Rep. Pihos AWOL On Great Civil Rights Issue Of Our Time
As a civil rights advocate for fifty years now, I've learned to be patient in the inexorable struggle to achieve full civil rights for every American; indeed, every human being. I rejoiced at seeing Jim Crow abolished by a relentless campaign of civil disobedience, legal challenge, and yes, political leaders who had the moral courage to sta...nd up to the ignorant, the fearful and the haters and say "Enough, we are going to grant full citizenship to all Americans, regardless of skin color". Two of the proudest moments came when President Kennedy went on national TV to use the Presidential bully pulpit to advocate for racial equality, and President Johnson speak about the historic Voting Rights Act he was signing which amounted to a tearing down of the Berlin Wall of voter disenfranchisement in the South.
But that was fifty years ago and here we are today engaged in the latest effort to grant full citizenship to a minority, marginalized class of Americans still seeking the American promise of freedom; the freedom of gays to marry the person of their choice. This campaign also includes ending every last vestige of homophobic conduct including job discrimination, bullying, even beatings and murder which occur more frequently than we care to admit. But freedom of gays to marry is the most symbolic and visible vestige of our sordid history on this issue and the last year has witnessed a seismic change in public opinion and courage by political leaders to move up the timetable of victory. First, Vice President Joe Biden, than President Barack Obama "came out" for gay marriage. Public opinion then shifted with the latest national poll favoring gay marriage 58% to 36%. On a national level, DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) appears doomed to fall in the Supreme Court possibly as early as this year. Illinois is on the cusp of becoming the tenth state to legalize gay marriage, and Governor Quinn, following the courageous footsteps of Biden and Obama, has come out strongly for marriage equality, promising to sign the bill into Illinois law immediately upon passage.
Alas, it is discouraging to report that my state representative, Sandy Pihos (GOP, 48th) has officially come out against passage of Senate Bill 10 (Marriage Equality Act). Is Sandy Pihos personally against gay marriage? Does she feel it will undermine opposite sex marriage? Is she worried it will allow gays to "weasel their way" into our schools to promote the gay lifestyle? Unlike Pihos' colleague and neighbor Jeanne Ives (GOP, 42nd) of Wheaton, who proudly proclaims those views, we don't know. Rep. Pihos says simply, "As with civil unions (which she also voted NO on) there remains strong opposition to same sex marriage from the vast majority of my constituents in my district, which I've been sent to Springfield to represent".
That's it. The great moral issue of our time and Pihos claims its simply majority rule in the 48th. Pihos provides no data on her alleged "strong majority". Is it 15 of 20 persons who've contacted her out of a constituency of over 100,000? I've been lobbying her to support gay marriage for five years now and she never responds to my request for the data. I've challenged her to go into any high school in our district and poll the students on gay marriage. They would almost certainly favor gay marriage by a much larger percent than the current 58% to 36% nationally. This is because the youth of our district, our state and our nation are not frozen in the fear, and ignorance and hate regarding gays that the older generations still are. Rep. Pihos can talk all she wants about majority rule being determinative. If that were true we wouldn't need persons in our legislature. We'd simply need a computer to tally opinions and then vote accordingly. Would Rep. Pihos support legislation to only allow sugary drinks in our schools if that's what a majority wanted? Of course not. She would use their views as a "teachable moment" to inform on the toxic effect of too much sugar. Some issues simply cannot be left up to a majority, real or imagined, particularly when it involves the rights of others. It took civil disobedience and courageous office holders to grant women the right to vote a century ago. Women got the right to vote and even hold office; and when that happened the world didn't come to an end for men governed by fear and hate and ignorance. The same holds true today for marriage equality and full citizenship for gays. Sorry, but heteros will still suffer a 50% marriage failure rate after gay marriage becomes law.
Regardless of her written statement, Rep. Pihos still has time to search her heart and her soul to provide a moral justification for impeding the goal of marriage equality in Illinois. She needs to stop hiding behind the mask of "majority rule" and be a leader, not a follower. Although there is still time madam Representative, don't wait too long. I'm getting old; and the historic vote looms.
But that was fifty years ago and here we are today engaged in the latest effort to grant full citizenship to a minority, marginalized class of Americans still seeking the American promise of freedom; the freedom of gays to marry the person of their choice. This campaign also includes ending every last vestige of homophobic conduct including job discrimination, bullying, even beatings and murder which occur more frequently than we care to admit. But freedom of gays to marry is the most symbolic and visible vestige of our sordid history on this issue and the last year has witnessed a seismic change in public opinion and courage by political leaders to move up the timetable of victory. First, Vice President Joe Biden, than President Barack Obama "came out" for gay marriage. Public opinion then shifted with the latest national poll favoring gay marriage 58% to 36%. On a national level, DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) appears doomed to fall in the Supreme Court possibly as early as this year. Illinois is on the cusp of becoming the tenth state to legalize gay marriage, and Governor Quinn, following the courageous footsteps of Biden and Obama, has come out strongly for marriage equality, promising to sign the bill into Illinois law immediately upon passage.
Alas, it is discouraging to report that my state representative, Sandy Pihos (GOP, 48th) has officially come out against passage of Senate Bill 10 (Marriage Equality Act). Is Sandy Pihos personally against gay marriage? Does she feel it will undermine opposite sex marriage? Is she worried it will allow gays to "weasel their way" into our schools to promote the gay lifestyle? Unlike Pihos' colleague and neighbor Jeanne Ives (GOP, 42nd) of Wheaton, who proudly proclaims those views, we don't know. Rep. Pihos says simply, "As with civil unions (which she also voted NO on) there remains strong opposition to same sex marriage from the vast majority of my constituents in my district, which I've been sent to Springfield to represent".
That's it. The great moral issue of our time and Pihos claims its simply majority rule in the 48th. Pihos provides no data on her alleged "strong majority". Is it 15 of 20 persons who've contacted her out of a constituency of over 100,000? I've been lobbying her to support gay marriage for five years now and she never responds to my request for the data. I've challenged her to go into any high school in our district and poll the students on gay marriage. They would almost certainly favor gay marriage by a much larger percent than the current 58% to 36% nationally. This is because the youth of our district, our state and our nation are not frozen in the fear, and ignorance and hate regarding gays that the older generations still are. Rep. Pihos can talk all she wants about majority rule being determinative. If that were true we wouldn't need persons in our legislature. We'd simply need a computer to tally opinions and then vote accordingly. Would Rep. Pihos support legislation to only allow sugary drinks in our schools if that's what a majority wanted? Of course not. She would use their views as a "teachable moment" to inform on the toxic effect of too much sugar. Some issues simply cannot be left up to a majority, real or imagined, particularly when it involves the rights of others. It took civil disobedience and courageous office holders to grant women the right to vote a century ago. Women got the right to vote and even hold office; and when that happened the world didn't come to an end for men governed by fear and hate and ignorance. The same holds true today for marriage equality and full citizenship for gays. Sorry, but heteros will still suffer a 50% marriage failure rate after gay marriage becomes law.
Regardless of her written statement, Rep. Pihos still has time to search her heart and her soul to provide a moral justification for impeding the goal of marriage equality in Illinois. She needs to stop hiding behind the mask of "majority rule" and be a leader, not a follower. Although there is still time madam Representative, don't wait too long. I'm getting old; and the historic vote looms.
posted by Walt Zlotow at 4:24 PM
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