Conservative blogger comes out of the closet over Prop 8

by: Pam Spaulding

Thu Nov 06, 2008 at 15:00:00 PM EST

On Prop 8: I know most of you disagree with me about it. But could we have a moment of silence for those poor fools who were happily married or engaged yesterday and today are finding out that they don't have squat? Prop 8 was much more personal than some silly high-speed train or hospital funding. People are hurting today. And I'm one of them.

Commenters at Ace of Spades, where ribald anti-gay humor has always been one the features that makes the blog so delightful, were shocked. "Did Gabe just come out of the closet?" exclaimed A Different Dave in Texas. Apotheosis did his best to take it in stride with a nervous attempt at humor: "I'm sorry you're hurting, Gabriel. I'd offer you a hug, but...y'know. Just a beer or something, man? We're cool, right?" But while some commenters offered him sympathy, others stuck to their core conservative principles. "Wow. I'm really hurting for all the guy who want to marry their sisters. The gals who want to marry their Doberman Pinschers. The pain. The hurt," wrote Dang sarcastically. "I'm not a hard hearted person, but I'm also not going to lose sleep about the democratic process working to the disappointment of some. That's just the f---ing breaks," said Nom de Blog. Moronizer was having none of it: "So you got 'married,' knowing full well that it might get voided. Boo hoo." And Religious Zealot wanted Malor to stop acting so gay about it: "I don't deny that Gabe and others are hurting, it's just that it's a drama-queen reaction." I hope that in the coming days the bloggers at Ace of Spades will redouble their efforts to make fun of gays lest people start speculating about the sexual preference of the other co-bloggers and regular commenters there. Better to nip this thing in the bud before it spreads.

The preeminent social issues - gay marriage and abortion - are quite separate. Lumping them together, as is often done by the media and by ideologues on both sides, is insulting to our intelligence.

For me, same-sex marriage is by far the simpler issue. I am one hundred percent for it on moral, civil rights and scientific grounds. (Sexual orientation is not elective.) And I am surprised so many of my fellow citizens would want to deny others a chance to experience a life of recognized love and commitment, something I have found, through hard experience, to be easily the most fulfilling and socially useful way to live. It would seem almost, dare I say it, unchristian.