Conservative activist compares gay marriage to polygamist sect
The news that comedian Ellen DeGeneres will be marrying her longtime girlfriend, thanks to a California court's ruling in support of gay marriage, has been widely welcomed in both gay and entertainment circles.
However, Wendy Wright, president of the conservative Christian women's group Concerned Women for America, finds the prospect dismaying, fearing that acceptance of gay marriage could provide justification for abuses like those found among the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints cult in Texas.
"No one wants to deny Ellen happiness," Wright told CNN primly, "but overturning a moral foundation of society is too high of a price to pay. Redefining marriage does have consequences for others. ... In New Jersey, a church was sued and lost because it did not want to allow a same-sex ceremony on its property."
Wright was referring to a case in which the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association refused to allow a lesbian couple to hold a civil union ceremony at its historic beachfront pavilion, claiming that would constitute church approval.
"There's some who say people should be able to do whatever they want in their own personal relationships," Wright went on. "But we do need to look at the consequences of that. And we can look right now at the polygamy community in Texas. ... When you redefine marriage to mean anything, it can mean nothing."
Publicist and gay activist Howard Bragman, who plans to marry his own companion, defended the depth and sincerity of his relationship. He told Wright, "If you think there's something wrong with that, that's where the injustice comes in. Marriage isn't about sex, marriage is about love, support, committing to love and take care of each other. And that benefits everyone in society. I promise you, it's a good thing."
"If marriage means nothing, why are thousands of people in the gay and lesbian communities fighting for this right?" Bragman concluded.
This video is from CNN's Showbiz Tonight, broadcast May 19, 2008.
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