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In May Ireland will vote on a referendum to allow same-sex marriage. Predictably, the impending vote has brought out all sorts of objections from the conservative religious community. But I don't think anyone expected those objections to be this funny. The above image is from a pamphlet being circulated by an unknown Christian group warning of "sounds of sodomy" should the referendum pass.
As one commenter noted, "Does it sound different when straight couples do it?" So far, there have been no answers from the pamphleteers.
Seriously, though, once you pull out the "think of the children!" argument it means you've lost the debate. It's essentially admitting you're an awful person who thinks that the entire public sphere should be dumbed-down to something a six-year-old can easily understand. I have a six-year-old, and let me tell you, such a world would be an abject nightmare.
There's no evidence whatsoever that children raised by same-sex couples suffer any sort of harm from that situation, and it's not for lack of looking. Conservative researchers have been trying to find some sort of connection for the last twenty years, and have come up empty. Opponents of same-sex marriage really have nothing else besides religious objections, and the dictates of one religion should be no basis for civil law.
Because here's a news flash for these pamphleteers - a lot of same-sex couples aren't Christian, and the rest don't share their fundamentalist worldview. So why should such couples be legally obligated to follow the dictates of a faith other than their own?
This pamphlet has been spotted in the town of Wicklow, south of Dublin. “Should children be exposed to sounds of sodomy?” it asks, warning of “dire consequences for the innocent if homosexuals are given access to the scarament of marriage.”
“Should children be exposed to this beastly obsession with unholy acts? Should the sounds of sodomy echo in the halls of a Christian home?”
The church group’s dim-witted attempt to strike fear into the hearts of the public has backfired hugely, with Ireland’s people pouring scorn and ridicule on its ridiculous message.
As one commenter noted, "Does it sound different when straight couples do it?" So far, there have been no answers from the pamphleteers.
Seriously, though, once you pull out the "think of the children!" argument it means you've lost the debate. It's essentially admitting you're an awful person who thinks that the entire public sphere should be dumbed-down to something a six-year-old can easily understand. I have a six-year-old, and let me tell you, such a world would be an abject nightmare.
There's no evidence whatsoever that children raised by same-sex couples suffer any sort of harm from that situation, and it's not for lack of looking. Conservative researchers have been trying to find some sort of connection for the last twenty years, and have come up empty. Opponents of same-sex marriage really have nothing else besides religious objections, and the dictates of one religion should be no basis for civil law.
Because here's a news flash for these pamphleteers - a lot of same-sex couples aren't Christian, and the rest don't share their fundamentalist worldview. So why should such couples be legally obligated to follow the dictates of a faith other than their own?
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