Just when you thought Pastor DooHickey was becoming more rational, Mr. Irrational rears his head. In light of the latest SC ruling on same-sex federal benefits. Hickey had this to say;

Hickey, who also is a Republican representative for Sioux Falls, says the decision is a blow to religious freedom.

“I’m not surprised,” Hickey said. “We can see where this is going, but people need to think about the end game: Gay rights trump religious rights.”

Hickey is concerned that those who are morally opposed to gay marriage will be labeled as bigots and forced to behave against their conscience. He’s worried that he and other pastors will be forced to perform gay marriages at some point in the future.

He’s even a bit concerned about pastors being jailed for preaching against homosexuality. Something along the lines of this.

He says he won’t perform same sex marriages, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides.

“They can put me in jail for that if they want,” Hickey said.

First off, the SC is still allowing states to decide whether they want to allow same sex couples to marry, and in good old South Dakota, that has been illegal since 2006. Secondly, even if it were legal in SD, I don’t think gays will be lining up outside Steve’s church to get married, it would be like going to Steve’s church to get an abortion, just not gonna happen.

As a SD gay rights advocate so eloquently said;

As for how this will affect gay and lesbians in South Dakota, Himmel-Roberts said: “I think we tend to be 25 years behind everyone else. We have a state Legislature that is made up of extremists. Until we can get some middle-of-the-road and good old true South Dakotans with South Dakota values, we’re going to be a testing ground for all these ridiculous laws.”

Extremists? Don’t be so polite.

sallykernauntie

Sadly, it’s not rare that a right-wing loony from my home state makes the news.  However, this one has, in addition to taking the cake by saying gays are a bigger threat to America than terrorism, has now officially left reality for some other bizzaro plane of existence.

In her most recent act of outright stupidity, Kern has issued a proclamation for morality, which you can read here. She has also publicly blamed gays and illegitimate children for the current economic mess. It seems fundamentalist nut-jobs like her have moved on from witches, gypsies, and jews to gays, pornographers, and abortionists, whom it’s still OK to hate. I’m not sure what’s sadder, that people like her exist or that they get elected to public office – in a large city no less.

I’d pay good money to see her in a debate with an actual thinking person. Theocrats cannot win such debates, and ultimately must rely on the righteous stupidity and willful ignorance of their supporters to suppress their opposition. For a case study, look at the recent Iranian elections. Theocracy is dying. Hallelujah!

The bright side in all of this is that 90% of the people commenting on the story think Kern is a complete tool with no business in government.

gay grooms

Cheney said he thinks gay couples should have the opportunity to get married , but I think he is flat wrong about how it should be legislated;

“And I think that’s the way it ought to be handled today, that is, on a state-by-state basis. Different states will make different decisions. But I don’t have any problem with that. I think people ought to get a shot at that,” he said.

I have often said that social issues like gay marriage, drug legalization and abortion should be Federally regulated because they affect ALL Americans. If a gay couple gets married in a state that it is legal, and move to a state that it is not legal, is their marriage void? No, it wouldn’t be. If we are going to legalize gay marriage, legalize it in the entire country. If we believe in equal rights in America, it should apply to all 5o states. I think Cheney is taking an ‘out’ when it comes to this issue by calling it a state issue. Nice try though.