Marie Osmond, whose gay daughter was just outed by the tabloids, was initially said to be a gay marriage foe based on her Mormon beliefs. She called Los Angeles radio station KOST 103.5 to clear things up: “Everybody should have the right to share homes and finances with somebody that they care about. On those types of things, I’m very supportive. When it comes to marriage, I think that civil rights need to be for all. … One of the things that we need to be careful is that we don’t create hate, because people believe certain things. And we can’t make everyone become homogenized. Everybody has a right to believe what they believe. I do think everybody has a right to have civil rights. That’s how I feel.”
strumpetwindsock
Brava!
Jerry Priori
Her heart may be in the right place, but it’s hard to tell given her word salad answer.
atdleft
Heh. Expect both the Mormon fundies’ AND the anti-Mormon queers’ heads to explode! And props to Marie Osmond for accepting her daughter and supporting her civil rights. 🙂
Lee
Until there’s something to confirm that she doesn’t support marriage equality, I say give her the benefit of the doubt [but fuck her anti-equality, phony brother…and not in the good way].
Anyone who knows anything about the all-absorbing cult of Mormonism, whose tentacles wrap around every aspect of the faithful’s lives, not just when they’re in services, and encourages members to shun those who stray, even if they’re family members, will understand what a courageous statement this would be for any Mormon.
It borders on Nobel Prize material for one of the best known Mormons in the world.
Zakakaka
That is sooooo Mormon!
The Gay Numbers
It sounds like she’s saying she support civil marriage equality. But, it’s true her words are a toss salad so I am not sure.
John Calendo
This is why it is important for people to come out. It makes it harder for Mormons and evangelicals to turn against their children.
Smokey Martini
@Lee:
“Everybody should have the right to share homes and finances with somebody that they care about.”
Notice how she didn’t say “…with somebody they love.” This means I could very easily share my home and finances with my best friend or even my nephew. Seems to me like the legitimacy of gay relationships hasn’t hit her yet.
No benefit of the doubt here.
Nickadoo
Without explicitly stating that she believes marriage is a “civil right,” it makes it hard to determine exactly what she’s trying to say. It sounds like she’s being supportive. I can’t help but to be skeptical, though.
Lee
What part of “EVERYBODY has a right to have civil rights” don’t YOU understand, Smoked Cheese?
Note, she didn’t add, “EXCEPT queers” either.
Knowing Mormoms generally, and that brood specifically, she may well have not said what she meant and what she meant was bad.
But the stink is on you for trying so hard to find a reason to doubt her.
Grow up much?
atdleft
@Nickadoo & @The Gay Numbers: Yeah, Marie didn’t word it too well. But by explicitly referring to it as “civil rights”, it’s not too difficult to see where she stands. And considering how different her “everyone has a right to believe what they believe” statement is from Miss CA’s, she sounds an awful lot like a supporter. Perhaps when Marie Osmond has a little more time to put together a better statement, she’ll probably sound more like a good advocate… And we know we need more good advocates in the LDS community to be vocal!
Bruno
Um, I kind of got the feeling she was saying she supports civil unions instead of marriage, though she may to her credit not have any distinction in her mind between “civil union” and “civil marriage.” She obviously wants to be a good person (like most Mormons I’ve encountered), but there’s some really sick shit to overcome from the upbringing. I’m glad she’s made an undeniably supportive statement, regardless of the semantics involved.
Dennis
I’ll give credit where credit is due, and for a well-known Mormon celebrity to publicy make a call for fairness towards GLBTs is progress.
Alexa
There can be big consequences for Mormons who support gay rights, or even who support their own gay children, so Marie saying ANYTHING supportive is a big deal.
Robert, NYC
There are even right wing lawyers who are now saying that marriage is not a civil right but a privilege. What the fuck is that about?
Sam
Poor, poor Marie.
Sam
Also, Marie might be right in some respect, assuming she was correctly quoted. Everyone does have a right to civil rights, and everyone has a right to be married … to a person of the opposite gender per the natural law and for the procreation of the species. That right has in no way been abridged by Proposition 8 or other law.
The Gay Numbers
The civil rights aspect is definitely key. Although her wording could be better, her focus one equality and civil rights is the message we want out there. Not just for marriage equality, but in areas like DADT and ENDA.
Bertie
mumbo jumbo mormon world play
Marie needs to answer this:
is marriage a civil right?
should civil marriage equality be given to all couples in the USA?
do you think you’ll have your old pre-botox/restalyn face restored in the Celesial Kingdom?
Robert, NYC
@Sam:
Sam, can you point to any law that states that civil marriage requires procreation and is the primary definition thereof? Loving someone about all others is the primary reason for marriage and you do NOT have to be married to have children either, nor does the bible even mention it. If you’re using that to support the argument against same-sex marriage, then you must also support the ban on allowing straight childless marriages or for straights intending to marry but who do not want to breed or can’t. You can’t have it both ways.
Gay couples can and do have children. Have you heard of invitro fertilization, a technique used by hundreds of thousands of infertile straight and gay couples around the world? What next, ban that too because people can’t breed in the traditional manner? This entire breeder argument is flawed and lame at best. You better come up with a better excuse than that old chestnut. Its not working any more. Civil marraige is a whole lot different than religious marriage, the sooner you and others like you get over that, the better off we’ll all be.
Robert, NYC
I meant to have said, “loving someone above all others”… in my last post, my apologies to readers.
strumpetwindsock
Jesus…
I think some people here wouldn’t be able to exhale a breath if they weren’t using it to complain about something real ir imagined.
If all the fundamentalist homophobes got on their knees and cut their throats in front of you you’d bitch about the blood on the carpet.
I think you’re actually disappointed at the thought a mormon might say something against church policy and in support of our rights, so you choose to pick it apart and pretend it didn’t happen.
Quentin
@strumpetwindsock:
Only if it was new carpet. 😉
Alec
@Quentin: I’d be upset, but it would be a start. 🙂 Beats slashing the throats of heretics or gay bashing, certainly.
Bertie
Civil Marriage has nothing to do with GOD or procreation,
since any infertile atheist opposite-sex couple can go to city hall, get married, and receive hundreds of legal protections.
That’s what we want for same-sex couples in the USA.
I don’t give a shit about traditional marriage, god’s word, the bible, making babies… blah blah blah
Matthew Rettenmund
COME ON, why are so many people misinterpreting her admittedly hemming-and-hawing response? It’s clear: She is in favor of full rights via civil unions but NOT in favor of full marriage equality due to her belief in the Bible. It’s all there.
Alec
@Matthew Rettenmund: It doesn’t seem that clear to me.
Perhaps she’s doing it to avoid controversy within her church and associated circles who practice the Mormon lifestyle, but you can easily interpret that statement as a full scale endorsement of civil marriage rights.
strumpetwindsock
@Quentin: @Alec:
Yeah, I thought that might get you gals wet.
*grin*
@Alec:
Agreed; I doubt a semantic difference like that would make any difference. Someone in her church who is inclined to condemn her for her views would do it no matter how she worded it.
Alec
@strumpetwindsock: Yeah, although for people in the Mormon lifestyle keeping up appearances and being in line with the Prophet’s shifting announcements are pretty important principles. They need to worry about being excommunicated for sharing a bedroom with people of the opposite sex (even if everything is platonic), so I can understand why she would attempt to keep it as nuanced as possible. The Mormon lifestyle is very restrictive. When I was in law school probably 5-10% of the class practiced the Mormon lifestyle (there were a few ex-Mormons, too) and if you were a practicing Mormon who didn’t toe the line, they took notice. I imagine they would report noncomplying members to their ward’s bishop.
jbw
ah, i see.
HOMOgenized.
love it.
hardmannyc
It’s depressing to think that Marie Osmond’s daughter is a grown-up.
Stenar
In Marie’s defense, the transcript above is heavily edited. I just listed to the entire radio clip someone posted on Facebook and it makes a lot more sense in its entirety and in context. Too bad Queerty couldn’t bother to quote her correctly. It sounds to me like she’s in favor of gay marriage.
timncguy
@Lee: because she could just as easily be talking about civil unions as marriage equality. I would guess that’s what she means or she would have used the word marriage.
Michele in Ohio
I don’t believe her. I admire her for stepping up and saying that. I am sure her heart is broken and she’s being counseled on what to say. Marie has been through a lot. I do believe she loves her daughter deeply.