P.Z. Myers whiffed on that Atheism Plus foolishness, but nonbelief should be about celebrating our similarities, right? That said, I couldn’t agree more with what P.Z. Myers wrote about Minnesota’s recent vote to OK gay marriage.

Gov. Mark Dayton wrote:

In my heart, I grieve on both sides. Because I know what it’s like to be alone and I know what it is like to have somebody close to you and love you. But I grieve inside because I feel we are opening the doors to Sodom and Gomorra. And in the end, God is going to be the judge,” said Nelson, of Blaine, tears running down her cheeks.

Aww, he grieves on both sides. How compassionate. He apparently doesn’t shed too many tears, however, since priestly exhortations against sodomy by fiat trump any loneliness folks might feel from the lack of a mate, straight or otherwise. In the end an all-loving, peaceful, war-loving God — depending on which part of the Bible you read — with his fire and brimstone, will be the judge.

How moving.

Myers concludes his remarks about Dayton:

I would bottle your tears and perhaps dot a little on my wrists every morning — Eau de Schadenfreude. Or perhaps I would drink them like a rich bitter wine, and laugh. Those aren’t tears of sorrow, but of nasty cruel bigotry — you didn’t get your way, you weren’t allowed to demean other citizens of this state in the way you wanted, and now you get to weep in frustration, while I have no sympathy.

And to compare the happy men and women who can now aspire to share equally in love and marriage with evil, wicked horrible people from your book of lies, to tell yourself they are damned and will be destroyed…well, I’ll dance an especially happy spiteful dance on your broken dreams of oppression, lady.

Conservatives and religious types just need to swallow this conclusion hook, line and sinker because it’s reality: in regard to equal rights – particularly gay and civil rights – as San Francisco goes, so goes the nation. Resist this trend all you want but believe you me, whatever is now acceptable in California, the Pacific Northwest and New England, will one day be acceptable in the entire nation, the South included, and no matter how long it takes, resistance to this fact is futile.

I don’t know how raising money is supposed to impact votes at the ballot box unless they plan to buy off people to get them to vote against same-sex marriage. In any case:

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Scores of Maine churches will pass the collection plate a second time at Sunday services on Father’s Day to kick off a fundraising campaign for the lead opposition group to November’s ballot question asking voters to legalize same-sex marriages.

Between 150 and 200 churches are expected to raise money for the Protect Marriage Maine political action committee, said Carroll Conley Jr., executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine evangelical organization and a member of the PAC. Conley is also trying to drum up support for the Maine campaign from religious leaders from around the country.

This sounds like an egregious waste of resources to me. The money raised could be used by churches to, oh, I don’t know, feed the homeless, give clothes and shelter to needy families or generally make someone else’s life better. But no, churches and conservatives PAC’s think it’s a better use of their time and money to fight against equality. We see how well that worked out for them in 1964, don’t we?

Associated Press.

While states like North Carolina continue to futility live in the dark ages on equality issues like gay rights, Obama has become the first sitting president in history to voice his support for same-sex marriage. While the fringe right and radio hosts have continually blasted Obama over the last four years for being so progressive, yet he waited a rather long time to “come out” about his personal feelings on same-sex marriage. Of course, they’ll no doubt blast him more now.

In any case, it was a bold move with the election looming, and one that was, perhaps, catalyzed by the vice president’s recent show of strong support for equality. That said, I don’t know that I see any negatives for Obama as it relates to the presidential campaign. The gay community in this nation, who may have been hesitant prior to this admission for his persistent silence on the issue, will most likely back him now. For Obama’s base, many of whom already support same-sex marriage, his recent comments won’t make any difference and will probably only be a positive for them.

He may have lost a few moderates or undecided votes, but really, I think, or at least hope, that most people will vote this election on the economy, foreign policy and matters of more import. I seriously see very few voters’ decisions turning on this personal admission from the president.

But back to North Carolina. Six states and D.C. now allow same-sex marriage. Even if it takes another century, I think the other states will follow suit because history shows us that even the most backward areas of the nation, which is still the South, and to a lesser extent, the Southwest (not including California) have always, however, begrudgingly, caught up with the times. This can be seen most immediately in how the South has slowly crawled into the late 20th century (I hesitate to say 21st century) on matters of race. And I say that North Carolina’s recent vote was a futile attempt to oppose gay marriage because gay marriage will happen in the South eventually; it’s just a matter of how long it takes. Older generations and their like-minded progeny will die off, while younger generations will become more accustomed to the idea of gay rights and the necessity of treating every human being, in every case and on every issue, as equal.

The problem, of course, is blind stupidity. Opponents of gay rights apparently don’t see how their opposition is analogous to previous generations’ opposition to black civil rights or women’s rights. And the issue becomes more contemptible in the cases of people like Maggie Gallagher, herself a benefactor of generations of women struggling for equal rights, who adamantly opposes gay marriage as co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage. The stupidity continues: blacks are not equal to rights. Women are not equal to men. Gays are not equal to heterosexuals. In the end, all three dichotomies will fall.

News from The Associated Press.