It Ain’t Fair, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

March 1, 2014 Martha Thomases 6 Comments

Happily, it seems that, at least for now, Arizona is not Uganda.  Not only are these geographic constructs on different continents, but, as of Thursday, Arizona offers more protection for basic human rights.

According to a story on CNN, the law is a real horror show.  To quote, “The new law also includes punishment — up to seven years in prison — for people and institutions who perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, language that was not in the 2009 version. Lawmakers in the conservative nation said the influence of Western lifestyles risked destroying family units.The bill also proposed prison terms for anyone who counsels or reaches out to gays and lesbians, a provision that could ensnare rights groups and others providing services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”

I saw a report (although I can’t seem to find the link now, so you may take my memory with a grain of salt) about a Ugandan family that took a relative home from the hospital to die, rather than let him be treated for his hernia and live the rest of his natural, homosexual life.  

Meanwhile, in Arizona, Republican Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have allowed businesses to discriminate against certain (that is, gay and lesbian) people by claiming “religious freedom.”  Excuse me, but it takes truly massive (and stupid) balls to claim your freedoms are being denied when told you can’t abridge another person’s freedom.

Look, I don’t have a problem with giving certain kinds of businesses the right to refuse certain kinds of customers.  Bars and restaurants, for example, should be able to deny belligerent drunks any more alcohol.  That’s a public safety issue, in which the rights of the general public to safely enjoy themselves supersedes the right of an individual to make stupid choices about his sobriety.

That’s not the case with marriage equality.  You might get the icks when you think about two men getting married, but they pose you no harm.  And as long as you use public resources to run your business (parking lots, streets, utilities, health care, and more.  So, a Catholic Church is not required to marry two men, but a Catholic florist should either take his business private (operating out of his home, just for friends, or out of the church) or get over himself.

I mean, they didn’t get all up in arms when Muslims refused service to people who violated the tenets of Islam.  Most people, in that case, would advise the devout Muslim to find a different job.

It seems as if the ship has sailed on marriage equality.  Businesses, normally an ally of Republican lawmakers, in this case resisted.  Such a homophobic law would have meant a tourism boycott. Many businesses who court progressive consumers let it be known they would not set up offices or factories (and therefore jobs) in the state.  There was talk of moving next year’s Super Bowl.

It is my fondest hope that this means that fanatical religionists will also stop trying to force their beliefs on others.  You can try to persuade me all you want.  I think that is unpleasant behavior, but it is free speech and you’re entitled.  But stop trying to legislate my body.  To quote Marge Piercy,

“I will choose …

what enters me

what becomes flesh of my flesh.

Without choice,

no politics, no ethics lives.

I am not your cornfield,

not your uranium mine,

not your calf for fattening,

not your cow for milking.

You may not use me as your factory.

Priests and legislators

do not hold shares

in my womb or my mind.

This is my body.

If I give it to you I want it back.

My life is a non-negotiable demand.”

Tucker Carlson and the government of Uganda disagree.  They should take a good, hard look at each other and decide what their agreement says about them.

Media Goddess Martha Thomases can’t believe she is cheering on Jan Brewer.