Massachusetts Gay Marriage Foes Back Fake American History Advocate

Posted by Bruce Wilson at 12:12 AM on June 14, 2007.

"We can look at those places where same-sex marriage has been legalized to see what the future looks like" - Ron Crews, President of The Massachusetts Family Institute, as quoted in the Washington Times, March 10, 2004

In Massachusetts, going into the state's 3rd year of legal gay marriage, the societal apocalypse that MFI head Ron Crews warned of, in the event gay marriage were made legal, never happened.

Legal gay marriage in Massachusetts is going into its 3rd year and the sky has not fallen. But, for the Massachusetts Family Institute, ideology may well trump facts; the MFI has repeatedly, in recent years, hosted public speaking visits by arch-historical falsifacationist David Barton.  

Historical falsificationist ? Yes indeed :

As historian Chris Rodda has demonstrated, David Barton is perhaps the leading serial abuser of American history and his apparently intentional historical falsifications reach hundreds of thousands, if not  millions, of young Americans each year.

"It's like a rolling ball of snow. It gets bigger and bigger. You allow it in Massachusetts, it'll spread to God knows where." -  Massachusetts Democratic State Representative Emile J. Goguen, as quoted by the "Traditional Values Coalition" website.

In the seemingly fact-free zone that has characterized the new American religious right, such reality-based details hardly seem to matter, and so the new institution of legalized gay marriage, in Massachusetts, faces posssible voter repeal via a ballot initiative championed by the MFI. As Talk To Action co-founder Frederick Clarkson points out:

The religious right needs only a quarter of the legislature -- 50 votes -- for the referendum to move onto the ballot in November 2008. As of now, there appear to be 57 votes Democratic Governor Deval Patrick who was elected as an unequivocally pro-marriage equality candidate last year, is lobbying legislators heavily, and notes that if the initiative makes the ballot, it will be a major distraction from the work of the state.

Do the leaders of the Massachusetts Family Initiative have any actual evidence that gay marriage in the Bay State has caused any harm in the Bay State ? One would think the MFI would have to have some reason, in terms of the public wellbeing, for pushing an anti-gay ballot initiative on Massachusetts : what is the alleged public harm caused by gay marriage ?

Prior to the legalization of gay Marriage in MA, even Mass. legislators from the Democratic Party alleged that terrible results would ensue. But, in fact, two years after gay marriage was made legal in Massachusetts nothing much had changed, and the words of MFI president Ron Crews assumed a rather banal cast pointing towards a collective yawn.

But, leaders on the Christian right, such as James Dobson, do not seem to be yawning.

[Frederick Clarkson, continued]

At the HQ of James Dobson's Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado --  all eyes are focused on the Massachusetts Statehouse on Beacon Hill. FOF "Citzen Link" news reports calls for "God's intervention," turning to quotes and analysis from FOF Action's state issues analyst; a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Family Institute, (MFI, a state political affiliate of FOF); and a spokesperson for VoteonMarriage, the coalition spearheaded by MFI and can be found on the MFI web site.

"The opposition has decided to use their considerable power and influence to see that the marriage amendment is defeated," said Mona Passignano, state issues analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "And the people of Massachusetts who want the opportunity to vote on marriage need our help -- and they desperately need God's intervention.

Tagged as: marriage, gay, massachusetts, barton, ma

Bruce Wilson writes for Talk To Action, a blog specializing in faith and politics.