Of Polygamists, Gay Marriage, And Twisted Logic

Thursday a Texas appeals court ruled that the State Department of Family and Protective Services illegally removed the children from their homes at the ranch of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Shortly after the news hit the wires, Kendall Harmon posted the story on his blog. Given the way conversations about Christian marriage happen on Kendall's blog and Stand Firm (and many of the same folks comment on both blogs), I was interested in seeing what the comments were. Take a moment and go read them for yourself. Also read this post, this post, and their comments.

Now look at the comments on posts dealing with same-sex marriage on Kendall's blog here, here, and here.



Next, look at this post on Stand Firm. As with the first story on TitusOneNine, note the concern about children being taken away from their parents and the issue of home schooling. Now go look at the comments on this post (be warned, not only may contain poison, but there are over 370 Comments).


Whenever the subject of "gay marriage" comes up, inevitably the conservatives will bring in the "slippery slope" argument that approving gay marriage will lead to the approval of polygamy and worse. Nor is a gay household formed by marriage a healthy place for children, in their opinion. BUT, when it comes to the children being taken from their parents by the state, all of a sudden polygamy is not so bad. Especially since child welfare concerns often touch on the issues surrounding home schooling--something dear to the hearts of many conservatives.

What I often observe when reading many conservative and rejectionist bloggers and commentors is that their view of the "black and white" sides of an issue change with the issue under discussion. When talking about gay marriage, polygamy is evil. When talking about the rights of parents and children, polygamy is neutral.

Can you say "gray?"

Peace,
Jeffri