A wolf in civil clothing

by: Jay Stevens

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 09:07:46 AM MST

Traditional family values are under assault from many sides, a crowd at Havre's Town Square was warned Friday night.

But if people who support traditional values fight vigorously but with civility, they will succeed, said Jeff Laszloffy, the president of the Montana Family Foundation, a group that works closely with national lobbyist Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family....

Laszloffy was especially concerned about the "homosexual agenda," which he said has been embraced by the Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU recently filed suit to guarantee same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples, short of marriage. An amendment  to the Montana constitution, passed by voters in 2004, prohibits gay marriage.

But if the courts rule in favor of the ACLU in this case, the next step will be a lawsuit demanding same-sex marriages, Laszloffy warned.

Despite his strong disagreements with the ACLU on gay rights and other issues, he said it was important that civil dialogue take place. He said he and the president of the Montana ACLU frequently have dinner together, seeking to find common ground.

"Do you know what we agree with the ACLU on?" he said. "Absolutely nothing. But we continue to talk."
He recalled that during the 2004 campaign, he and the ACLU held debates around the state. The last one was held in the liberal bastion of Missoula at University of Montana Law School and was sponsored by the ACLU.

"I didn"t feel a lot of love in that room," he said, laughing.

He said that at the end of the debate, a lesbian came up to him and said "I don't agree with a single thing you said, but thank you for not hating us."

"We must not hate them," he said.

Anybody remember this article by Ta-Nehisi Coates?

...Throughout much of America, gays are effectively banned from marrying, not simply certain types of people, but any another compatible partner period. Unlike heterosexual blacks in 1960, the ban gays suffer under is unconditional and total and effectively offers one word for an entire sector of Americans--Die. For evading that ban means virtual--if not literal-suicide....

...{S}ystemic homophobia is, itself, a problem--but among its most heinous features is its utter disrespect for the families formed by gays and lesbians.

And opposition to Helena's sex-ed curriculum is, in large part, because students are told gay relationships exist.

Laszloffy's call for "civility" is a bit disingenuous given he supports a policy that would essentially exterminate the people he claims he's not hating. If he really wanted to be civil, he could step aside and let Americans determine the composition and quality of their own personal lives.