Would you like to help change the world?

[andrewducker]

Yesterday, a group of bigots came together to tell the Scottish parliament that legalising same-sex marriage would cause shame to Scotland, alienate people, prevent Scottish independence, and bring an end to society.

The Scottish government are currently carrying out an equal marriage consultation, so if you've got thirty seconds to let them know you're in favour then you can do so here.

marrog has since written to a bunch of MSPs to make sure that they're getting both sides of the message - and got back a response from one saying that hers was the first communication that they'd had in favour.

So if you live in Scotland then please click here, enter your postcode to find out who your MSPs are, and send them an email to let them know that not everyone thinks that letting gay people marry is a terrible thing.

Comments

[redbird]

Do you think there's any point to writing to someone to tell them that, as a foreigner with a partner of my own gender, I'm more likely to visit Scotland again if they pass same-sex marriage. (And do they really want to be behind _Iowa_, politically?)

[andrewducker]

It can't hurt to fill in the survey, and let them know that.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

*And remember that this is exactly the sort of thing regional list MSPs are for, so write to them as well as your constituency MSP!

[chipuni.livejournal.com]

Ann Allen, former convener of the Church of Scotland’s board of social responsibility, said: “There are all sorts of consequences that are going to result if the Scottish Government proceed down this route.

“I cannot see one positive consequence for the young people of Scotland or for the parents and grandparents in Scotland.

Does Ms Allen forget that there are gay, young people of Scotland?

I'd say that the right to marry their beloved is a very positive consequence for those young people of Scotland.

[andrewducker]

You'd think, wouldn't you?

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

luckily for everyone involved, she's the former convener.

good bloody riddance

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

the Mail Your MP thing isn't working. Clicking Continue leads to 'Page cannot be found'. Which is bloody frustrating.

[andrewducker]

Where do you get "Continue"?

My page one has a postcode search, page two has the list of representatives, page three has "Preview your message", and the final page has "Send your message".

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

I get the green of reps and a big box to type the message in, with a Continue button under that.

next page is an error message

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Well, you could just look up their emails on the Scottish Parliament website and write to them that way.

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

good point. Shall do

and thank you for prompting this action. I'm stunned you were their first positive commenter

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Well, I imagine that, as with yourself until now, it just didn't occur to them that they needed to state the obvious.

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

yeah, that's the thing about consultation, innit? Most pro people will think 'Oh, well done Mr and Mrs Government, on finally joining the previous century in terms of being vaguely sensible' and assume it's a job done.

it's the ranters that will actually go ahead and say something. A lot. Bloody ranters.

I'll get on with writing that this evening.

[anton-p-nym.livejournal.com]

I think the real shame here is that so many countries that were so important to the birth of the Enlightenment still have men (and yes, it's primarily men here) who mistake the lodge rules of a bunch of Bronze Age goatherds* to be the word of God... and yet feel free to violate half of 'em** without blinking.

-- Steve just keeps shakin' his head at this.

* I'll stay on the safe side and say "pretty much all of Leviticus"; my gut tells me to say "all of Leviticus" but I really haven't devoted much effort to studying Christian Scriptures.

** Most notoriously the dietary restrictions and grooming and dress codes. A clean-shaven guy in a cotton-blend suit who in all probability had bacon at breakfast and a ham-and-cheese (or cheeseburger) at lunch really shouldn't be talking about how the Bible castigates teh Gay.

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

there is, as I have oft said, no percentage in being a rampaging hypocrite.

it's an all or nothing deal.

[nickys.livejournal.com]

I've occasionally had fun with the idiots by asking them to justify Leviticus 19:19.

They mumble on about homosexuality for a bit and then I say, no, don't you know your bible, 19:19 is the one about no mixed fibre clothing... What's your god got against poly cotton...?

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

I occasionally find people get stumped by asking which translation they're quoting. Even when I don't know the quote itself.


it's a while since I read the bible. I'm often better set to quote Blake or Milton, which is kinda my bad.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

It's a wee bit more complicated than that. Clever bigots Christians-of-a-certain-type will observe that Jesus basically wiped out Leviticus, but Paul's letters to the Corinthians came after that...

I don't like Paul very much.

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

nor, as I recall the prophet Izzard explaining, did the Corinthians.

[andrewhickey.livejournal.com]

To which clever non-bigots point out that the word Paul used, arsenokites, is one for which there is no known accurate translation, and that the best guess is that it means not "abusers of themselves with mankind" as it's usually translated, but temple prostitutes.
(See http://bradhicks.livejournal.com/119283.html )

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there isn't just the one location, I'm afraid, and it's not all easily translated away. I'm afraid I gave up on this particular line of argument a wee while ago so my references are sadly lacking, but from conversations with clever fundies, just about any translation of the Bible will still find some gay bashing in the New Testament, or at least implicit bashing of marriage unions within a non-traditional lifestyle (however you feel about Solomon and his 1,000 bitches and hos, he's OT, yo).

These days I just Troll Out and start talking about David/Jonathan or Ruth/Naomi...

[skington.livejournal.com]

I've just written to my MSPs - thanks for the prod.

The ridiculous thing is that marriage is already secular. If you get married in a Registry Office, you can't have any music which as at all connected to anything religious. (Which is fine; that's what it means to be secular.) That ship has already sailed.

[original-aj.livejournal.com]

Historically, marriage always was secular. In the mediaeval period the church co-opted it, like so many other existing customs. But Scotland always had a strong tradition of civil marriage, the churches have never had a monopoly. Their attempts to claim they can define marriage are at best disingenuous.

The other point I made was that churches already marry people who are not capable of conceiving children together, so what difference will it make exactly?

[undeadbydawn.livejournal.com]

the church adopting an idea then demanding other people follow their rules?

say it ain't so!!

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the prompt about this, I had already filled in the consultation form and pimped it all over FB but I've now emailed my constituency MSP and all my regional list MSPs too. I am beyond enraged at the idea that equality is something to be ashamed of, I really hope the Scottish parliament takes this opportunity to lead the UK in marriage equality.