Iowa may be one of a handful of American states with legalized same-sex marriage, but State Sen. Merlin Bartz is intent on ridding his state from the evils of equality. Already cracking down on gay camping, Bartz has a new argument against letting homosexuals use the M-word: Discrimination is a core part of Americana!
Law is all about discrimination, argues Bartz, who once tried to get county recorders not to issue gay marriage licenses. And he is right! Laws discriminate against certain things all the time, giving priority to some criteria (saving for retirement!) while penalizing others (tobacco tax!). Writes Bartz in an op-ed:
Ironically, a basic precept of law is that it indeed does discriminate. The litmus test, therefore, is not a question of discrimination or nondiscrimination but whether the discriminatory nature of the law is justifiable. If the justification is rational, defensible and promotes an outcome that we as a society seek and cherish, the answer should be affirmative. The answer should also not fixate on the question of perfecting equality in society (noble yet achievable only in theory). Instead, it should focus on the basic tenet of fairness, a much more recognizable and realistic goal.
Take tax law, for example. In this arena, we find some of the most blatant discriminatory practices that can be found anywhere in government. We discriminate in favor of home ownership by allowing the deduction of mortgage interest. We discriminate in favor of individuals with less income in a multitude of ways ranging from college student financial aid to exempting sales tax on food. We discriminate in favor of parents with children by allowing additional dependent credits. We discriminate against illegals and illegal activity, limiting eligibility for certain tax credits and prosecuting tax fraud. These and a myriad other examples of discrimination are commonly defended as basic fairness precepts, even though they are far from achieving equality
And then there are these things:
“No shoes, no shirt, no service”; “Local checks only”; “No one under 21 admitted”; “Requires a high school diploma or an equivalent GED”.
See: If you don’t want gays getting married, you aren’t “uncompassionate and bigoted,” says Bartz; you’re just a discerning person. Like shop owners who don’t want beachcombers walking in all disheveled, or restaurants who don’t want to risk being ripped off by check scams. Perpetrated by blacks and Latinos, of course!!
How about we take this to the next level?
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Mark Alexander
There is no shortage of willful ignorance in this country.
clark
Says the man with herpes on his lip……
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Hey Merlin: (wasn’t he a Gay wizzard?) Maybe you should be more concerned with how you gots that herpes on your upper lip than preventing Gays from getting married……….. Something which has been going on in your state for over a year now and has not yet caused it to spontaniously implode…………..
Cam
Looks like he has a little pillow burn on the top lip there. he should speak up and tell his male hookers to take it a little easy on him.
Brutus
In a manner of speaking, he’s right on principle. The problem for him is that there is no reasonable secular justification for this sort of discrimination against gays.
Wade MacMorrighan
@Brutus: Hopefully someone responds to him in a future issue with that same good sense!
rainfish2000
It’s like saying that the Food Stamp Program discriminates against well-fed rich people because it is not available to the wealthy. This miscreant’s convoluted logic speaks volumes about his anti-gay agenda and very little about his grasp of reality.
Tobacco taxes do single out users of tobacco, but not just Puerto Rican or Gay or Black users. You also have the choice not to smoke. And if the phobes counter with the ridiculous notion that being Gay is a choice, then so is being heterosexual and that presumption should not afford them any more privileges.
Poor kids have programs to help them go to college because a pool of talented people, who can contribute to society as a whole, should not be limited to just one class of people. Again, a Swiss cheese argument.
This “Rand Paul wannabe” is warped in his common sense (or lack of sense) and should not be taken seriously. Just another trollish hater looking for attention.
dvlaries
I was going to type ‘how do you make yourself pull a lever for someone named Merlin.’
But then, oops …Barack Hussein Obama
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/dvlaries/emoticons/embarrassed2.gif[/img]
Schteve
He’s right for the most part.
Too bad the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling went through each of the five reasons the state gave for why the discrimination was rational and showed how they were all bunk.
Rob
Only a matter of time before he gets caught in an airport bathroom.
adman
I hope his herpes sore turns out to be cancer.
Tim
There is a difference between LAW (against murder, rape, and vandalism) and policy (in favor of things like taxation on the basis of need or use). If marriage is a policy which accomplishes a social aim variable in its purpose, then it’s a policy and up for discrimination. If it’s a law, then… Of course, there’s a difference between positive and negative rights: If the purpose of straight marriage is to prevent queers from marrying, then I guess the guy has a point?!
alan brickman
Herpe Lips should talk…which “Luggage Lifter” “gayve” him that?????
the crustybastard
Iowa State Senator Merlin Bartz can suck a fart out of my asshole.
Lamar
He states that the “discriminatory nature of the law is justifiable. If the justification is rational, defensible and promotes an outcome that we as a society seek and cherish, the answer should be affirmative”. How is it rational to deny humans basic civil rights , how is that defensible? Is the outcome where certain members of the public are unfairly discriminated a society in which America seeks and cherishes?
Tessie Tura
@clark: Damn, you beat me to it.
John
It’s one thing to post a comment with a viable argument but to post most of the comments on this page is another thing. Shouldn’t you be trying to be the bigger people. These comments are something that would be heard in a fight between 13 year olds.
Wilma Davis
I agree with John #16. These are the types of slures that children and narrow-minded individuals spew when they are too ignorant to understand that all people are entitled to their own opinion and as a representative of the people it is Mr. Bartz’s job to uphold what they want. I do know Mr. Bartz and before I am bashed myself, I support gay marraige! Lay off the childish remarks and grow up!