Despair, gay marriage and Maggie Gallagher

I haven’t been able to let go of this post by Maggie Gallagher, who runs the National Organization for Marriage, which campaigns against gay marriage, including the recent ballot in Maine. She wrote on Friday:

Despair is a spiritual weapon, and it is the gay-marriage movement’s single most powerful weapon.

Even accounting for differing political views, this is stunningly dishonest. Here’s a typical ad for gay marriage in Maine:

And here’s a typical ad against:

One is an affirmative call to equality. The other is “booga booga” scare tactics. Which side do you think despair is really on, anyway?

Gay marriage loses in Maine

So much for that live and let live New England ethos, eh? How disappointing. And I confess that I increasingly don’t get it.

“Defenders of traditional marriage” treat this debate as zero sum — as though giving gays the right to marry will somehow take away something from heterosexuals. But it won’t. Not that it matters, I suppose. Fear and bigotry get to carry the day, once again. I’m confident that won’t always be the case; today, though, I’m kind of angry.