Was it Pinnochio moment? Or a lets-act-like-a-lawyer moment? One of the reasons why independent often distrust partisans who make political arguments and prefer to do their own research before they’ll buy a partisan’s or ideologues argument is that some partisans may a)blatantly assert something is fact when it is no such thing b)act like they’re playing lawyer and then point to technicalities so their argument may be correct with plausible deniability. But even a block of cheddar cheese knows its bogus.
And so we give you Michael Medved, who is an excellent movie critic (I followed his reviews for years and bought some of his books) and a respectable B list conservative talk show host — who claims no state has ever banned same-sex marriage.
It’s a bold assertion except it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. But it was at the CPAC meeting so it was coupled with the assertion that all the talk about some states banning it is a “liberal lie.”
Newspaper stories have been written about legislation on the books in states and attempts to get laws on the books in states. So it stands to reason that the media is also engaged in a lie — all those editors, all those reporters, all those websites that ran and linked to stories, Googe, Yahoo, the talking heads on TV who aren’t paid ideological commentators, and bloggers including some who aren’t Democrats such as THIS ONE. They all must be involved in some big conspiracy.
“There has never been a state in this country that has ever banned gay marriage,” Medved said during a panel titled “Can Libertarians and Social Conservatives Ever Get Along?” after another panelist referenced historical discrimination against LGBT couples. “That is a liberal lie.”
Prior to Medved’s comment, Alexander McCobin, president and co-founder of Students for Liberty, a libertarian group, said that the religious liberty that had historically been repressed had been “the liberty of those religious institutions and practices that support same-sex marriage.”
….To be clear: 30 states have banned same-sex marriage in their state constitution, usually by legally defining marriage as between a man and a woman, according to the Human Rights Campaign.[Talking Points Memo]
So it could be that Medved here is using the tiresome lets-play-lawyer partisan routine: if you pass a law legally defining marriage then, well, that is NOT banning gay marriage at all.
Even HE knows that’s a bunch of THIS.
Alexander McCobin, the president of Students for Liberty, argued that the liberty of pro-gay religious groups is being denied when you have “state-sponsored discrimination” all across the country. Medved shot back, “There has never been a state in this country that has ever banned gay marriage. That is a liberal lie.”
There are a number of states that currently have gay marriage bands on the books, and ten years ago, eleven states voted in favor of state constitutional amendments to define marriage as between one man and one woman, which, in effect, does ban gay marriage.
He went on to declare that rain falls up, George Washington was a robot from the future, and that he doesn’t believe that France actually exists. No word on whether the audience reacted to the comment or just continued to stare off into space with cold, dead eyes.
Where do they find these ppl? >> Radio host Medved: No state has ever banned gay marriage. 'That is a liberal lie.' http://t.co/KtHBKrq13d
— Emily Suess (@EmilySuess) March 8, 2014
Medved continues to be a box office flop: "CPAC Panelist : It Is 'A Liberal Lie' That States Ban Gay Marriage" http://t.co/ry2Xkn9bDU
— Lisa R (@txvoodoo) March 7, 2014
This #CPAC crap is crazy, Michael Medved saying there are no states that ban gay marriage, there are 30 states idiot, not a liberal lie
— Kevin Dillon (@ETKevinsMind) March 8, 2014
When arguing that gay marriage should be banned, you probably shouldn't argue gay marriage has never been banned http://t.co/5KuUle3CNQ
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) March 7, 2014
Now speaking at #CPAC2014 – Michael Medved, who wanted NY Gov. Cuomo ARRESTED over gay marriage passage. SERIOUSLY. #Assholism
— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) March 7, 2014
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.