lying liars that lie

There's an old talking point that goes like this: marriage is between a man and a woman. Sure, same-sex couples should have basic legal recognition/protections of some kind, but call it something else. This is the primary argument of moderates opposed to marriage equality, and something many conservatives pay lipservice to. It's bollocks.

Two articles today about Colorado, which has passed a bare-minimum domestic partnership bill, and Wisconsin, which is working on the same. Now, these are two states with bans on same-sex marriage, protecting the sacred institution and all that, right? Here's the article on Colorado's measure:

Republicans attacked the measure, calling it an attempt to circumvent the state constitution which bans same-sex marriage.

And here's the one about Wisconsin:

The conservative Wisconsin Family Action said Tuesday that the proposal would violate the state constitution. In 2006, Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.

These are not marriage equivalents we're talking about here, even if we ignore the psychological effect of the word and talk pure law. These are simple, inadequate things, trying to give basic legal recognition and a semblance of dignity to same-sex couples. And yet they are now supposedly covered by the marriage bans, something I fancy few voters knew when they put those bans into place.

I need Al Franken here to shout "LIARS" for me, I think.

Passing this along, while I'm here. I don't think I can make it, but I will be a very visible presence in my classroom that day.