ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)–“Pandering to social conservatives” is how homosexual activists and liberal politicians will characterize any conservative that makes the recent New Jersey Supreme Court a campaign issue.
The Garden State’s highest court ruled Oct. 25 that the New Jersey Legislature must amend state law so as to provide homosexual couples the legal benefits of marriage. The court did not mandate what the unions should be called, only that the status be on par with natural, traditional marriage.
Liberals often call moral concerns like abortion and homosexuality “wedge issues.” For the uninitiated, the definition of a wedge issue is a social or political issue that is used by politicians as a ploy to “split” an opposing political party’s support base and thereby entice voters to shift their support from one party to another.
Liberals huff with great indignation when conservatives introduce so-called wedge issues into the political debate. They liken debate on moral concerns as some kind of dirty political trick. It is interesting that abortion and homosexuality only become wedge issues when one opposes them.
For liberals, “gay marriage” is labeled a wedge issue because while most left-leaning activists and politicians are in favor of the practice, they know that the vast majority of Americans are against it. Hence, they would rather not have to take a position on it during campaign season.
So, when President Bush or any other conservative politician points out that an activist judiciary has once again mandated a law, liberals will try to pass it off as nothing more than political pandering to social conservatives by introducing a wedge issue.
If “gay marriage” truly is a wedge issue, I can assure everyone that it is not conservatives that have introduced it.
Conservatives did not issue marriage licenses illegally in San Francisco, Calif., and Portland, Ore. Conservatives did not rule in favor of homosexual unions in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Conservatives have not sought to vilify the Boy Scouts because of their policy that forbids homosexual troop leaders. No, conservatives have not introduced any of the aforementioned; they have only reacted to these developments.
The current situation concerning the “wedge issue” of “gay marriage” reminds me of a scene from the 1986 movie “Hoosiers.”
When new coach Norman Dale, played by Gene Hackman, takes over the basketball team at Hickory High School he faces opposition from several old-timers in the small Indiana town, most notably a man named George.
When George, played by actor Chelcie Ross, is told by Coach Dale that his days as interim coach are over, George becomes upset. He believes he knows better than the coach how practices should run. George believes a new routine only will disrupt the team.
“Mister, there are two kinds of dumb,” George tells Dale. “A guy that gets naked and runs out in the snow and barks at the moon and a guy that does the same thing in my living room.” Continuing his thought, George says, “The first one don’t matter; the second one you’re kind of forced to deal with.”
Homosexual activists are like the second guy George mentions. They are barging into Americans’ living rooms seeking to force acceptance of their lifestyle in the form of “gay marriage.” Like George said, the second group must be addressed.
Whether or not “gay marriage” is a wedge issue depends on your support of the practice. But make no mistake about it, “gay marriage” is a campaign issue because activists and liberals have made it one. By liberals pushing the issue of “gay marriage,” conservatives have been forced to deal with it.
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Kelly Boggs, whose column appears each Friday in Baptist Press, is editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message.
