The "Moral Majority" in this country is itself bigoted.
aclu.org
NEW YORK -- As political and religious conservatives increase public attacks on gays and lesbians, the American Civil Liberties Union today asked Americans to consider the morality of bigotry.
In the sixth installment of its public policy advertising campaign running on the op-ed page of The New York Times and The New Republic, the ACLU points out that morality was once used as a justification for widespread discrimination against African Americans.
"Belief in the innate immorality of black people, buttressed by selected scriptural references, formed the basis for slavery, segregation and lynchings," today's advertisement says.
The year-long advertising campaign, a first-ever effort for the 78-year-old organization, runs on The New York Times op-ed page once a month through December 1998. Each ad contains a briefly worded message from ACLU Executive Director Ira Glasser on topical subjects ranging from the war on drugs to religious freedom to government intrusions in the bedroom.
Linking the campaign theme of public vs. private morality to today's ad, Glasser pointed out that claims of moral inferiority have been used throughout American history as a justification for denying civil rights to disenfranchised groups.
"We were once told that it would be immoral for women to work or vote. Jews, Irish, Italians -- virtually every immigrant group in fact -- were once said to be morally inferior," he said. "Any time we hear discrimination justified by claims that its victims are immoral, we should remember this regrettable part of our history."
The latest round of attacks on lesbians and gay men come in the wake of recent legal and legislative civil rights victories. Just last month, the House overwhelmingly rejected an anti-gay measure that would have permitted discrimination against gay men and lesbians employed by the federal government. And in a landmark 1996 decision, the Supreme Court for the first time ruled that the government may not treat lesbians and gay men differently simply out of hostility or fear.
Political operatives and religious extremists are now determined to take back those victories, the ACLU said. Leading the fight is Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, who in a recent television interview equated homosexuality with "sins" like "kleptomania" and "alcoholism." Backing him up, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-TX, assured the public that "the Bible is very clear on this."
Saying that homosexuality is a matter of "lifestyle" choice, a coalition of Christian conservative groups have placed a series of full-page ads in major newspapers making the scientifically rejected claim that gays can be "converted." In a recent interview with the Times, one of the architects of the "conversion" ad campaign said the advertising ploy was intended to strike at the assumption that homosexuality is immutable and that gay people therefore need protection under anti-discrimination laws.
The so-called "conversion" ad campaign is clearly an attempt to set up a phony debate over whether gay men and lesbians can, in fact, change, Glasser said. The real issue, he said, is whether loving someone of the same sex should condemn lesbians and gay men to random violence, harassment, job and housing discrimination and loss of rights as a parent.
In the ACLU op-ed ad, Glasser concludes: "Sure, they can try to hide behind morality, but we all know a bigot when we see one. Think about it." |
