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Originally Posted by willravel
- Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
- Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
- Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
- Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1996)
That is a consistent prejudice against homosexuals. Every time an issue of homosexuality has come up, he's voted against homosexuality. A prejudice against a particular group, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation is called bigotry. What do we call someone who is a bigot against homosexuals? Homophobe.
I rest my case.
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Objection, your Honor. Prosecution misses the point, assumes too much from facts in evidence.
If Thompson is against hate crime legislation in general, then those first two votes are not compelling evidence of homophobia.
If Thompson is against regulating the hiring practices of private businesses in general, then that last vote is not compelling evidence of homophobia.
That third vote comes close. It's actually fairly compelling. But it's not an open and shut case, and you should have called more witnesses. There are reasons other than bigotry to welcome gay marriage bans - the belief that gay marriage will further destabilize the institution (as the Scandinavian study might superficially appear to demonstrate) or the dictionary argument ("It's just not marriage, it's something else"), coupled with some lack of serious thought on the matter. Put simply, laziness is an equally good explanation for some opposition. It's not a greatly important issue, after all, next to stuff like the war, fiscal policy, immigration... pretty much every other major issue.
I've had friends who opposed gay marriage, yet never withheld the slightest bit of kindness or respect for their gay friends. Call them bigots, and the word 'bigot' loses all meaning. Or at least your usage does.
These kind of assumptions are pointless, anyway - his position is no less wrong/right either way. And 'u' and 'mptions' are all the worse for wear.