Washblog

BWAKing Point Number 1
 Homosexuals have a right to form meaningful relationships. They do not have a right to redefine marriage for all of us. Marriage is not a special interest!
Referendum 71 has nothing to do with marriage.  It seeks to repeal a domestic partnership law.  However, reserving a civil institution for one class of citizens is the very definition of special interest.  Larry Stickney is in fact championing special rights for heterosexuals.  He has yet to explain how permitting same-sex couples to have a domestic partnership redefines his marriage(s).  Is he afraid he'll be tempted to run away and get a domestic partnership with Stephen Pidgeon?

BWAKing Point Number 2
 If Senate Bill 5688 is allowed to stand, Washington will immediately become subject to litigation by same-sex partners demanding the courts overturn our state's Defense of Marriage Act and impose "same-sex marriage" (as happened recently in California prior to Proposition 8). By signing Referendum 71, we will bring this society changing measure before the people of Washington State and let them make this monumental decision in November.
The Washington State Supreme Court has already ruled that the state's discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act is constitutional.  Larry has yet to explain why he thinks the Court would agree to re-examine their former ruling.  However, if he wishes to ensure that LGBT people stop bringing lawsuits challenging state-sanctioned discrimination, he should see to the repeal of discriminatory laws rather than to their proliferation.

BWAKing Point Number 3
 Marriage is between husbands and wives so children can have fathers and mothers. James Dobson says that thousands of studies show that children raised in a family with both a mother and a father are healthier emotionally and physically than those raised in a non-traditional family.
Is Larry advocating for plural marriages, or is that just sloppy writing?  Nothing in the civil marriage code mentions children as a reason or requirement for civil marriage.  However I agree with him that it is ideal for children if their parents can marry or get a domestic partnership to form a more stable home.  Why then is he putting up roadblocks to such stability for the children of gay parents?  I can only conclude that Larry hates children and wishes to punish them for their parents' sexual orientation.

Since we know that Larry promotes fake statistics, he needs to provide specific citations to support his claims.  "James Dobson said so" is a weak man's lazy-brained argument.  Who else besides James do you let think for you, Larry?  If Larry cared about the welfare of children, he would cease telling the children of gay parents that their families are inferior, and he would ensure that their families were as secure as possible under the law.

BWAKing Point Number 4
 Criminalization of free speech and "anti-bullying" laws follow the legalization of same-sex "marriage". In a few short months after legalizing same-sex "marriage" in Canada, activists there successfully passed C-250, a bill criminalizing public statements against homosexuality, punishable by up to two years in prison! Pastors beware! The same will happen here in Washington.
Larry, you've got it ass-backwards. We had those laws long before we instituted domestic partnerships.  Gays have been protected by Washington Malicious Harassment laws since 1993, by Washington Anti-Bullying laws since 2002, and by Washington Non-Discrimination laws since 2006.  When, again, did you say this mass incarceration of pastors will happen?

What part of "1st Amendment" doesn't Larry understand?  The 1st Amendment guarantees that the few real Christian pastors remaining who don't like gays can still freely vilify us from the pulpit.  No state or federal law can trump the U.S. Constitution.  Larry knows this, but his scam uses the fear factor as a motivator, so he's got to drum up false fears whenever possible.  

Vermont has had full civil unions for almost 10 years and marriage equality has been the law of Massachusetts for 5 years.  Nobody has been thrown into prison for saying un-Christian things about gays in those states or in any other state with marriage equality, domestic partnerships or civil unions.  And Larry, we live in the United States, not Canada.  If you have to go to a foreign country to find scare material, you're really reaching.

BWAKing Point Number 5
 If same-sex marriage becomes the law in Washington, public schools K-12 will be forced to teach that same-sex "marriage" and homosexuality are perfectly normal. These books are required reads in Massachusetts and California: And Tango Makes Three, Heather Has Two Mommies, King&King, and Hello Sailor!
Schools will naturally choose to let children know that it is o.k. if some of their classmates have non-traditional families like Larry's: stepmothers, stepfathers and assorted half or even unrelated siblings from past shattered marriages mixing and remixing into complex but undoubtedly very loving families.  Children need to know that all loving families are equal, even if they're the product of serial divorce and are dominated by fear-mongering twits.