Public testimony continued yesterday on the pending D.C. marriage equality bill with nearly 200 witnesses signed up to testify pushing the hearing well into late evening. The opposition continues to be outnumbered by those favoring marriage equality, but that hasn't stopped them from arguing their case, despite how bizarre their testimony has been as we last saw in Earnestine Copeland.
This week the award goes to Rev. Walter Fauntroy, long-time pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in DC.
Metro Weekly reports:
A rambling, repetitive, moody, and incomprehenisible Walter E. Fauntroy making the case before Council Chair Phil Mendelson and the DC City Council that the humanity, as a species, is at risk if gays are allowed to be married in the District of Columbia. Fauntroy, 76, was once considered a respectable ally of Dr. Martin Luther King and his civil rights struggle. He was also DC's first (non-voting) delegate to the U.S. Congress. During a strong rebuttal by openly gay Councilman David Catania, Fauntroy seemed to have an embarrassing Freudian slip about his dealings with couples he marries.
Transcript of Fauntroy's testimony via Metro Weekly:
''I have advocated, where there are contractural relationships between people who, who have same-sex relationships, that they ought to be granted; and provided the contractural that the courts re -- provide everyone. However, on the question of marriage -- you cannot equate marriage with a contract when marriage is nature's schoolroom for teaching people how to care for, protect and defend one another.... That's why across the world, we are in danger, quite frankly, of violating the principle of perpetuation of the species. I have many, many friends, who are -- have, uh, sexual preference to others of the same sex. But they cannot reproduce....
''I just want to make it very clear that we who are most concerned about this issue, are concerned as political scientists, who know that this issue has been used by people who want to deny people five things, and are doing it effectively, in order to win eleven states in 1984 by diverting the attention of the people from the issue which was an ill-advised WAR in Iraq that has wrecked the world.... I've known homosexual couples for years and always advised, 'Protect yourself.' Please, get rid of -- I've married couples -- heterosexual couples who need a contract to make sure, that 'if you rat on me' -- uh, excuse me! If -- if we buy this house and, and you -- you're not gonna have it. You, it's -- as we used to say on the street -- uh, um -- 'It's cheaper to keep her!'''
Uhmm...ok. Now If anyone can decipher Fauntroy's testimony for me I'd really appreciate it.
There's a few black folks in DC who just don't like the idea of the gays being able to get hitched and they're being very vocal about it and embarrassing themselves in the process. DC resident Barbara Morgan gets our second award for attempting to diminish a beautiful proposal that occurred between a gay couple during their testimony. Maybe she and Earnestine Copeland should get together for tea.
A preliminary vote on the marriage equality bill is scheduled for December 1 and with ten of thirteen council members in support of the bill it's expected to pass easily.
Get into both videos below:
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