives of lawyers and judges. "They viewed marriage as an institution principally designed for adults. Adults are who they saw. Adults stood before them in the courtroom. And so they thought of adult rights, equal rights for adults. If heterosexual adults can marry, then homosexual adults must also marry to have equal rights."
But, he went on, marriage is not solely for adults. "Marriage is also for children. In fact, marriage is principally for the nurturing and development of children. The children of America have the right to have a father and a mother."
The advocates tell us the skies have not fallen in Massachusetts; nothing has changed, they assure us. Romney points out that small things have already begun to change, foretelling the bigger, sadder changes to come. First, the marriage licenses change so they no longer read husband and wife but "Party A" and "Party B." The Department of Health insists that birth certificates also change. The line for mother and father becomes "Parent A" and "Parent B."
So far the governor has resisted, but ultimately the same court that could see no reason why marriage involves a husband and wife other than "animus" will decide whether or not we still think the language of mothers and fathers is appropriate. And the Massachusetts supreme court has already laid down a marker in this case: In Goodridge the court ruled that something called the "presumption of parentage" is one of the rights of marriage. Until that ruling, there was nothing called the presumption of parentage in the law. The traditional marriage idea was the "presumption of paternity" — that is, the husband is presumed by law to be the father of any baby his wife has.
But how can same-sex marriages really be viewed as the equivalent of husband-and-wife unions if we cling to such outmoded, biologically rooted notions of parenthood?
The transformation of mother and father into "Parent A" and "Parent B" is the model of the paradigm shift now underway in Massachusetts. The distinctive features of the union of male and female are going to have to be removed from our notions of marriage and family. The experience of same-sex couples will become the new norm for family life, because the "unisex" idea that gender has no public significance is the only model that can be construed as "inclusive" of both opposite-sex and same-sex unions. The result is not neutrality but the active promotion of a new unisex ideal, in which the distinctive features of opposite-sex relations will be submerged, marginalized, cast to one side, and redefined as discrimination in order to protect the new court-ordered public moral standard of the equality of same-sex and opposite-sex couples.
Here's Gov. Romney's estimate of the future: "[C]hanging the definition of marriage to include same-sex unions will lead to further far-reaching changes that also would influence the development of our children. For example, school textbooks and classroom instruction may be required to assert absolute societal indifference between traditional marriage and same-sex practice."
The gap between civil and religious marriage will widen to a chasm, just at the time the state more than ever needs the help of faith communities in strengthening marriage. "Among the structures that would be affected would be religious and certain charitable institutions. Those with scriptural or other immutable founding principles will be castigated. Ultimately, some may founder. We need more from these institutions, not less, and particularly so to support and strengthen those in greatest need."
The change has begun: The needs and desires of a tiny fraction of adults in alternative families are becoming the basis of a new moral norm. Anyone who departs from it risks thundering denunciation from self-righteous elites who are no longer satisfied with tolerance and civility — living with our deepest differences — but wish to impose their vision of morality on the majority.
Which makes Mitt Romney a very brave man, indeed.
— Maggie Gallagher is president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, which sponsors www.marriagedebate.com.
This is fun Lane Dude. Here is some more data on the Mighty Mitt, aka: Willard.
Mitt Romney, Political Figure
Born: 12 March 1947 Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan Best Known As: Governor of Massachusetts, 2003-07
Name at birth: Willard Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts from 2003 until 2007, when he began a run for president of the United States. Romney is a successful businessman with a political pedigree: his father, George Romney, was the governor of Michigan from 1963-69 and ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1968. (He was defeated by Richard Nixon.) Mitt Romney graduated from Brigham Young University in 1971, and earned both a law degree and an MBA from Harvard in 1975. Romney worked for the management consulting firm Bain & Company before founding the investment firm Bain Capital in 1984. Romney became a national figure in 1999 when he took over as president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee and helped rescue the 2002 Winter Olympics from money and ethical problems. The Salt Lake City Games went off on time and on budget in 2002, and later that year Romney was elected governor of Massachusetts. He served one term, then declined to run for reelection in 2006. In February 2007 he announced that he would run for president.
Romney married the former Ann Davies in 1969; they have five sons. Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998... Romney ran for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts in 1994, losing to longtime incumbent Edward Kennedy... Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called the Mormons)... Romney wrote the 2004 book Turnaround : Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games... According to a 2006 Associated Press report, Romney "was named for his father's friend J. Willard Marriott. Mitt, his middle name, comes from a relative who played football for the Chicago Bears -- Milton Romney." The official site of the Chicago Bears reports that Milton Romney played quarterback for the team from 1925-29.
FOUR GOOD LINKS
MittRomney.com Official site of his run for the presidency
How presumptious of me, sir. You might be referring to "Mit" Romney, the custodian at SSO who also play cello on street corners in Pioneer Square. Or there was Blind Mit Rommnie, who was blinded by a jealous husband with battery acid having been found doing the deed (or possibly doing the dead)with the dude's girlfriend, or was it daughter, or was it his mother? Or possibly you are making reference to Mitten Roomnah, who is the lead stripper at FOXES on old Highway 99 just south of Lynnwood, next to the Shucks, which rhymes with trucks, right? Or possibly you are having an attack of dyslexia, and you met Rit Momnney who was elected "Pimp of the Year" along Rainier Avenue, with his rolling office being that gold plated Lincoln Continental, with the solid silver spare tire cover, with the pearl inlaid message,"blow me" flashing at all the cars that tailgate him. Or not. By the way, who the hell did you mean, and what kind of show is he presenting, and where, and why? Glenn
Doug: Actually, you had mentioned Mit Romney yesterday when you visited, and I gave you a courtesy laugh, but even then I had no earthly idea who the hell he is. But I didn't ask you who he is then, because I did not want to bring you down for my own ignorance, and I did not want you to think I was so uncool I could not follow our conversation. So right here, in front of God and the multitudes, on Easter Sunday, keeping Jesus in the forefront of your fevered mind, please give out with a tiny bit more data. Comprehende? Glenn
Mr. Romney seems to be changing his spots. Check out the latest "Doonsbury" He seems to have reputiated his former stance on marriage, gays, gun control, and other things, hence the "sellout"
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Well, Sir Savant. I wonder if you are referring to Mitt Romney, the Republican Governor of Massachusetts, who will be a candidate for the office of President in 2008. He would be the first Mormon in the White House. He gave an interview recently on marriage and gays.
E-mail Author
Send to a Friend
Print Version
June 25, 2004, 9:24 a.m.
In Defense of the Family
The Massachusetts governor stands up for marriage.
By Maggie Gallagher
Mitt Romney is a brave man.
While the GOP glitterocracy attended the first gay wedding of one of their own, Gov. Romney was in Washington, D.C., making the single most eloquent and articulate defense of our traditional understanding of marriage I have heard from an American politician.
"Like me, the great majority of Americans wish both to preserve the traditional definition of marriage and to oppose bias and intolerance directed towards gays and lesbians," Romney began by way of preface.
Then he asked the question we should all be asking: "Given the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. . . Should we abandon marriage as we know it and as it was known by the framers of our Constitution? Has America been wrong about marriage for 200 plus years? Were generations that spanned thousands of years from all the civilizations of the world wrong about marriage? Are the philosophies and teachings of all the world's major religions simply wrong? Or is it more likely that four people among the seven that sat in a court in Massachusetts have erred? I believe that is the case."
Then Mitt Romney put his finger on where the error comes from: the limited perspectives of lawyers and judges. "They viewed marriage as an institution principally designed for adults. Adults are who they saw. Adults stood before them in the courtroom. And so they thought of adult rights, equal rights for adults. If heterosexual adults can marry, then homosexual adults must also marry to have equal rights."
But, he went on, marriage is not solely for adults. "Marriage is also for children. In fact, marriage is principally for the nurturing and development of children. The children of America have the right to have a father and a mother."
The advocates tell us the skies have not fallen in Massachusetts; nothing has changed, they assure us. Romney points out that small things have already begun to change, foretelling the bigger, sadder changes to come. First, the marriage licenses change so they no longer read husband and wife but "Party A" and "Party B." The Department of Health insists that birth certificates also change. The line for mother and father becomes "Parent A" and "Parent B."
So far the governor has resisted, but ultimately the same court that could see no reason why marriage involves a husband and wife other than "animus" will decide whether or not we still think the language of mothers and fathers is appropriate. And the Massachusetts supreme court has already laid down a marker in this case: In Goodridge the court ruled that something called the "presumption of parentage" is one of the rights of marriage. Until that ruling, there was nothing called the presumption of parentage in the law. The traditional marriage idea was the "presumption of paternity" — that is, the husband is presumed by law to be the father of any baby his wife has.
But how can same-sex marriages really be viewed as the equivalent of husband-and-wife unions if we cling to such outmoded, biologically rooted notions of parenthood?
The transformation of mother and father into "Parent A" and "Parent B" is the model of the paradigm shift now underway in Massachusetts. The distinctive features of the union of male and female are going to have to be removed from our notions of marriage and family. The experience of same-sex couples will become the new norm for family life, because the "unisex" idea that gender has no public significance is the only model that can be construed as "inclusive" of both opposite-sex and same-sex unions. The result is not neutrality but the active promotion of a new unisex ideal, in which the distinctive features of opposite-sex relations will be submerged, marginalized, cast to one side, and redefined as discrimination in order to protect the new court-ordered public moral standard of the equality of same-sex and opposite-sex couples.
Here's Gov. Romney's estimate of the future: "[C]hanging the definition of marriage to include same-sex unions will lead to further far-reaching changes that also would influence the development of our children. For example, school textbooks and classroom instruction may be required to assert absolute societal indifference between traditional marriage and same-sex practice."
The gap between civil and religious marriage will widen to a chasm, just at the time the state more than ever needs the help of faith communities in strengthening marriage. "Among the structures that would be affected would be religious and certain charitable institutions. Those with scriptural or other immutable founding principles will be castigated. Ultimately, some may founder. We need more from these institutions, not less, and particularly so to support and strengthen those in greatest need."
The change has begun: The needs and desires of a tiny fraction of adults in alternative families are becoming the basis of a new moral norm. Anyone who departs from it risks thundering denunciation from self-righteous elites who are no longer satisfied with tolerance and civility — living with our deepest differences — but wish to impose their vision of morality on the majority.
Which makes Mitt Romney a very brave man, indeed.
— Maggie Gallagher is president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, which sponsors www.marriagedebate.com.
* * *
This is fun Lane Dude. Here is some more data on the Mighty Mitt, aka: Willard.
Mitt Romney, Political Figure
Born: 12 March 1947
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan
Best Known As: Governor of Massachusetts, 2003-07
Name at birth: Willard Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts from 2003 until 2007, when he began a run for president of the United States. Romney is a successful businessman with a political pedigree: his father, George Romney, was the governor of Michigan from 1963-69 and ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1968. (He was defeated by Richard Nixon.) Mitt Romney graduated from Brigham Young University in 1971, and earned both a law degree and an MBA from Harvard in 1975. Romney worked for the management consulting firm Bain & Company before founding the investment firm Bain Capital in 1984. Romney became a national figure in 1999 when he took over as president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee and helped rescue the 2002 Winter Olympics from money and ethical problems. The Salt Lake City Games went off on time and on budget in 2002, and later that year Romney was elected governor of Massachusetts. He served one term, then declined to run for reelection in 2006. In February 2007 he announced that he would run for president.
Romney married the former Ann Davies in 1969; they have five sons. Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998... Romney ran for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts in 1994, losing to longtime incumbent Edward Kennedy... Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called the Mormons)... Romney wrote the 2004 book Turnaround : Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games... According to a 2006 Associated Press report, Romney "was named for his father's friend J. Willard Marriott. Mitt, his middle name, comes from a relative who played football for the Chicago Bears -- Milton Romney." The official site of the Chicago Bears reports that Milton Romney played quarterback for the team from 1925-29.
FOUR GOOD LINKS
MittRomney.com
Official site of his run for the presidency
How presumptious of me, sir. You might be referring to "Mit" Romney, the custodian at SSO who also play cello on street corners in Pioneer Square. Or there was Blind Mit Rommnie, who was blinded by a jealous husband with battery acid having been found doing the deed (or possibly doing the dead)with the dude's girlfriend, or was it daughter, or was it his mother? Or possibly you are making reference to Mitten Roomnah, who is the lead stripper at FOXES on old Highway 99 just south of Lynnwood, next to the Shucks, which rhymes with trucks, right? Or possibly you are having an attack of dyslexia, and you met Rit Momnney who was elected "Pimp of the Year" along Rainier Avenue, with his rolling office being that gold plated Lincoln Continental, with the solid silver spare tire cover, with the pearl inlaid message,"blow me" flashing at all the cars that tailgate him. Or not.
By the way, who the hell did you mean, and what kind of show is he presenting, and where, and why?
Glenn
Doug: Actually, you had mentioned Mit Romney yesterday when you visited, and I gave you a courtesy laugh, but even then I had no earthly idea who the hell he is. But I didn't ask you who he is then, because I did not want to bring you down for my own ignorance, and I did not want you to think I was so uncool I could not follow our conversation. So right here, in front of God and the multitudes, on Easter Sunday, keeping Jesus in the forefront of your fevered mind, please give out with a tiny bit more data. Comprehende?
Glenn
Mr. Romney seems to be changing his spots. Check out the latest "Doonsbury"
He seems to have reputiated his former stance on marriage, gays, gun control, and other things, hence the "sellout"
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