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  • « The war on gay terror | Main | In the tank »

    June 20, 2008

    Jon Stewart messes up his vows

    Posted by: Chris

    The "Daily Show" skewering was just about as you'd expect in its "coverage" of the first same-sex marriages in California. My favorite was when Jon Stewart noted that Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, the first gay couple to wed in L.A., had a traditional Jewish ceremony -- and then imagined what it would be like for children to be raised by two Jewish moms.

    That good fun along with the usual lampooning of conservatives and a funny bit on Sulu fencing shirtless can be found in the video after the jump.

    But following Jon Stewart's opening riff, he pivoted to a conversation with correspondent John Oliver, dressed in a tux, who proudly announced he had gone "gay for America," getting married to a man to resolve his own visa issues and remain in the U.S. It turns out the joke's on him because his groom, "Daily Show" regular Jason Jones, is Canadian and likewise green-card minded.

    Well, actually fellas, the joke's on us -- us being the thousands of gay Americans in relationships with foreign citizens. Not only are jokes on national television about fake gay marriages to get green cards decidedly unhelpful to our cause, they're also a gross distortion of reality. As we know all too well, marriage licenses issued to gay Americans and their spouses in California, Massachusetts, Canada or anywhere else have absolutely no effect on our spouses' immigration rights because they are completely unrecognized by the U.S. federal government. (In fact, they could get a partner on a temporary visa deported because it's evidence they intend to live here long term.)

    All that's due, of course, to the federal Defense of Marriage Act -- authored back in 1996 by Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr, voted for by would-be Democratic veep Sam Nunn and GOP presidential nominee John McCain, defended to this day by former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and signed into law by her husband.

    We "love exiles" know all too well that our partners will have no legal standing for immigration purposes based upon our relationships until DOMA is either repealed or struck down -- and Log Cabin pal McCain has said he'll back an amendment to the U.S. constitution banning gay marriage if the latter (or no doubt the former) should happen.

    Or, Congress could enact the Uniting American Families Act, which gets around the marriage issue by allowing gay Americans in committed, long-term relationships to sponsor our partners for U.S. residence without requiring a marriage license. Of course, all those "Daily Show" only make that fight more difficult by suggesting straight foreigners will game the system by faking gay relationships for U.S. visas.

    The reality is that most heterosexuals would it a lot easier and more palatable to fake a straight relationship, but we also know that reality is only an infrequent visitor to debates over gay rights and immigration -- much less the two together.

    So thanks, Jon and Colin. With friends like you, who needs James (Dobson) and Pat (Robertson)?

    Hat tip: Andoni

    (Don't forget -- Jon Stewart's truly funny riff on California gay marriage follows after the jump.)

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    Comments

    1. OOD on Jun 20, 2008 12:02:45 PM:

      So the unthinkable is slowly but surely becoming a reality in the US of A --gay marriage. Deluded into believing the lie that homosexuality is just another alternative lifestyle, countless men and women, ignoring the truth written on their hearts, have banned together to repeat to each other the lie. Repeated often enough every lie starts sounding like the truth e.g. the final solution needs to be implemented where the Jews are concerned.
      Truly this isn't an intellectual issue, as most who post on this blog have educated heads. Rather it would seem to be a matter of the heart, an emotional problem. Deeply wounded people, sick of rejection on all fronts would rather collectively believe a lie, leading lives of deception en masse, rather than have the courage to face themselves, peer into the closets of their pasts, dredge up the truth and heal, becoming the people God intended them to be.
      Any society down through history that has ever normalized homosexuality has faded into nothingness.
      Sexual Restraint is the price one pays to live in society. Lift that restraint, as we have done in the sixties and chaos ensues as we are now witnessing, gay marriage being just one symptom.

    1. Hawyer on Jun 20, 2008 12:47:36 PM:

      You know Chris -

      I'm so sick of the media formula of playing gay people for gags. What is the "formula" whereby we acquire the bullet-proof armor black Americans now have genetically encoded in their collective political DNA ???

      Whereas any ever-so-subtle innuendo of a racial slur - however far into the past - spells political hara–kiri for the offender ... gay-baiting - however cude and inflammatory - allows the offender to yuk-it-up with a sub rosa wink and a nod.

      Whyizzit we are the final bastion of free-pass political target practice. Is there any analog in the Western world - or am I just too thin-skinned?

    1. North Dallas Thirty on Jun 20, 2008 1:19:43 PM:

      Is there any analog in the Western world - or am I just too thin-skinned?

      The latter.

      And if you want to know why that's a bad thing, I suggest a rereading of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" -- or reviewing the relevance and credibility of expert practitioners like Al Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright, and Louis Farrakhan.

    1. Strict Scrutiny on Jun 20, 2008 2:46:07 PM:

      I saw the piece and thought it was kinda funny.

      However, I do agree that the joke highlights a serious problem that is abstract for me, but very real for Chris, Kevin, and the other exiles.

      DOMA has beena disaster and the failure to enact UAFA is lamentable, to say the least. It's a lose-lose situation all around -- the exiles who want to return can't and, because they can't, the country loses some of its most talented citizens.

    1. Hawyer on Jun 20, 2008 2:57:32 PM:

      NDT:

      FYI - I am officially flaming you, Don't bother responding to my posts in the future and I won't bother reading anything you post.

    1. Strict Scrutiny on Jun 20, 2008 3:39:12 PM:

      Dear Hawyer,

      As a relative newcomer to this blog, let me just give you a bit of friendly advice.

      In case you hadn't noticed, NDT is the taunting bully on our block (blog?), so to speak. His comments are rarely civil or respectful -- in fact, they're usually quite belligerent. Asking him not to respond to your comments is rather futile.

      Try to ignore him if you can, although I know that's hard. God knows I've tried, but it's awfully hard to let his comments slide sometimes.

      Cheers.


    1. North Dallas Thirty on Jun 20, 2008 5:20:39 PM:

      FYI - I am officially flaming you, Don't bother responding to my posts in the future and I won't bother reading anything you post.

      Knock yourself out.

      His comments are rarely civil or respectful -- in fact, they're usually quite belligerent.

      There's so much irony in being described that way by someone who believes all religious people are "weak-minded fools who can't reason or think for themselves" and whose beliefs he characterizes as "Middle Eastern fairy tales and lies".

    1. Kevin on Jun 20, 2008 5:34:26 PM:

      Oy vey, ladies. Lighten up. All around!

    1. Strict Scrutiny on Jun 20, 2008 5:45:17 PM:

      NDT,

      Hah! You are the biggest one-hit wonder around. I swear to God, if I had a dime for every time you brought up my old quote or did a link to the John Kerry post, I'd be a millionaire by now.

      Tell you what -- just for variety, I'll make some other statments in the Sac Bee editorials and then can insert some different quotes. How would that be?

    1. Strict Scrutiny on Jun 20, 2008 5:47:59 PM:

      Oy vey, ladies. Lighten up. All around!

      Kevin, honey, I'm not the bomb thrower. Your friend is. Do I take the bait? Yes, unfortunately, I do. I'm trying to restrain myself, but, it's hard.

    1. North Dallas Thirty on Jun 20, 2008 5:55:33 PM:

      Hah! You are the biggest one-hit wonder around. I swear to God, if I had a dime for every time you brought up my old quote or did a link to the John Kerry post, I'd be a millionaire by now.

      And that quote and that post would still be effective.

      You can whine all you want. Doesn't change the facts.


      Kevin, honey, I'm not the bomb thrower.

      Again, said by the person who states that all religious people are "weak-minded fools who can't reason or think for themselves" and whose beliefs he characterizes as "Middle Eastern fairy tales and lies".

    1. Lucrece on Jun 20, 2008 6:53:42 PM:

      Ah, such clown posts fit in much better in this discussion; they match the humorous setting.

      Oh, and, SS, I wouldn't be so hard on NDT. You know it wouldn't be long before you'd start missing him. I bet it wouldn't take too long for this site to get boring were it not for his cute antics.

      As for the actual topic: The mis-perception doesn't matter. As public sentiment changes, so will federal law; DOMA will surely be a thing of the past before long.

    1. Strict Scrutiny on Jun 20, 2008 7:30:32 PM:

      Oh, sweet Lucrece. Always seeing the sunny side of things. Well, I appreciate the spirit of your comment.

      Have a good weekend!


    1. Lucrece on Jun 20, 2008 8:03:39 PM:

      That's the first time I've been depicted as an optimist, how exciting!

      I hope you'll have a lovely one yourself ;)

    1. Charlie on Jun 21, 2008 12:15:08 AM:

      Well, I think the underlying point here is that the push to repeal DOMA will start with people actually understanding what it is and what it means. As I posted elsewhere, in states where gay marriage is not legal, the federal definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman is pretty redundant. I think the reaction to DOMA for most people has been "yeah, whatever," for that reason. But now that two states have gay marriage, and some states are beginning to recognize the gay marriages of other states, suddenly DOMA has real meaning. Unfortunately, as Jon Stewart's bit reveals, most of America apparently has no idea that DOMA even exists. How can we expect to get mass support in repealing something that nobody cares about and apparently few people even knows exists? So it's not a joke and it's not being over-sensitive, in my opinion. It's a real issue.

      UAFA is nice, and would certainly help Chris and Kevin (and me... a potential future exile to the same country they ended up in), but it's not the solution. Or at least I don't think so, given my knowledge of what it is. (And feel free to correct me as necessary... I usually don't spout off before doing research, but I'm about to.) Theoretically, if DOMA remains in place but UAFA is passed, it's like saying, "Heterosexual married couples can enjoy over a thousand rights and benefits as a result of their union. Gays still can't, but here's one single right to shut you up."

      I now ask everybody that I know if they know what DOMA is and what it means. I suggest everyone reading this do the same.

    1. Charles J. Mueller on Jun 22, 2008 11:43:05 PM:

      Strict Scrutiny, over on Gay.com's News Blog, we have a poster who goes by by the name of francher12 who is exactly like NDT.

      He is always contrary, provocative and insulting. He attacks just about everyone on the blog with whom he does not agree, including advocating his personal distaste for gay marriage.

      He twists facts, misquotes people and makes innuendos including trying to paint me out to be a pedophile because I am involved in a multi-national relationship with a Philippine Citizen aged 35. He has even gone so far as to tell me to 'rub some sh-t in my eyes and ears if I don't like what he is saying.' I am sorry, but this goes well beyond flaming. It's defamation of character and verbal abuse.

      Like you, I too have asked him to ignore me and I in turn would do the same with respect to him. But, that is not his game. If I ignore him, he will jump on the first post I or others make to someone else and tear it to shreds. Point is, he doesn't want to be ignored, hence the reason for his continual flaming. Like you, I let myself get suckered into a pissing match with this guy and now I cannot get him off my back despite having reported him twic to [email protected].

      So, I know exactly how you feel about NDT. I sincerely hope things on this blog do not progress to the point that they have on Gay.Com.

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