North Dakota is not about to put marriage equality on the ballot, but that doesn’t means gays and lesbians nationwide shouldn’t be paying attention to what happens with Measure 3, a referendum that would mandate that the government must have a “compelling interest” to challenge actions or decisions informed by religious belief.
Called the Religious Liberty Restoration amendment, it’s been embraced by Fundamentalists looking for a way to legally discriminate against LGBT people, non-Christians, unmarried moms and other groups who don’t meet their Scriptures-inspired standards.
“It’s very easy to get something on the ballot in North Dakota,” University of North Dakota political scientist Mark Stephen Jendrysik told the Christian Science Monitor, “so I think a lot of groups say: ‘This is a good place, you get a good bang for your buck here.’ And then you get your national attention.”
We wouldn’t be surprised if it was a preemptive strike against federal marriage equality or other civil-rights breakthroughs on the horizon for gays and lesbians. Of course President Obama has been supportive of legislation requiring health-care companies and employers cover birth control, so maybe these conservative Christians are freaking out about women’s reproductive rights.
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“It’s like flood protection,” opined the North Dakota Family Alliance’s Tom Freier. “Are you going to wait until the flood to get the protection?”
Well, if it’s a deluge of stupidity, that dam broke a long time ago.
linka
ITS NORTH DAKOTA!!!!
who cares?!!
there’s only natives and r a c i s t and h o m o p h o b i c whites in that state
Cam
These fundamentalists are no different than the fundamentalists in places like Iran or Saudi Arabia who run their governments by religious rules.
They are anti-American and a ballot measure like this sounds borderline treasonous. If they want a religion to run the country then they need to move to Saudi Arabia.
They hate women and gays there, those people would feel completely at home.
BeauBeau
@linka: @linka: Well, what state are you from? Because your comment is racist in and of itself… I also think we should care about the rights for the entire LGBT community in the U.S… especially those who live in more homophobic areas. LGBT individuals (particularly youth who cannot leave) are in greater danger and in need of protection, and our efforts and attention should be focused without a question on these areas.
On another note, I do know quite a few people who live in North Dakota of all races and sexualities. Fargo is one of the fastest growing areas in America.
Greg Gasal
This is old news. North Dakota voted on this measure June 12th and rejected it by a huge margin.
NovaNardis
Seriously. Way to jump on the bandwagon late Queerty.
Ruhlmann
@linka: “there’s only NATIVES and RACIST white homophobes there” Are you seriously not embarrased or ashamed to make this statement?
Cam
@Greg Gasal:
Just looked it up, you’re right. Thanks for the info!
ryanthehulk
@linka:
I was unaware I was racist and homophobic. I don’t know how I’ll break the news to my Mexican boyfriend.
RevEdwin
It is sad that fundamentalist are the ones that go against any moral religious thought by covering their hate in the name of scriptures. How ignorance causes pain and sufferings in their own churches with so many closet cases feeling the worst of themselves and not loved.
When I was young I attended a pentecostal church in Puerto Rico, it was there that I experience my first gay “love”. The torture of being happy when I was with him (intimacy was a ++++), and the guilt and self rejection when I lay to sleep and thought that my destiny was to go to hell. No child should go to bed like this.
Now, as an Interfaith reverend (embracing all including secular beliefs) I realize how wrong and damaging fundamentalist are. They should be given the prize for first class HATERS!!!!!!!!!!!!