The Holy Terrors Go Too Far..even for them

Found this first at Americablog.

A right-wing radio host brought this up.

OVERREACHING?
By Charles Sykes

Legislative Republicans thought they had an electoral magic bullet when they voted to put an amendment banning gay marriage on the November general election ballot. The constitutional amendment would allow them to highlight a popular issue, motivate a big conservative turnout, and help Republicans up and down the ballot stem what appears to be a Democratic tide in 2006.

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First, they overreached, by making the amendment far broader than it had to be, including a ban on civil unions and perhaps on an array of other domestic benefits.

Second, they miscalculated the degree to which the amendment would motivate and mobilize the left.
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Third, the defeat of the amendment at the polls – the first defeat of a ban on gay marriage anywhere in the country – could actually embolden Wisconsin’s courts to do what conservatives most feared: legislate it from the bench.

The constitutional amendment on the November 7 ballot reads:

"Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state."

Had Republicans stopped at he first sentence, the debate would have been squarely and unambiguously on he issue of gay marriage and the amendment likely would have passed easily. But they didn’t, and that decision has shaped the current debate and changed the political dynamic.

While the first sentence is clear, straightforward, and quite specific the second sentence is far more sweeping and ambiguous, lending itself to a wide range of interpretations. The language seems to ban civil unions but does it also extend to other benefits, as well? And if so, which ones?

Opponents have built much of their campaign, including a well-funded television ad campaign around the theme that the ban simply goes too far, threatening health care benefits, jeopardizing hospital visits and medical decisions, and denying pensions for all married couples.

This is why the Holy Terrors have to be stopped, and this is why a straight-as-an-arrow het like myself is beating the drum so much about the gay marriage issue. They have no plans to stop at simply banning gay marraige, but they're trying to shut down all unconvential marital or non-marital relationships, gay, straight, poly, mono, all of the above. The War On Whoopie doesn't just affect gay people, it affects all of us.