Democracy Has Prevailed.

December 14, 2022

Respect of Marriage Act - Signed Into Law

By signing the Respect for Marriage Act, President Biden repealed this:

In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word “spouse” refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.

And replaced it with this:

For the purposes of any Federal law, rule, or regulation in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual’s marriage is between 2 individuals and is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any State, if the marriage is between 2 individuals and is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a State. 

As well it should be.

And here's a reminder of the bullet we dodged here in Pennsylvania, thanks to nearly 800,000 voters:

The hosts asked Mastrianio if gay marriage should be legal. “Absolutely not,” he answered, citing the Old Testament. “I’m for traditional marriage. And I am not a hater for saying that. It’s been like that for 6,000 years,” he said, invoking the Bible: “It was the first institution founded by God in Genesis, and it needs to stay that way.”

The hosts also asked Mastriano if same-sex couples should be able to adopt children. “No,” he replied. And Mastriano was even more adamant when asked whether gender identity should be added to the nation’s anti-discrimination laws. “Absolutely not,” he insisted. “That’s madness.”

Yes, you are a hater for saying that Doug. Yes you are.

BTW, did you catch that biblical dog-whistle? This is what I heard:

It's very subtle, what Doug's giving away here. Not sure if you caught it. Here's a hint: 6,000 years is a very specific number especially since the first recorded marriage is only about 4,300 years ago.

"6,000" and the part about how it's an institution founded by God in Genesis are actually rhetorical dog-whistles. Leading to the realization that given Doug's very public affirmations of his religious belief, it's not too far afield to say that Doug's cosmogony can be described this way:

Creationism in this more restricted sense entails a number of beliefs. These include, first, that a short time has elapsed since the beginning of everything. ‘Young Earth Creationists’ think that Archbishop Ussher’s sixteenth-century calculation of about 6000 years is a good estimate.
That's the near silent dog-whistle Doug communicated to his listeners.

Imagine that sitting in the Governor's mansion.