Tom Hanks Retracts anti-Mormon Statement
January 23rd, 2009 | by Sqotty |Tom Hanks has issued a non-apology statement modifying his recent position on the Mormon Church and Proposition 8 in California. Last week he made it clear that he believed that the Mormon Church, specifically, as being un-American in their support of Proposition 8. Now he asserts that he should not have said that. And he is right.
From FoxNews:
“Last week, I labeled members of the Mormon church who supported California’s Proposition 8 as ‘un-American,’” the actor said in a statement through his publicist. “I believe Proposition 8 is counter to the promise of our Constitution; it is codified discrimination.”
“But everyone has a right to vote their conscience; nothing could be more American,” the statement continues. “To say members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who contributed to Proposition 8 are ‘un-American’ creates more division when the time calls for respectful disagreement. No one should use ‘un- American’ lightly or in haste. I did. I should not have.”
Hanks is right about slinging around labels like “un-American” in such a fashion. Although his original comment specifically targeted Mormons, how did, and does, he feel about those non-Mormons who also supported Proposition 8?
However he is wrong when he believes that this is codified discrimination. People who are gay have the same rights to marriage as anyone else: marriage between one man and one woman, straight or gay, doesn’t matter.
What the Gay community is attempting to do is force a special set of “rights” that pertains only to them. Rights, and laws, must be applied equally to all of the people, all of the time. When marriage is defined as being between one man and one woman, that is applied equally to everyone, regardless of race, sex, religion, or sexual preference. There are people who don’t like that, but that is the way the law is.
What is missing from Hanks statement, aside from a real apology, is a condemnation for groups who have been harassing people who supported Proposition 8. I won’t hold my breath waiting for such to happen. Nor will I pay to see another of his films until it does happen.
Tags: American Politics
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3 Responses to “Tom Hanks Retracts anti-Mormon Statement”
By Dave on Jan 27, 2009 | Reply
The rights of Gays to marry would apply to you, too. If you get tired of Sue, you could divorce her and marry another guy.
Asking a gay man to marry a woman is EXACTLY as wrong as asking you to marry another guy.
By Sqotty on Jan 28, 2009 | Reply
Gays have the same right to marry as anyone else. A gay man can marry any woman who wants him, and a gay woman can marry any man who wants her.
Whether it is wrong or not to ask a gay man to marry a woman can be debated. Interestingly I have known several such couples back in the Bay Area. Not sure why they did it, but they did.
Bear in mind that marriage is about forming families, i.e. having children, not about who you are having sex with. Gay couples, if they are true to their sexual preference, cannot form families.
So far, though, you haven’t addressed the issue of Tom Hanks calling people who supported as being un-American or his non-apology retraction, nor the outrage perpetrated by gay activists against those who supported Prop. 8 in California. Are you saying that they are right to vandalize private property and to harass and intimidate others for their political beliefs, whether you agree with their viewpoint or not?
By Dave on Feb 4, 2009 | Reply
So, marriage is only about having children?
Are we going to require prospective brides to pee on a stick, to prove they’re pregnant before the ceremony?
I guess Cyn and I shouldn’t have gotten married in ‘97. Kids weren’t even on my horizon, I was considering a vasectomy. (Yeah, I changed my mind.)
My parents were infertile. So I guess their 50 year marriage was a waste, too? (Well, they did adopt.)
Of course, you probably feel that gay couples shouldn’t adopt either, since it will turn the kids gay. Because no HETRO couple ever raised a gay kid, right?
As for Tom Hanks, I really don’t care what some actor / director said. I don’t understand why the words of actors are so important.
But his apology was actually pretty much on target. He aknowledged that he misused “anti-american”, and that voting for your beliefs WAS an American trait. That he didn’t apologize to the LDS church for disagreeing with him is perfectly acceptable.
Of course, there’s not a church in the world that *I* agree with. Where’s the outrage against me?