Good move, will.
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Originally Posted by willravel
I don't see any evidence that suggests he's against all hate crime legislation.
Again, I don't see any evidence of that. Not only that, but these two together are a mighty coincidence. Add on the same sex marriage thing and it's almost certain.
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You're claiming that those votes are evidence of homophobia. They aren't. At least not alone. I'd vote the same way and I'm not homophobic.
You need more evidence, the burden is on you.
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It's often a major issue when you're a Republican. Again, we're talking about multiple votes creating a precedence. He clearly has a precedence for voting against homosexuals, and it would have to be for very coincidental and varying reasons for it not to be a bias.
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It's a major wedge issue, but not necessarily a major issue in any personal sense. Which brings up a third motive: there's bigotry, there's laziness, and there's political posturing. He might vote that way for the primary/sole purpose of getting votes/funding. Certainly not admirable if true, but not bigotry either.
Not much coincidence or variance is needed here. Just a weakness in unthinkingly towing the party line, or an opposition to hate crime legislation and business regulation coupled with a cursory glance at Webster's and Scandinavia. It's really not that outlandish, and you really haven't made your case yet, unless you were shooting for nothing more than 'plausible'. I'd conceed the word 'plausible' to your assertions.
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I would argue that being against gay marriage is a withholding of a right, not just kindness or respect...but I don't know your friends.
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I wouldn't defend their position, I'd only argue that 'bigoted' isn't an accurate way to describe their position, even if the political outcome is the same as a bigoted position.