Takei and Partner

By George Takei

of Allegiance/ Barry Secrest of Conservative Refocus

mar·riage

noun \ˈmer-ij, ˈma-rij\

Definition of MARRIAGE

1

a (1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage <same-sex marriage> b : the mutual relation of married persons : wedlock c : the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage

2

: an act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected; especially : the wedding ceremony and attendant festivities or formalities

3

: an intimate or close union <the marriage of painting and poetry — J. T. Shawcross>

George Takei: Today marks the first time in history a President of the United States has stated his support for marriage equality. I am thrilled by this news, and I commend the President for taking what many pundits inevitably will say was an “unnecessary” risk in an election year. Such an assessment, however, sadly only underscores the second-class status many LGBT Americans experience daily, knowing that their rights and lives are nothing more than a political tool to be hauled out to rally the base, for or against.

Secrest: Well, Sulu, quite frankly, I am thrilled too, as a Conservative North Carolinian, and I'll tell you why. Obama is in fact telegraphing the fact that he is desperate; you see, most blacks in America are not in favor of gay marriage. This is a gambit for Praitor Obama; however, he feels that the odds are in his favor and that blacks will flock to the polls for him, regardless of what he does , at the same rate of about 95% as in 2008.

You see, Obama has little to nothing to run on as it regards performance, so he simply must find something to liven up his Liberal base. What better thing than to find a way to further divide America across hetero/non-hetero lines than to create yet another fissure that is socio-political in nature? But what he actually has done is simply to parade his socially-radical leanings for all of America to see.

The only problem is, his black base is also suffering from the highest unemployment numbers, by race, than under any other President of the past. Kind of ironic, huh? When I see you playing your role on TV, as it regards your "second class " comment, I don't see a gay guy, by the way, but rather, I see the best starship pilot (in fantasy land) ever conceived. You just have a different way of firing your photon torpedos, I suppose.

Takei: It is time to stop the politics and address the basic question of fairness, for that is what this is about. We cannot say we are a nation that stands for equality, while in the same breath denying basic rights of happiness, financial parity, and state-recognized companionship to millions. Nor can we any longer trot out the tired notion that civil unions and marriages are the same. For if they were, we would not call them by different names. Separate can never be equal–a lesson we learned during the Civil Rights era that we have yet to apply to the struggle for LGBT rights today.

Secrest: Stop the politics with Obama? Now, that's just funny. You might as well try to stop the climate from changing or staying the same. Equality? You are no less equal than anyone else; what you want is a special cut-out for your type of relationship. The fundamentalist Mormons, who are being locked-up on a fairly regular basis, want that special dispensation as well, and who can blame them, when looked at from a raw male, self-ingratiating, view?

Look, you can do what you want, dude, but don't ask the entire nation to celebrate your lifestyle, embrace it, coddle it and even sanction it, so that you can feel better about being "different." Marriage is a divine union sanctioned by God for societal stability, the furtherance of the species and the poignant union of two human beings "built for each other." Last time I checked human anatomy, your dog just ain't going to hunt in that fashion. Look, isn't it enough that we see persecution against your chosen lifestyle as being not very cool and even prosecute those who would persecute you as a special type of crime? Instead of insisting on emulating heteros, why not conceive your own type if inimitable union? Can't you people be original, or is that just "illogical?"

Takei: The President has done the right thing, and history will remember him for it. But for today, I am all smiles. On behalf of the LGBT community, and all those who support our cause, thank you, President Obama.

Secrest: A majority in about 31 other states say the President has not done the right thing. The people seem to think that the natural order intended was built for a specific type of relationship. You disagree, and that's unfortunate. But when most of us look at the numbers, we largely see the tale wagging the dog on this subject. I am glad you are all smiles about Obama's move, because, once again, I am too.

But the one thing I should note in all of this, is that your right to persue happiness should not be abated, whether I agree with it or not, because what I think is largely immaterial. Yet, you can still be married in a number of churches, you just want us to recognize such a marriage as being essentially the same as traditional marriage when it isn't. Why is that?

Takei: Today, I can proudly feel wholly American.

–George Takei

Secrest: We have never thought of you as anything otherwise. But, even if We sanctioned it and called it fully the same as traditional marriage, at some point, would you actually feel any better about it, or would you insist on even further carve-outs because of some other imagined disadvantage?

Where does this all end, George?