This is the symbol of the Human Rights Campaign, the U.S.’s largest LGBT lobbying organization. The meaning of the equal sign is clear; the Human Rights Campaign’s mission statement details its goal to allow LGBT U.S. Americans rights equal to those of heterosexual U.S. Americans, as well as to have them be “embraced as full members of the American family.”
This is one of the logos of the American Family Association (formerly known as the National Federation for Decency), one of the U.S.’s largest conservative Christian groups. Their mission statement is rather vague, but it is stated in their philosophical statement that “all people are subject to the authority of God’s Word at all times.” To clear up any ambiguity in that phrase, the statement further asserts:
AFA believes that a culture based on biblical truth best serves the well-being of our nation and our families, in accordance with the vision of our founding documents; and that personal transformation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest agent of biblical change in any culture.
The fact that there’s still half a Jesus fish in the logo renders me unsurprised. How do I know that’s a Jesus fish? Well, here’s an earlier logo.
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These two organizations epitomize the two sides of the gay rights conflict. The pro-rights side, above represented by the Human Rights Campaign, seeks to lobby politicians to introduce and ratify laws and other measures that would grant rights, such as that of marriage, and obstruct the deluge of discrimination that LGBT individuals face nationwide. The anti-rights side, above typified by the American Family Association, seeks to lobby politicians to introduce and ratify laws and other measures that they consider in accordance with the laws outlined in their scripture, the Old and New Testaments, and their personal interpretations of it.
But why must there be sides in this debate? Why must there be a debate at all? The answer lies in one word: power. Both sides have the overall goal of successful imposition of their beliefs. The only difference between the two is that the former side seeks to create and bestow, while the latter’s goal is to deny and rescind.
For the first half of this article, I’m going to analyze this debate in as unbiased a manner as possible; this means that my analysis will be from a secular, neutral standpoint. In the second half…
…I’m-a let the floodgates open. Stay tuned.
Omnistrain 