Mmmmm...mmmm. Nothing like a big ol' slice of bigotry.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick led the celebration as Texas lawmakers rallied
against equality:
"We need you as an army behind us to stand for life, to stand for marriage, to stand just for the constitution and to stand for what the people have decided to do, it's not that complicated," said Patrick.
The rally was in support of Texas House Bill 623, which would
prohibit state employees from receiving salary, pension, other other employment benefits if they issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
They were also celebrating an important moment in Texas history:
The nine grassroots groups who organized the rally brought wedding cake, a symbol of the 10-year ban on gay marriage in Texas, passed in 2005. The director of Equality Texas said the political landscape has changed dramatically since then.
As Christopher Hooks at the
Texas Observer notes, they just
can't let it go:
In some ways, it was still 2005 in the room. The Texas Eagle Forum’s Cathie Adams introduced state Rep. Cecil Bell (R-Magnolia), who opened with a joke. “I always take a picture of the audience,” he told the crowd, pulling out his phone, to prove to his wife that he is where he said he would be. After all, “it’s until death do us part, and it’s me she was talking about killing.” Traditional marriage, you see, is the bond between a man and his nagging wife.
The event was organized by Jonathan Saez, the president of the anti-gay group Texas Values. You may remember Saez—he was most recently in the news when his
wife filed for divorce and left him for a woman.