Equal rights are not "special rights"

The Old Man,

First of all: would you mind please answering the non-rhetorical, earnest questions I posed? They are in italics, towards the end of my last post.

Secondly: I feel like we're talking past each other. I say something like, "Everyone should have equal rights" and you reply, "No one should have special rights". Er, yes, I agree with you, no one is entitled to special rights. I absolutely concede that point to you. Now, can we address the issues I raised?

Thirdly: I mentioned some very specific policies: the Defense of Marriage Act, the many state laws/amendments which outlaw gay marriage, civil unions, and adoption, Don't Ask Don't Tell. A straightforward response to this would be to say whether you A) think these policies are discriminatory, or B) do not. Instead, you point out that everybody is discriminated against. That's true as far as it goes, but as far as I am aware there is no state amendment prohibiting red-haired people or Mormons from adopting children. Just gay people. And if there were such discriminatory policies against so many groups of people -- all the more reason to discuss them, and rally opposition against them.

I am flabbergasted that you have so little to say about these discriminatory policies, and so much to say about hypothetical legislation that might force us to tolerate gay people and give them "special rights". You seem pretty worried about the "victim status" caused by flagrant discrimination, but not too worried about the discrimination itself.

Your response is doubly strange, because earlier your feathers were a little ruffled by words I wrote on this blog criticizing conservative Christians (talk about "victim status"). But critical words are nothing compared to, say, a state amendment prohibiting child adoption passed by 70% of the voters. Imagine if such an amendment was passed, prohibiting Christians from adopting children. Even if it only happened in one state, I think you would be outraged by the discrimination itself. Yet, as we speak, equally outrageous discrimination is being leveled against gay people, in not one but several states. Most of the measures passed recently, they are not relics from the past but new developments. Where is your outrage? Honestly, your concerns about the "victim status" and hypothetical "special rights" of gays and so forth seem like convenient distractions.

Let me make the points where we agree explicit, so it won't be necessary to bring them up again. I, along with most gay people I know, agree with you on the following points:

1. Nobody needs "special rights". Just regular, plain ol' equal rights will do.
   
2. All groups of people should try to move beyond a "victim status". One way of doing this is by changing state policies which flagrantly discriminate against them. This will discourage a "victim status".
   
3. We should not "legislate what people must think and believe". This includes legislating that people must think and believe marriage is between one man, one woman only.

So now let's apply the principles you, me, and most gay and transgendered people agree on to the Defense of Marriage Act; the many state laws and amendments which outlaw gay marriage and civil unions and adoption; and Don't Ask Don't Tell. I reach the conclusion that these measures are attacks on equality and basic human dignity. What conclusions do you reach?

I want to end with a thought-experiment: if the exact same policies were applied to Christians, I would find them equally intolerable and remain outraged. Would you call criticism of these policies a "red herring" and remain as unmoved as you seem to be now? Come on.