One of the easiest ways to identify the bigots in Alaska is to read the letters to the editor in our mainstream newspapers.

     Yeah, that’s right, I used the “B” word. Bigots, bigots, bigots.

     It is astounding how many people are eager to widely publicize their ignorance and narrow-minded chauvinism to the world at large.

     There are lots of vulnerable targets which these hate mongers are eager to attack. It is almost always weak targets that they go after. In the aftermath of 9/11 it was Muslims. Before that it was “welfare mothers.” A lot of them seem to regret the fact that they can no longer get away with lynching the people they hate.

     The target du jour is same sex couples who want to build a secure and happy life together. From the letters to the editor from our local bigots, you would think that these couples are going to destroy existing world order next week if we don’t oppress them with sufficient rigor. According to them, what the world needs now is hate, bitter hate, backed up with oppressive laws.

     One of the common tactics used by the bigots is the argument that homosexuality led to the collapse of the Roman Empire. They often state or imply that the same thing will happen to us if we aren’t harsh enough in our treatment of same sex couples. It is nonsense, of course, but when did a bigot ever let inconvenient facts get in the way of a perfectly good prejudice.

     It is true enough that the ancient Romans (and the ancient Greeks) had a much more tolerant attitude toward homosexuality than our own society does. For example, read Plato’s The Symposium, where Plato argues that the highest form of love is the love between an older man and a younger boy. I don’t agree with Plato on this point, but his position is illustrative of the tolerance that prevailed in those ancient societies.

     The bigot’s argument is destroyed by the fact that the Roman Empire had that more tolerant attitude throughout its history, not just at the end. Furthermore, the Roman Empire did not fall until after the Christians took it over. You can make a much better case that the fall of the Roman Empire was caused by Christianity than by homosexuality.

     Interestingly, the people who write letters to the editor often start out their letters by saying something like “I am not a bigot but I think that same sex couples should be put in concentrations camps and exterminated.” They want to be free to express their hateful prejudices but don’t want themselves to even be labeled with an accurate pejorative.

     I am a big supporter of free speech. Even hate mongers and bigots are and should be free to express their opinions. But when they express support for legal discrimination and bigotry, I am going to call them out as bigots that they are.

     On April 3, there is a special state wide election where the voters will “advise” the legislature as to whether bigotry should be further enshrined in the Alaska Constitution. I say “further enshrined” because the voters of this state have already passed a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriages.

     What the bigots forgot to do back then was repeal the equal protection amendment. As a result, the Alaska Supreme Court subsequently held that it was a violation of equal protection rights for a government employer to offer partner benefits to heterosexual couples, while denying those benefits to similarly situated same sex couples. I previously wrote about that decision here.

     It was a solid decision, but the Supreme Court forgot one very important point. The marriage amendment was not about “preserving marriage.” As I wrote here, the Republican Party deliberately panders to bigots in order to advance its political agenda. The marriage amendment was designed to let bigots feel good about themselves while the government discriminated against same sex couples.

     The real issue in the April 3 election is not about same sex couples. It is about the limits of government control over our lives. The Alaska Constitution helps limit the powers that the government can use to affect our lives. We should not be using it to limit individual rights and to expand government power.

     Please go to the polls on April 3, and let the Legislature know that you support equal protection, and that you do not want bigotry further enshrined in the Alaska Constitution.

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