Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Sally Kern, Gerald Allen, Chris Buttars - you've got company. Meet Jeff Wagner, a state representative from Ohio who thinks that if you don't fire gays from their jobs and refuse to rent or sell a home to them you're "encouraging homosexuality." The Ohio legislature is considering a bill called the Equal Housing and Employment Act, which would forbid anti-LGBT discrimination in housing and employment and Wagner is simply verkelmpt over it. Long excerpt from an email he sent out below the fold:
"[T]his is a dangerous and misguided bill. The bill is not really about people being denied rights to basic needs, but it is about promoting acceptance of an immoral lifestyle. As much as some people would have us to believe otherwise, this country was founded on Christian principles. One of those long honored principles is the tradition of holy matrimony. One man and one woman joined together in a union that goes as far back as Adam and Eve. As our society has gotten further from that standard (not just homosexuality, but easy divorce, cheating on a spouse, etc.) we see a continued collapse of the basic building block of society the family unit. As that traditional family erodes, we see more sexually transmitted diseases, kids without parents, heartbroken people and I believe a host of mental and physical illnesses. . . . rest assured I can not support a bill in any way promotes or encourages the homosexual lifestyle."
How many inane claims can you find in that paragraph? Adam and Eve? Seriously? It's a cute story, but serious adults don't take it literally. And where's the link between this bill and all those bad things he listed? He doesn't even attempt to make an argument that demonstrates a link between not firing gay people and all those bad things.
And of course, there's the idiotic assertion that not firing gay people means "promoting" or "encouraging" the "homosexual lifestyle." I am always amused by how powerful the anti-gay crowd thinks being gay is. It's so powerful and compelling, so devilishly attractive, that you have to threaten to fire people for it or deny them housing or kids will start fellating anyone in sight.
Politics
Comments
I count twelve inaccurate premises that can be easily refuted with empirical evidence.
Posted by: Michael Heath | May 29, 2008 9:55 AM
Wonder-gay powers activate! Form of... a convenience store employee! Now, you are in trouble, Jeff Wagner, as my Will & Grace induced powers will bring divorce and adultery to your Slurpee and Little Debbie snack cakes!
I went to a rural New Mexico high school, and be assured that such places have a long history of pregnant teenagers and shared STDs. Since teen pregnancy rates almost universally fall when they are given better sexual education, I think it is far more likely that many teen-related ills were equally prevalent in the past as today, if not more so. I think it was handled much more quietly, and I think that the people involved (especially the young, single mothers) were much more hidden.
If this is true, then people longing for the so-called "good ol' days" are actually want people to stop talking about the problems with families and teenagers. They just want everybody to go back in the closet, and start pretending that everything's all right. Unfortunately, if you don't talk about the problems, you can't discuss any solutions either.
/Sorry about the comment-fest this morning.
Posted by: Tenax | May 29, 2008 10:16 AM
Well, I don't know what the fuss is about - if anything, Rep. Wagner isn't going far enough! What we SHOULD be doing is passing a law that allows discrimination against all those other people, too! Why should I have to rent to, sell to, or employ divorcees, single parents, unmarried couples, CHILDREN of unmarried parents, and so on? They're all obviously the cause of our society's woes!
(/sarcasm)
Posted by: BobApril | May 29, 2008 12:14 PM
With quality comments like the one above I see no reason to feel sorry. Funny and spot on. If you felt like posting yet more, I'd gladly read it.
Posted by: Abby Normal | May 29, 2008 12:38 PM
Adam and Eve? Seriously? It's a cute story, but serious adults don't take it literally.
Who says you have to take it literally? If it's a metaphor, it's a metaphor for something. It sure isn't a metaphor for pancakes. You can't tell me that serious adults take it metaphorically for pancakes!!
Posted by: 386sx | May 29, 2008 1:57 PM
I would love to see how these would react if a straight person was denied housing. I guess they're too stupid to realize that not being able to discriminate against sexual orientation protects straights as well. Of course, they don't have to worry about it and they know it.
Posted by: Bachalon | May 29, 2008 2:16 PM
What? Is he worried that they might come in and do some interior design and gardening-and then raise the renal rates because of their fix-ups?!?
I had to sell a home recently as part of an estate. I had been maintaining the house, paying the bills, fixing broken stuff, etc. for over a year. (One thing I learned was that the water bill remained $46.00/mo even though NO water was used.) I had to lie to the insurance agent and tell him someone was living in the house to keep insurance. I was just glad the woman who bought the house had a conventional loan and 20% down. Later on I found out she was the divorced mother of two and planning to use the house as rental property. Still closed the deal...and the estate closes this week.
Posted by: Rev. AJB | May 29, 2008 2:26 PM
And what makes you think this nut has any interest in the opinions of serious adults? What makes you think he even knows any?
Posted by: phantomreader42 | May 29, 2008 3:22 PM
I am realy getting tired of idiots like this man or whatever he is. It is shame that people vote jackasses like this into office, no wonder the country is going to 3rd world status.
Posted by: Ex Partiate | May 29, 2008 3:35 PM
Meth-fueled gay liaison in 5, 4, 3....
Posted by: Shaden Freud | May 29, 2008 4:35 PM
I would love to be able to have the floor in the Legislature while this was being debated:
"Would all the men opposed to this bill please stand up."
Then,
"Now, out of those now standing, would those who would go suck a dick right now if it weren't for the persecution of homosexuals please sit down."
"To those still standing: shut the fuck up, you ignorant bigots. You're talking nonsense and everyone knows it. Thank you."
Posted by: DaveL | May 29, 2008 4:58 PM
Also:
"To each of those who sat down: Take it from a straight guy- you aren't one."
Posted by: DaveL | May 29, 2008 5:01 PM
So, he is flat-out saying that it is OK to deny gays housing and employment, because allowing them to house and feed themselves would be saying that we condone allowing them to live in their immoral lifestyle. He thinks that anything that doesn't marginalize gays is condoning their behavior. So if we don't gay bash and run them out of town, we're saying we're OK with what they're doing. He's evil.
I almost went on in this post to differentiate between what this man says and how other Christians spin it, because I don't truly believe that all Christians who believe as he does are evil (at least individually), but I had to delete it because it didn't make any sense. The fact is, there is no difference. When it comes to gays, having Christians in power has been proven to be evil. Discrimination does happen, otherwise there wouldn't be a need for a law against it. They're trying to prevent the prevention of discrimination.
I'm so lucky I live in California, but when I see shit like this I really want to go to war, if there was a war to fight and my advocates didn't spend all their effort on fancy award shows, congratulating themselves that Will and Grace and Brokeback Mountain are getting society used to us. The law this lawmaker is striving to defeat is a cornerstone of the right to live in dignity. California marriage equality is a luxury (though I'm glad it happened, and it needed to happen) when compared to what gays have to face in other states because of the tyranny of the majority. That's why federal laws like ENDA are so important. Many states will never get their fucking noses out of their bibles long enough to realize we're people. They need to be forced by the federal government to prevent discrimination.
Posted by: paul | May 29, 2008 5:30 PM
Shaden Freud, it's not fair to judge someone by his looks. We have no idea whether Mr. Wagner is a meth user.
Seriously... It's possible someone snuck into my house during the night and vandalized my gaydar, but really, take a look at the photo in the original PFLAG article. Methinks somebody doth protest too much.
Posted by: Johnny Vector | May 29, 2008 6:32 PM
Ummm. Even on his own terms he's wrong. Jacob married Rachel AND Leah.
Posted by: The Ridger | May 29, 2008 7:03 PM
Who wants a mustache ride!?!?!?
Seriously, can somebody give that guy Ted Haggard's phone number, I think they will be quite happy together.
Posted by: akronnick | May 30, 2008 4:12 AM
It's even simpler than that.
If allowing gay Americans to have jobs and homes is "prmoting their lifestyle" (sic), then clearly it's also true that allowing them to *live* is promoting their lifestyle .
Thus we should immediately build concentration camps, herd all teh gay into the camps, and gas them. Problem solved, no more gays to promote their lifestyle!
I think people in this guy's district ought to start writing to him to propose just that. If he hears enough of it he just might remember his history.
Posted by: g347 | May 31, 2008 1:26 AM