Would you be a member of an organization which advocated against interracial or gay marriage?

I suspect most people on DU would say they would not be a member, but do we check the views of every organization we join? Or is that the point?

Some DUers are members of such organizations.

All catholics, mormons, and nearly all christian denominations oppose gay marriage. Not to mention that the democratic party itself, as headed by Barak Obama, opposes gay marriage.

Only the independent, non-religious members of DU can say they would not join an organization opposing gay marriage and be honest.

Wherever it has been legalized by legislature, the Democrats have been proponents rather than opponents.

I am not against participating in organizations that contain opponents of same-sex marriage. I am against participating in organizations that actively oppose same-sex marriage.

Care to show me where on the Democratic Platform it says "legalize same-sex marriage"?

Even ones that don't act either way on same-sex marriage. In life, sometimes it's helpful to work with people who disagree with you.

But I will not be part of an organization that advocates for banning same-sex marriage.

Principles are SO tedious for some people.

So does everyone, I would assume.

Joining an advocacy organization does not mean "I agree with every person in this organization." It means "I agree broadly with the principles of this organization."

People are killed every day because of those kinds of "disagreements".

Glad you're at peace with the ends justifying the means. I guess if the KKK agreed with you on a particular issue, you'd happily join. Who cares what they do with the rest of their time, right?

so your reference to the harms of bigotry is beside the point. Guilt by association has never been a very credible argument. The relevant fact here is that a member of a group is accountable on some level for the broad principles and views of the group. Not for the conduct or views of each member of the group.

Your accusation that my argument amounts to "the ends justifying the means" is so distant from what I have actually advanced that I see little reason to substantively reply. Your KKK analogy is similarly substanceless.

its bigotry.

The question the OP asked was if you would become a member of an organization which advocates against same-sex marriage...which the democratic party DOES. The democratic party does NOT advocate murder (assuming you don't believe abortion to be murder).

My analogy was completely correct, and your attempts to rationalize your willingness to embrace bigoted organizations are disingenuous at best.

Certain members of the Democratic Party do. But, then, certain members of the Republican Party are pro-choice, and I doubt you'd be inclined to call it a pro-choice organization.

The simple fact of the matter, as I have said before, is that wherever it has been a politically viable option, wherever same-sex marriage has had a decent shot of passing, it has been the majority of the Democrats against the majority of the Republicans. This was true in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine; it is now true in New Jersey and New York. DC, one of the most Democratic cities in the country, will precisely for that reason pass its same-sex marriage legislation nearly unanimously.

This holds true even on the national level. Obama and most Democrats in Congress support anti-discrimination laws and full federal rights for same-sex couples: the president's politically convenient disavowal of support for same-sex marriage (almost certainly insincere, or at least a reversal from past political positions) has nothing to do with federal law because federal law does not control marriage recognition. What matters there is the repeal of DOMA, which he supports; the fact that it probably could not get through a filibuster in the Senate is neither his fault nor the fault of the majority of Democrats.

Politically, from almost the very beginning, whether or not they supported full equality, whether or not they were in fact bigots, Democrats have been on the right side of this issue (in the sense of supporting something more equal than the status quo), and Republicans on the wrong side. And in no salient same-sex marriage battle has the leadership of the Democratic Party sided with bigotry instead of with equality.

If you think this record makes the Democratic Party on this issue equivalent to the KKK, your argument is, um, quite a bit more than disingenuous. A simple recognition of political realities will show that supporting full equality for LGBT people is a good reason to support and vote for Democrats, and to oppose and vote against Republicans. The same is not true of the organizations that are the real enemies of equality, who use the support they get not to advance equal rights legislation (or at worst to neglect it), but to actively block and oppose it, and pass bigoted constitutional amendments instead.

It is not in the party platform. The leader of the party has openly opposed it. That is more fierce advocacy than anything Barack Obama promised the gays during the election.

but it was between him and John McCain. Sometimes you have to take the best option you are given.

Nevertheless, is it better to abandon the DNC entirely rather than to try to change the official position from within... as there are plenty of democrats, including elected officials, who DO support gay marriage... these are legitimate questions.

And yeah, I'm pretty disappointed with the party on that particular point.

The following Christian Denominations support marriage equality, the MCC, the UCC, and the Episopal church. So do the reformed Jews.

:hi:

I'm not "non-religious," insofar as I privately practice a personal faith. But I do not belong to either a religious or political group that opposes equality.

I'm no longer a Democrat because when I realized that corporate interests and the whim of the privileged class took precedence to issues of poverty and social inequality, I quit.

I still vote for Democrats when I feel it makes tactical sense to do so. And I won't advocate voting for a third party. And this has been my community for a long time I and I don't want to leave. But I won't call myself a Democrat anymore. I can't stand the hypocrisy any longer. The national party abandoned me and my friends long before I thought of walking away from them.

Too late: no backsies.

Hmmmm. I guess it could just say "I'm a republican" and still mean the same thing

"McCain" part of the sticker was cleanly removed, leaving only "Palin."

I've never been a "joiner" anyway (other than websites like DU), and I certainly wouldn't join an organization that opposed equal marriage rights.

Whenever I have asked your question to these DUers, they either ignore the question or accuse me of broad brushing. Perhaps someone will write a thoughtful defense of such memberships.

And you're called a bigot to point it out.

:D It was something like, "Do you feel Christians are homophobic, in your opinion?" How less like a troll can someone ask such a question???? But complain they did.

I grew up Episcopal and recently converted the Methodist. The UMC doesn't perform same sex marriages, they however, haven't taken much more of a stance than that. I am certainly conflicted by this. There are several gay members of my church that I belong to, they participate greatly in the service, however, they couldn't be married in the church. I know my ministers well (a husband and wife), and they are for equality for every single human being. If the UMC would go ahead and get off of the political bullshit part of it, gay marriages would certainly be conducted in my church by my ministers. So, I am extremely conflicted by this. Of course I would love for gay marriage to be a ceremony conducted in my personal church (as well as all churches). It would never be legal here in the state of MS regardless of my church, but even though I said that I would certainly not knowingly belong to an organization like that, I do.

I would not join any organization that would have me as a member

Groucho that is.

Learned alot of stuff in both. Would recommend either to anyone that asked. I was enlisted before the don't ask don't tell stuff.

like anyone in the catholic church

Even as the church wages a far, FAR more vigorous campaign against same-sex marriage than they EVER have against poverty or homelessness, the cafeteria catholics maintain that THEY are the real catholics, not the bishops signing declaration against same-sex marriage and abortion, or the ones promising that the church will withdraw all social services from DC is gay marriage is allowed to stand, or the ones saying that homosexuals are responsible for the pedophila in the church, or the ones donating half a million dollars to repeal same-sex marriage in Maine.

Catholic hate is funded by cafeteria catholics. There are NO "good" catholics.

Like Kerry, Kennedy and Kucinich!

No matter who they are or what their intentions are.

And it's a good question. Why would anyone stay in a group that they KNOW advocates against equal rights for all?

i dont think 90% of du'ers really think "No, I would not be a member of an organization which advocated against interracial or gay marriage"

and the ACLU. I dont belong to any other organization.

or church.

knr. you held up a mirror. :)

What organizations (non-crazy ones) advocate against interracial marriages?

and whilst some in the party advocate for gay marriage, some dont. though in fairness to me, i see no viable other options.

in relation to gay people i see the dems as a bit like the mafia. we pay them to keep us safe from even worse people (republicans) but we dont really believe that the mafia will change power structures.

I wish the Democratic Party was actually capable of some "fierce advocacy" but I don't feel they actually advocate against it either. But I'm not actually a member -- one doesn't register by party in my state!

My religion is non-discriminatory. If you really believe your god is homophobic or racist or misogynist, so all you can do is what you're told....why the hell are you worshipping that god? If he/she/it can't love AND WANT HAPPINESS FOR all its children, then he/she/it doesn't deserve worship at all. Vote it out of office! There are plenty of other gods if you like, and if you don't, you're better off without one.

I'm an intern for a group that's fighting FOR marriage equality (and we have to get it done ASAP)

and as a straight girl, I'm ashamed that I can get married and not all of my friends can.

for instance- i definitely enjoyed my time in the boy scouts, and if i had the chance to do it over, i imagine that i still would.

Other than that, I am pretty much done with the national organization.

I will vote for, work for and contribute to individual progressive Democratic candidates, but will not donate to a DNC that funnels money to corporate shills or to anti-choice, ant-gay, or pro-war candidates.

I used to be Catholic and was even conformed, but that is something definitely in the distant past.

ideals that I could identify with.

I don't consider those positions as ideals in themselves, but outgrowths of underlying ideals - in particular, human rights.