How would you respond to this...

[montieg]

email I just got from a friend. I don't want to let it go, but I don't want to be an ass, either;

Subject: FW: Subject: HJR 6 - Will be on the November 8, 2005 Ballot

PRAY!!! that the believers in Texas will rise up to vote in support of this resolution.

ACT!!! We are in need of Christians to educate the community of HJR-6.

HJR-6


The Texas State House Joint Resolution - 6 is currently being worded and prepared to present to the voters of the State of Texas. This resolution will define marriage as being between one man and one woman, and the Texas voters will vote on this resolution on November 8, 2005.

The resolution currently reads as follows:

A Joint Resolution

Proposing a constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman.
Be it resolved by the legislature of the State of Texas:
Section 1. Article I, Texas Constitution, is amended by adding Section 32 to read as follows:
Sec. 32. (a) Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.
(b)This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.
Section 2. This state recognizes that through the designation of guardians, the appointment of agents, and the use of private contracts, persons may adequately and properly appoint guardians and arrange rights relating to hospital visitation, property, and the entitlement to proceeds of life insurance policies without the existence of any legal status identical or similar to marriage.
Section 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 8, 2005. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: „The constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting this state or a political subdivision of this state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage.‰

[moc]

1. You could say what I would say....

Tell him as a Texan, you appreciate the heads up. You'll make sure to spread the word to your like minded friends so you can all be sure to get out on November 8th and vote this piece of trash down.

How's that?

[win_in_06]

2. I expect to see a lot of these type of referendums to pop up.

Only in Nov 06 vs Nov 05.

An effort to get out the fundie vote.

[Yupster]

21. My guess is that in Nov 08

we will be amazed at how many states have parental notification resolutions on their ballots.

[NMDemDist2]

3. i'd reply to all that as a Christian I am in favor of equal rights for all

families, not matter their makeup. Jesus taught us in the new testament to "judge not lest you be judged" and it is not for me to decide who is a family. Love only can make that determination."


and I'm not even Christian, but that's what my Christian MiL told me the church in her small town decided on the issue :evilgrin:

[Wickerman]

4. my first instinct would be to tell such a "friend" to FO and toss him

off my email list - barring htat, here is anice place to start:

http://www.tfn.org/takeaction/marriage/hjr6/

* Trying to pass a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage is a mean-spirited distraction from the real issues that concern working families. Legislators should support real Texas values by focusing on funding our neighbhorhood public schools, making sure children from poor working families have health insurance and fixing a broken system for protecting kids who are victims of abuse and neglect.
* Texas doesn’t need a constitutional amendment banning what is already illegal in Texas. Texas law already barred same-sex marriage before legislators passed a new so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" in 2003. (not that this is a great thing).

[noahmijo]

5. Soldiers are dying everyday, our economy is in the toilet,

we've just lost a major American city, more than half a million people are homeless and jobless, another hurricane is set to do almost the same thing, we are increasingly becoming indebted to unfriendly nations due to our massive deficit, Iraq just so you Christians know is fast becoming an Islamic Theocracy, our president just so you Christians know, waived financial sanctions on the Saudia Royal Family ignoring their current practice of child slavery regarding child sex and torture.....


And you're worried and going nuts over a couple of people who just to be recognized as a couple.


If you call yourself a Christian I am PROUD to call myself NOT a Christian.

[Liberal Veteran]

6. Act shocked at the person's bigotry....

Say something like, "I had no idea you were so deeply prejudiced. I will pray for you."

[Jo March]

7. Yep - Liberal Veteran's response is best

Say exactly that and nothing else. It's a powerful statement that should 1) shut up the original sender and 2) prevent the sender from sending this kind of crap in the future.

[Steely_Dan]

20. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[montieg]

25. Since we are such a small town (pop.1000)

I probably wont use this with this particular case, but you can bet I'm gonna keep this tool in the toolbox! Thanks for a great idea and a belly laugh!

[ieoeja]

26. I didn't know that about small towns.

So it is okay to BE a bigot in a small town, but it is not okay to IDENTIFY a bigot in a small town. Having grown up on a farm, I know what you are saying. But you have really hit on the problem we have in such communities. People like you will not forcibly argue your position because it would be (1) rude and (2) socially unacceptable.

I have relatives who no longer speak to me because I finally had enough being quiet. And I do not consider their absence any loss. Frankly, until I spoke up I really did not know how bigoted many of my relatives were. I am disappointed in them.

[montieg]

27. Without question I will

argue my position. I just don't wabt to come off like an overbearing rectal orifice when I do. Here's what I think I'll send:

I believe in equal rights, period. I don't think the state should be in the business of telling people who they can or can't marry. Marriage is about commitment, and denying anyone the right to marry is a violation of human dignity.
I also believe a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage is a black-hearted distraction from the real things that concern working families. Politicians should focus on funding our public schools, making sure children from working families have health insurance, and fixing our broken system for abused kids.
Besides, we don’t need a constitutional amendment banning what is already illegal in Texas.

wachutink?

[serryjw]

8. Unfortunately, It is going across the Country

quote.......
As many as 18 states have defined marriage in their constitutions as exclusively heterosexual, and the numbers continue to grow (see sidebar).
end quote....
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0538,lombardi,67993,6.html

Marriage State by State
http://villagevoice.com/news/0538,lombardiside,68005,6.html

[PassingFair]

9. Here's what I have to say....

"Far be it from me to stand in the way of true love!"

Really, why is he/she SO CONCERNED about other's love lives?
Are they interested in what YOU do between the sheets?
Tell them to mind their own business.

[classof56]

10. I say--define marriage with details about how it is conducted.

I've known people whose marriages do not involve sex, even at the beginning. The marriage is some sort of societal thing, I guess, where they know they will be accepted if they are married even if they don't engage in sexual relations. A little odd, but there you go. Guess my point is, if marriage is restricted to a man and a woman is there going to be a requirement that they must have sex and better yet, procreate? Perhaps that should be a requirement of the state when recognizing a marriage.

Are there other provisions in Texas law that talk about not only the sex of people united in marriage but their age, familial relationship, etc.? And will married couples be required to designate guardians, appoint agents, use private contracts, etc., for each of the actions listed in Section 2, such as hospital visits, property, life insurances, et al, or will those rights be implicit in the marital contract between one man and one woman? I'm wondering how the Christians will be educating the community on these issues. My guess is, they won't, they'll just be talking about the man/woman thing and how marriage will be destroyed if HJR-6 doesn't pass. A similar constitutional amendment passed last year in my state. I wish opponents luck on this one. The Southern Baptists, James Dobson, etc, are forces to be reckoned with.

Tired Old Cynic

[sam sarrha]

11. i would reply that i thought it was more important to prohibit Corporate

Campaign Contributions and end the Fascist domination of our government and distruction of the Constitution.. before i worry about what people do in the privacy of their homes

[OldLeftieLawyer]

12. Tell them

that the Founding Fathers were happy to leave marriage out of the Constitution, since more important things like freedom of the press and free speech and due process and EQUAL PROTECTION had to delineated there.

Ask this person why he/she is such an uninformed and unpatriotic American that he/she would deny EQUAL PROTECTION, as provided in the Constitution, to fellow Americans.

You might inform this person that marriage is nothing but a contract between the parties and the State, that the religious end of it is completely separate from the legal part, so there's no need for any Professional Christians to get their underpants in a twist.

Or, you can do what I'd do: write back, in a separate email (not a reply) and tell him/her that some asshole is sending out idiotic bullshit emails and using his/her name to do so. I'd add that I hope he/she catches the miserable, stupid son-of-a-bitch.

[WatchWhatISay]

13. Did my mother send you that?

I stayed with her during the hurricane so she wouldn't be alone (she wouldn't come to my house). I dont like spending too much time around her anyway, because she and I dont agree on much.

But I had no idea how far out there she was getting. She is 76. She attends this really screwed up right wing methodist church - they had Ollie North come speak recently as a "hero". We got into a fight whe she started insisting that the only way they got the last 1400 evacuees out of the Astrodome was by evacuating them to other shelters, because, in her words, they just dont want to leave. They would rather sit there on a cot in the dome with nothing to do, becasue they just dont want to get out and get a job. And besides they dont want to go into relief housing unles they get a 5 bedroom house so that all 20 in their lazy group can live in together. Even though they got FEMA checks, they dont want to spend them on things like housing.

This stinking church is behind all of this. When the "personal responsibility" speech came rolling off her lips, I knew these werent her thoughts. She has never had an original political thought in her life.

I thought it was strange when she started saying that she has now decided that she wants to be cremated when she dies. Don't most religious people think that cremation is a sin? Well, apparently now its OK because her church (who puts a dollar amount on everything they do) now offers for a mere $2-3,000, burial of your urn in their beautiful new garden. They don't offer a cemetery, even though they have plenty of land. Why should they when they can sell an urn sized space for that kind of money?

I could go on, but its not good for my blood pressure. Needless to say, I left as soon as I could the next morning, when it was obvious that the storm had almost no effect here.

[ChiciB1]

15. I KNOW How You Could Go On & ON...

because I know 2 people like that and you just sit there and wonder if you should EVEN try to set them straight. Is it worth the waste of words or not??? Right?? My jaw drops at some of the things that come out of their mouths, but I KNOW they absolutely believe this trash! They just "hear" it, so IT MUST BE TRUE!

You just can't get them off the dime, it's so useless.

As to the post, this is a prime example of more "fuzzing" of words. The average voter who isn't contacted directly or who isn't into politics as we are will probably look at how long the resolution is and see a few key words, then vote. It's a crap shoot! And THEY know if they do things this way THEY have more than 50% chance of winning going in!! But the first reply to the post is "right on!"

REV-O-LU-TION! More marches, more in your face!!

[Caoimhe]

17. Wow I feel for you

I have lost touch (purposefully) with most of my fright winger family members. A few (mainly my mom) try to goad me, because they get some sick joy out of using arguments lifted directly from Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity or Ann Coulter and acting like those ideas are theirs. Once asked to clarify or provide sources for their outlandish claims, they become defensive and say something weak like "wow you really take this stuff seriously" or "you shouldnt be so sensitive"

I got a dumb anti-arab email from my mom a few months ago. True repuke material... :puke: It was a joke about turbins and "sheet heads".. it was let's just say something from a low level of maturity. I was not having a good day, usually I resist the urge to hit reply-- to keep the peace, but I typed "Really, I thought the Sikhs wore the turbins, not Muslims".... and hit send.

The days dragged on with no reply, and finally about a week later she responds with this: "Well I was only joking, I guess I won't send funny things to you any more" hehe

We all have them... don't feel alone.

[justgamma]

14. I would say , that I might support it

but I don't want the government to dictate who I can and cannot marry. It's none of the government's business.

[renie408]

16. Ask them, Where in the Bible does Jesus condemn homosexuality?

Ask your good and religious friend why they think it is important to legislate against homosexuality when there are only a few references to homosexuality in the Bible (Leviticus and Romans). Then ask them how many references to caring for the poor and downtrodden there are in the Bible (Approximately 3000). Ask what piece of legislation supporting the poor they are praying for.



Then ask them why they are so hypocritical.

[Vickers]

18. Tell them to go read Leviticus, and see if they agree with all that

Ever wear poly-cotton? Wool blends? Can't do it.

Ever cut your sideburns? You're in trouble, buddy.

etc. etc.

[renie408]

19. Bingo

Either they believe and believe it all, or they don't. If they don't buy it all, ask them how they decide which parts are still valid and which ones aren't.

[flaminbats]

22. Why change something that works???

Why don't Democrats just take this issue and beat Texas Republicans black and blue? If any Republican puppet is unable to have a happy marriage why begin policing the working taxpayers who do?

[TreasonousBastard]

23. I'd ignore it...

as I tend to ignore any other spam in my inbox.

However, if I felt I had to answer it for some reason, I would simply say that we should all best worry about our own marriages and keep our noses out of everyone else's.

If further explanation is necessary, I would explain that it is the state's obligation to register marriages and protect property rights, intervene in physical abuse and other such good stuff, but it is not the state's business to decide who should or should not be married.

If one firmly believes that homosexuals should not have equal rights with heterosexuals, then it would behoove one to go to said homosexuals and try to convince them to their faces of the error of their ways, nu? Asking the state to make this illegal is simply taking the easy way out and using the state to foster their agenda.

Isn't asking the state to foster your agenda a LIBERAL thing to do?

[montieg]

24. Thanks to all

who helped. Mostly it's one of those things that really torques me but several years ago after the third person asked me if I piss people off every where i go, I'm trying to be less...uh... pissing. Got some great ideas. As a member of Texas Freedom Network (http://www.tfn.org), I was planning to use that, but I think I'm going to incorporate several ideas. Thanks to all again