Reality check: Paladino non-apology

I wouldn’t normally bother commenting on anything to do with Teapublican freak Carl Paladino: In a kinder, gentler time he’d be institutionalised to deal with his insanity. But there’s one point the mainstream media keeps missing, and it must be stressed.

In his non-apology to gay and lesbian New Yorkers, Paladino did NOT say he supports civil unions, as the mainstream media keeps suggesting. He said in his diatribe that if he was elected Governor of New York he would veto same sex marriage AND civil unions.

Paladino said in his “apology” that he supports "civil agreements". That means he thinks it's okay for gay couples to hire a lawyer, draw up contracts and hope like hell that in the event of tragedy they stand up to a legal challenge from homophobic family members. But he clearly doesn't think the state should extend ANY formal recognition to same-sex couples.

To put it as clearly as possible for the over-worked journalists in the mainstream media, Paladino is an anti-gay bigot who, among other things, opposes BOTH marriage equality AND separate-but-equal civil unions. In short, nothing has changed. I haven’t heard of a single GLBT person who accepts Paladino’s “apology’—nor should they.