Two religious leaders are threatening lawsuits if the city [San Antonio] doesn’t stop offering domestic partner benefits in light of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s advisory opinion saying they violate the state Constitution.
Pastor Gerald Ripley of Voices for Marriage and Philip Sevilla of Texas Leadership Coalition addressed the San Antonio City Council Wednesday, threatening lawsuits in order to stop the benefits from being offered if the city doesn’t end them by June 30, the San Antonio Express-News reports.
“Lawsuits will be filed if necessary,” Ripley said.
“We cannot allow this in San Antonio. We are not San Francisco,” Sevilla said.
City attorney Mike Bernard told the newspaper the city won’t change its policy until the U.S. Supreme Court rules in two key marriage equality cases.
San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro has supported the benefits and said last month Abbott’s opinion to take away the benefits would hold Texas back.
28 comments
"Two religious leaders are threatening lawsuits if the city [San Antonio] doesn’t stop offering domestic partner benefits in light of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s advisory opinion saying they violate the state Constitution. "
That only proves Texas' constitution is unconstitutional.
"Stop! You're violating our rights by not allowing us to continue violating theirs!!!"
The fundie mindset is a fascinating thing. Cognitive dissonance lies at its very heart. On the one hand, they see themselves as "the good guys", ever fighting as the protectors of the last vestiges "civilized order" against enemies who want to destroy everything they hold dear. On the other hand, the world really is not going to hell in a handbasket around them and the extremity to which they take some of their most heartfelt positions is quite vile. This produces a two-fold effect. First, they hunker down even more on the beliefs which define them as a group, leading them to ever greater extremes. Second, as society begins to perceive those extremes as unacceptable and reacts accordingly, the fundie is forced to perceive himself as the persecuted victim, as this is the only way in which he can maintain his image of himself as "the good guy."
This concept that fundies identify themselves as "the good guys" is essential to grasp if one wants to understand the their mindset and I can't emphasize it enough. No matter how much influence they might actually hold, if society finds itself opposed to their principles it is the fundies who are being persecuted. Likewise, any extremes to which they might go in pursuit of the implementation of their views are entirely justifiable as, since they are the good guys, the "enemy" absolutely must be employing far more vile tactics.
@ Captain Bacardi
I believe you're on to something. I've always personally believed that a (bigoted) fundamentalist's biggest fear is being labeled the "bad guy".
@Captain Bacardi
You're absolutely right. This position of being the "good guys" also enables them to overcome any little moral, scientific, historical or, in this case, legal difficulties in attaining their goal, demanding standards that they would never ask of themselves. If anyone points out the moral, scientific, historical or legal obstacles, or even the plain reality in front of them, then this is further evidence of persecution.
Re: Fundies seeing themselves as the “Good Guys”:
That would also explain why they have no problems with lying for Jesus. If they are the good guys, everything they do is by definition good and moral, so they can do whatever they want without a bad conscience.
Last night in Parliament:
image
'The Noes to the left: 57.
The Ayes to the right: 391.
The Ayes have it. Order, order. ' [/Speaker of the House]
(In b4 P-G): 'I refer the (Dis)Honourable Member to the answer I gave just a few moments ago.'
PROTIP: The Coalition government - David Cameron's Conservatives and Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats - had to rely on a deal struck with Ed Miliband's Labour Party.
Said Gay Marriage Bill should pass in summer of next year.
Everyone who disagrees (remember the 'Noes': '57'): the Swivel-Eyed Loons have been proved wrong . Democracy destroys delusions (I refer you to the pic in my comment in the following link). P-G, I'm looking at you . But then...:
http://www.fstdt.net/QuoteComment.aspx?QID=94305&Page=5
...with your ass-backward 'logic', you think that the people can 'influence' the judicial system, so you're not exactly qualified to even have so much as an 'opinion' on the matter.
Captain Bacardi,
Of course the fundies think of themselves as the good guys! Nearly everyone thinks of themselves as the good guys. I doubt people wander about thinking like some cartoon villain wondering how evil they can be today.
In fact, that is what the fundies think of us sometimes... we must be being evil because... well... evil is what we think is fun? Hmm...
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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