It’s not who we are

This ad is from Standing Up for New Hampshire Families, “a bi-partisan, grassroots group comprised of residents and a leadership council of more than 200 civic, business, academic and political leaders” who have come together to try and stop the Republicans who now control the New Hampshire legislature from passing a bill to repeal marriage equality in that state. It’s a good ad.

Most of the organised promotion of the marriage repeal comes, of course, from out of state groups, particularly religious or pseudo-religious groups such as the catholic-aligned National Organization for Man-Lady Only Marriage, as well as fundamentalist protestant groups. While many of them try and hide their true religious agenda, the promotion of religious bigotry is at their core as they work to impose their narrow beliefs on everyone else.

Marriage equality is about freedom—ensuring that all citizens have the same rights and liberty as every other citizen. Opposing marriage equality is about denying freedom to some people and using religious beliefs to justify it. That’s not only not New Hampshire, it’s also not American and it’s not consistent with the values of freedom and democracy anywhere.

Freedom means nothing without freedom for all citizens. Just as religions are free to refuse to perform/solemnise/recognise/have same-sex marriages, and to speak out against them, so, too, should others be free to perform/solemnise/recognise/have same-sex marriages and to speak out in favour of them. The religious don’t get a free pass just because they claim to have their god on their side, nor do they have the right to force their beliefs on everyone else. That’s the opposite of freedom.

Freedom means freedom. It’s really that simple.