Yesterday, The Washington Times ran a profile of Bishop Harry Jackson and his fight against marriage equality in Washington, DC which took at face value his questionable claims that he is a resident of The District.
And, as a “resident,” Jackson vows to keep fighting this effort for a long as it take:
Mr. Jackson said he will continue to fight same-sex marriage in the District, even if the judge denies the motion for a stay.
“This is the first battle in a war — in a bigger skirmish,” Mr. Jackson said. “The other side determined that this is where it begins.”
He vowed that he and his supporters will take further legal action when the council introduces the anticipated same-sex-marriage bill in the fall.
“We do have a plan, and we’re not going away,” Mr. Jackson said.
The reason he must fight on, he insists, is to save black families which will otherwise somehow be destroyed by the fact that gays can get married:
Mr. Jackson’s opposition to same-sex marriage stems from a firmly held belief that same-sex marriage will hurt the institution of marriage, which he said is already suffering in the black community.
“Marriage in the black community is nearly at the extinction level, and right behind it, Hispanic and white communities are following,” Mr. Jackson said. “A decade from now, we continue on this trend, marriage as we know it will maybe become a historical afterthought.”
…
“Everybody in the black community knows that our families are all torn up,” Mr. Jackson said. “I don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist to say this is not going to strengthen marriage.”
Now, if the concern is that marriage and families are falling apart, it seems that allowing gays to get married and establish families would actually strengthen both. And that is apparently what Jackson believes on at least some level because, despite his vows to never give up this fight, he says that if he loses, he’s going to turn his focus to this issue:
Should same-sex marriage become legalized, Mr. Jackson said that he will move to “the other side of the equation” — strengthening marriage itself by teaching people about the role of the family and how to develop lasting marriages.
If Jackson’s primary concern is developing strong marriage and families, it stands to reason that he should be focusing on that right now instead of waging a war to prevent gays from, you know, developing strong marriages and families.
