On Oct. 25, Equal Marriage Now! hosted a discussion entitled 'Equal Marriage Rights and the Elections: A Debate' at John Merlo Branch Library, 644 W. Belmont.
It was an exercise on how articulate people can disagree without being disagreeable.
The debaters were: attorney Michael McRaith, who represented Sen. John Kerry; activist Keeanga Yamahtta Taylor, who represented Ralph Nader; and Andy Thayer of the Chicago Anti-Bashing Network, who represented 'None of the Above.' Each speaker gave an opening statement that was followed by rebuttals, a Q&A session from the audience, and a closing statement.
McRaith emphasized that people—including those with different opinions—need to work together to achieve results. He also said that it is his value of the community that has propelled him to support Kerry.
McRaith talked about how important the idea of marriage is to him—although the term 'same-sex marriage' does not appeal to him: 'That term sterilizes us; it sounds like we've been spayed along the way,' McRaith told an amused audience. 'It should be gay marriage or lesbian marriage, not same-sex marriage.' McRaith also contended that Kerry's position has been misunderstood; he also talked about Kerry's 1985 proposal involving the ban of sexual orientation discrimination and the senator's support of various acts that support equal rights.
In criticizing Nader, McRaith cited the candidate's political inexperience and Nader's statement in 2000 that there was no difference between President Bush and Al Gore.
Taylor probably had the most difficult position because she was speaking on behalf of a candidate who's been largely ignored by the public. She covered three main points: that people should support Nader's candidacy; that a vote for Kerry is actually a closer vote for Bushism than a vote for Nader would be; and that progressive activists and organizers should get involved in the election. In criticizing Kerry, Taylor mentioned what she termed Kerry's 'bragging' about voting for Antonin Scalia to be on the Supreme Court to show that Kerry is not some 'liberal airhead'; to Taylor, it was just another politician saying what he can to get votes from every demographic. To her, participating in the election is about voting your conscience.
Thayer stressed that he is not against voting, per se—although he sees it as the least important thing he will do regarding marriage equality. His problem with Kerry is that the presidential candidate has come out against equal marriage rights; in fact, he finds the attitude that 'John Kerry is the way to go' very disturbing. Thayer also feels that Nader is not even trying to build a third party. Not surprisingly, he believes that the seeds of change lie not with politicians, but with activists; he pointed out how certain people, such as Martin Luther King, achieved greatness—and results —through movements. Additionally, Thayer also did not think that Bush being back in office would be the end of the world; he cited all of the things that happened in Richard Nixon's second term, such as the creation of everything from food stamps to affirmative action.
To contact Equal Marriage Now!, e-mail info@equalmarriagenow.org or leave a message at 773 243-2576.
