05/16/2008
Anderson Cooper on the California Same-Sex Marriage Decision
Anderson Cooper talked to SF Mayor Gavin Newsom and Jeffrey Toobin, Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, and Dan Savage last night on AC360 in an extended segment on the California marriage decision.
Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...
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Posted 8:27 AM EST by Andy in Anderson Cooper, California, Dan Savage, Gay Marriage, News | Permalink
Comments
Is Tony Perkins the best gay marriage opponents can do? If so, they're doomed. I'm embarrassed for him.
Posted by: Robb Hamilton | May 16, 2008 9:11:58 AM
did you see Dan's face when Perkin's brought up kids? He looked like he was ready to rip his nuts off
Posted by: Pekemo | May 16, 2008 9:21:18 AM
His argument that gay marriage demeans straight marriage was ludicrous. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom should give news conferences shirtless.
Posted by: Scott | May 16, 2008 9:25:33 AM
Red Lasso sucks :(
Is this anywhere else?
Posted by: Daniel | May 16, 2008 9:35:54 AM
Dan Savage totally owned pretty-boy Perkins. That was great to see.
"We don't want to pee in the batter of your wedding cake." Savage is a scream!
Posted by: sam | May 16, 2008 9:43:47 AM
You could almost see Coopers sphincter clenching the entire segment.
Posted by: ggreen | May 16, 2008 9:45:40 AM
I love it. Savage was clearly dominant on every position, so what did Perkins have to stoop to, which doesn't really have anything to do with this ruling? "Children! Children! For God's sake, think of the children!" And then he lost on that too. What a dick.
Posted by: Chris | May 16, 2008 10:20:53 AM
Tony Perkin's final statement about 'we don't make public policy on individual cases' is complete hogwash. What was the whole Terry Schiavo debacle? the FRC supported having Congress make a special law to save that one woman's life. Inconsistency.
Republicans/conservatives are starting to look like Hillary Clinton - they will say or do anything that it takes, no matter how unprincipled, to win. Doing the right thing always takes a back seat to the the result they want.
Posted by: Andrew | May 16, 2008 10:27:44 AM
Pekemo
Yeah Dan's facial expression was unforgetable
:-)
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | May 16, 2008 10:43:12 AM
Just like in the Lord of the Rings...the big red firey eye of the Westboro Baptist Church is now focused on California. What a wonderful day for our country!
Posted by: Dave | May 16, 2008 11:10:33 AM
Perkins's arguments are so completely predictable and weak that Dan was easily able to wipe the floor with him while Anderson "neutrally" looked on. The opponents' days are numbered, and even they seem to know it. Not that we don't have a long way to go before "as CA goes (and the other enlightened states) so goes the rest of the nation," but the tide has turned.
The people who are currently most annoying me--and I wrote about this on my blog--are so-called progressives who are saying we totally support gay rights but the timing is wrong, it'll hand the election to McCain, the gays should settle for CUs, this hurts the progressive cause . . . such bullshit from people who should know better.
Posted by: Ernie | May 16, 2008 11:30:05 AM
How hot is Gavin Newsom? I can see it now: J. Newsom-Newton; IM GONNA GO BUY A JOURNAL AND FILL PAGES WITH IT!! tee-hee and such.
Posted by: J | May 16, 2008 11:41:10 AM
The only vote I have ever cast that I later rejected was a vote against Gavin Newsom the first time he ran for Mayor of San Francisco. Gavin is brilliant, and I can't wait until he runs for Governor of California or, better yet, President of the United States of America!
Posted by: peterparker | May 16, 2008 11:46:40 AM
Dan OWNED Tony!
Gavin was awesome!
As a gay married father myself, I took exception to Cooper's introducing Dan as a gay married man "raising a child" as if he's a nanny. Dan is a gay, married FATHER raising HIS child and he should have been introduced as such.
As far as Tony's bogus scare "stats" from Europe, they are BLATANTLY FALSE! Studies show that marriage was in a MAJOR decline in these countries PRIOR to the recognition of gay marriage/civil partnerships but has been experiencing an upswing in the last few years. Even the countries where marriage is still in decline, it has been in decline for decades but the rate of decline has slowed in recent years. Any google search for the ACTUAL DATA and not the right-wing, fundamentalist, WingNutDaily nefarious cherry-picked and twisted propaganda talking points, quickly and completely debunks their lies.
As usual NOTHING, no amount of lying, cheating, slandering or hating is off limits in these fundamentalist "Christian" Republican homo-hating bigots' crusade to destroy GLBT people and to force their political and religious beliefs on the world.
Posted by: Zeke | May 16, 2008 11:49:45 AM
ERNIE, I couldn't agree more.
I been on a couple of the other progressive Democratic sites (Huffington Post, AmericaBlog, etc.) ranting and railing at these people.
I am so sick of them repeating the bogus lie that WE lost the 2004 election for the Democrats.
Posted by: Zeke | May 16, 2008 11:53:37 AM
November will be a huge electoral milestone for Gavin Newsom.
If the amendment to ban same-sex marriage is rejected, his political stock will rise enormously. That's a sign that the issue will have practically no effect on the 2010 governor's race. Newsom says he hasn't "decided" whether he wants to run for governor. But with 40 million dollars in the bank for a potential campaign (and a term-limit approaching in 2011), who is he kidding?
Posted by: John | May 16, 2008 12:08:35 PM
Yeah, no more compromise on issues'don'task/don't tell" ,as you guys say,it's bullshit. We want a progressive society and NOW.... fuck the evangelicals, ...no one in Europe thinks they are real !!!
Posted by: RickT | May 16, 2008 12:17:56 PM
the thing about this is simple...when the justices took the case on they had to take out their emotions, their comfort level, and their religious beliefs, and vote based on facts. And when you do that, you can't argue against gay marriage...that is why is is stone rolling down a hill.
The problem with allowing the average person to vote on this civil rights issue, is they don't have experience or the expertise to interpret the law.
constitutional laws were not made to exclude, they were made to include...when you exclude, you go against the principles of democracy.
Posted by: paul | May 16, 2008 12:50:37 PM
First off for the FRC it's all about $$$$, if you have never been to their website you need to see it.. sign up for their newsletter (yeah i know i throw up every time i see it) but you will then see that they are entirely wrapped up in gay issues, BECAUSE THATS THEIR WAY OF MAKING MONEY...... The FRC and Dobson's group all seek the same end and thats MONEY!!
Does it not seem odd that those two groups are more concerned about Gay America then most gays are? With all this country needs it's criminal that those two groups would focus on discriminating GLBT Americans rather then those issues which are clearly more injurious to the general public, Homelessness, lack of health Insurance, unemployment, Higher Gas prices, declining infrastructures, etc.... In the end it's all about what causes more people to donate to them and anti-gay works for them.....
Posted by: Alex in Boston | May 16, 2008 1:38:45 PM
First off for the FRC it's all about $$$$, if you have never been to their website you need to see it.. sign up for their newsletter (yeah i know i throw up every time i see it) but you will then see that they are entirely wrapped up in gay issues, BECAUSE THATS THEIR WAY OF MAKING MONEY...... The FRC and Dobson's group all seek the same end and thats MONEY!!
Does it not seem odd that those two groups are more concerned about Gay America then most gays are? With all this country needs it's criminal that those two groups would focus on discriminating GLBT Americans rather then those issues which are clearly more injurious to the general public, Homelessness, lack of health Insurance, unemployment, Higher Gas prices, declining infrastructures, etc.... In the end it's all about what causes more people to donate to them and anti-gay works for them.....
Posted by: Alex in Boston | May 16, 2008 1:39:34 PM
As I see no headline indicating, "Cooper Finally Shows Some Courage—Comes Out As A Man Unashamed To Be Gay—Apologizes For Not Doing It Before" I don't have the stomach to watch this. I don't care how cute any of you think he is; how much you want him to wrap thousand dollar bills around his privileged white male cock and fuck you on Mommy Gloria Vanderbilt sheets.
He is a COWARD! I am insulted that he even dares discuss the victory, the sacrifice of so many others who DO have the courage, have had the courage, that he's never had. Gavin Newsom got over 1400 death threats when he ordered The City to issue marriage licenses to gays in 2004. Countless gays who DO have the courage to be themselves have been physically attacked and killed. What's Anderson got to lose? Don't be a fool and say, "His job." Total bullshit. The worst is that Kelly Ripa might no longer flirt with him when he subs for Regis. He is a PART of the problem; he shouldn't be allowed to discuss the solution.
Adding to something Gavin Newsom said in a local interview when asked about the political ramifications of the decision—"This isn't about politics. This is about two people being able to have their love for each other legally recognized. DAMN politics and DAMN politicians"—I add: "Damn Anderson Cooper."
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | May 16, 2008 1:50:34 PM
I just don't understand why this needs to be such a huge emotional deal for so many evangelicals. They are using words printed in a fairytale (my belief) using an all-powerful being (who said nothing about gay people by the way) in order to discriminate against a minority group. This minority group (of millions of gay people) are REAL flesh and bone people, they exist and all deserve to live their lives freely and without conflict from a group of people who, as I said, believe in a being who has never shown him/herself to ANY of us, EVER.
WHY OH WHY are they given so much power over us!? There silent God judges us? So they get to rule over us? EFF THEM, how do they get the right to vote on what rights I have? I want God to come to court and tell us once and for all his position, if he doesn't show up then his opinion no longer counts, end of discussion. If he can't back up his bible, then the bible shouldn't be allowed to be used against a people that actually exist here and now in this lifetime.
It's fairytales being used against reality, it makes NO SENSE.
Posted by: john | May 16, 2008 1:54:39 PM
Gavin is awesome! And I'm glad he's resisted the trend of having man-bangs.
Um... RedLasso seems to only work when it feels like it. :(
Posted by: Aman Chaudhary | May 16, 2008 1:55:05 PM
Red Lasso keeps freezing up. =(
Posted by: martymartymarty | May 16, 2008 4:01:28 PM
Michael Bedwell: Love your post,you're right on!
Posted by: FunMe | May 16, 2008 8:34:03 PM
I'm getting married!!!!!!!
Posted by: GTMSJ | May 16, 2008 9:58:08 PM
MICHAEL BEDWELL...if it is any consolation to you, I was in New York about three weeks ago. I walked into the Columbus Circle station to take the blue line downtown when right in front of me Anderson Cooper was coming out of the subway. He was extremely pasty and not nearly as attractive in person as he is on camera.
Posted by: peterparker | May 17, 2008 3:29:12 AM
It's a victory for all of us. I watched the exchange on TV live the other night, getting misty eyed and angry at the same time. That Tony Perkins is an ass. Many thanks to Dan Savage, he continues to represent my views as a gay father very well. Many, many thanks to Gavin Newsome for having such courage.
Lay off AC, he must have felt uncomfortable doing the show while in the closet, but it's his decision. His decision to stay in the closet isn't hurting anyone directly but for himself, though if he came out it would help immensely as there would be another gay face in front of mainstream America every day/night. I do not for a minute believe CNN would remove him from his job.
Posted by: Ted | May 17, 2008 12:10:30 PM
The idea that the introduction of civil unions in the UK has caused the number of hetero marriages to fall - as Perkins claims - is laughable. It has nothing whatsoever to do it. When civil unions were introduced in the UK, no-one batted an eyelid - in fact, most people are very happy to see gay couples getting hitched and the excitement that they feel for it.
It is cheap and tacky when these retards start misrepresenting what is going on in europe for their own political agenda.
Posted by: atheist | May 17, 2008 2:58:35 PM
I think a few of you guys are searching hard for something to take offense at.
It would sound weird to say Dan is raising “HIS kid”. It would make it sound as though his husband doesn’t have an equal relationship to the child. When people are talking about straight parents they talk about them “raising a child together” or “raising children together”, and normally only say they are raising “his” or “her” child together if the other spouse is a step parent.
Cooper shouldn't be allowed to discuss this story? That’s crazy. It’s news and covering news is his job. If he hadn’t covered it there would be an uproar that he isn’t doing his part for the team. And by making this story the lead on his show, inviting strong spokesmen for gay marriage to appear and debate, and throwing in some good questions himself against the family values guy, he was making a positive contribution. He also made a positive contribution at the Democratic youtube debate when he chose to include the black minister’s question about how the candidates can defend using religion to defend denying gays marriage the way it used to deny inter-racial couples, invited the minister to talk, and then grilled Obama and Edwards on the topic. When he pressed Falwell over gay marriage on CNN he was making a positive contribution. Back when he was a young reporter and did a piece on two gay men who’d been together almost 50 years he made a positive contribution. You’ve accomplished a load of more impressive feats in the service of the marriage cause, I suppose?
How would Anderson coming the rest of the way out make much of a difference in the gay marriage area? He believes in journalists staying neutral, and he’s not going to become more outspoken on this or other issues even if he does announce his sexuality. He doesn’t appear interested in marriage himself and he has no long term partner who, when introduced to the public, might make straights think they would like to see them be able to get married.
If someone takes a while coming out they don’t owe an apology to you or anyone. All the out celebrities I can think of who built huge and lasting success stayed closeted or glass closeted for years. Rosie O’Donnell used to lie and make her viewers think she was hot for Tom Cruise. Elton John took years to announce he was “bisexual” then when his records sales dropped as a result he married a woman. I don’t know if those acts were cowardly or just self-interested. Both of them were making those lies when they were already rich and successful. Anderson isn’t lying to anyone. He isn’t a coward about putting himself in physical jeopardy when he wants to do something. He’s put himself in physical danger repeatedly in the course of his career. He hasn’t done it for the cause of gay marriage, but he has done it for other reasons and causes that a lot of people would consider equally worthy and deserving of respect. If he comes out he will lose the personal privacy protection he has in the mainstream press while remaining glass closeted. Considering the nonstop gossip guys pass around online about the details of his sex life, I wouldn’t be happy about giving that up if I was him, especially for the same community that’s talking shit about me all the time, invading my life and making borderline racist comments about my dating habits. Look at Thomas Roberts and the story about the headless manhunt photos that was picked up from a gossipy gay blog. Even if they aren’t true those kinds of stories are an embarrassment to a celebrity like news anchor who needs dignity and effect the way they are looked at.
Posted by: RR | May 17, 2008 7:38:44 PM
Well said, RR.
BTW, whether AC's pasty or not nearly as attractive in person makes no difference to me. I'd still do him, because HIS version of "not nearly as attractive" probably still leaves him at a million times more attractive than most people.
Posted by: Nate | May 19, 2008 1:26:19 PM
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