Customer Reviews

Outrage: How Gay Activists and Liberal Judges are Trashing Democracy to Redefine Marriage

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

This book was written by someone who has failed as a writer and intelligent human being.
All evidence is discarded and ignored completely.
I do, however, feel that it is the sincere rantings of a man who's very angry about something, yet chooses a topic (ignoring the awful hyperbole of its pages). The gays are a scapegoat here for so many ills and threats, frankly it's an amazing feat that the same people who are so vehemently against same-sex love missed the whole point of the Son of God's message.

I really do hope that you all find yourselves in better lives that may release you from the bondage of your own obsessive making with hate and fear. The air is much better out here, and the horizon open and magnificent.
This country was not started with these ideals, and I'm proud to be here now while civil liberties issues are being resolved. We'll win.
We are wining.
And your children will be ashamed of your opinions because the truth eventually wins. And things are decided. Or perhaps God is teaching you a lesson and didn't will you and your kind to win?

Live and learn my brothers and sisters!

I am a heterosexual woman married to a white heterosexual man. I am the epitomy of everything "decent" the right wing holds dear. The only man I have ever slept with is my husband. I was married loooong before our son was born. I live in the South, I am a Catholic, and my parents have been married almost fifty years. I am the woman married to the man this author and all the Christian right want to protect and I am asking you to please knock it off already! I don't care if two men or two women want to be married. I don't give a damn. My life and my marriage are NOT in dire peril because of this. Good Lord, get a friggin' life and knock off the crap already. Anybody who wants to buy this book, listen up: If you want to be a real Christian, donate that money to a hospice instead. Idiots.

This book is a fairly comprehensive overview of the conservative Christian viewpoint towards same-sex marriage. The book appears to be written for the "true believer" who is already opposed to same sex marriage (SSM) and wants a convenient digest of the standard arguments against it. If you are looking for an impartial guide to SSM, this book will not be of any help. The author in very biased against gay people, and this comes through in the writing. Not that I expect perfect objectivity from an ideological tome, but still the outright animus towards homosexuals shown in this book makes it hard to take any of the arguments seriously. Furthermore, the author often uses selective out-of-context quotations, citations from questionable sources and his analysis often falls victim to logical fallacies.

In fact, the fundamental premise of the book seems strange and it is hard to see where the author is coming from. He seems to assume that his readers have never met a real live gay person, and that gay people are some strange alien menace which has been attacking marriage the United States like some kind of invaders from space. There is almost no context in this book to what is actually going on in America; even thoughtful people who are opposed to SSM may find themselves wishing for a less hysterical spokesman.

If you are looking for a fair and balanced book which analyzes same-sex marriage, this is not the volume you want.

I'd like to clear up some things that 1witness wrote. Many cultures throughout history have embraced homosexuality. Many Native American tribe historically blessed same sex union. Not to mention, ancient Greeks and Romans were very open to homosexual relations.

In response to the APA removing homosexuality from its list of abnormal behaviors, politics were a part of it, yes, however, there wasn't a sufficient amount of scientific evidence to say that homosexuality is abnormal if the client is not in distress about their sexuality. That said, when the DSM III-TR came out( I believe it was in 1983 or 1984) the APA completely removed homosexuality from the list of abnormal behavior due to political pressure. Opponents of its listing said that it wouldn't cause distress if society treated them better. Here, the APA saw the logic in this arguement and had no choice but to remove this from the DSM, but it is technically due to politics. The APA doesn't just do things to stop hurting people's feelings. Your arguement is outrageous because it would be like saying the American Heart and Lung Association disapproves of smoking because they have nothing better to do.

That said, the book itself is infuriating to logical thinkers and people who know how to interpret science.

In all of Peter Sprigg's wailing and gnashing of teeth over the prospect of Gay couples getting married, there was something missing: A willingness to compromise, even a willingness to understand why this issue is important to Gay Americans.

There is admittedly some disagreement within the Gay community over what's more important, the word "marriage" or the benefits and responsibilities that are connected with it. As someone who prides himself as being nothing if not diplomatic, I would take simple legal equality under the law, even if the operative term is "civil unions." If Sprigg simply wishes to reserve the term "marriage" for heterosexual couples, he can have it, as long as Gay couples are treated fairly.

Here's an example of how the current system is not fair:
This past June 29 my partner, Greg, and I celebrated five years together, which is longer than most heterosexual marriages last. We made a solemn commitment to each other's well-being, and as law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, we have contributed our fair share into Social Security.

Last year I contacted the Social Security Administration (SSA) to see if there was any paperwork or other arrangements I could make to designate Greg for survivorship benefits in the event of my untimely death. I was told I was unable to do, since we are not married.

More recently I visited the SSA Web site and did some calculations concerning what survivorship benefits my spouse might be entitled to. Assuming I did the calculations correctly, I found out my married spouse would be eligible for over $800 per month (after retirement) in the event of my death.

I think anyone would agree that $800 per month is a pretty hefty chunk of change. However, it is money that my significant other is not eligible for, because we are not married, nor are we allowed to get married. I would like to provide for the financial well-being of my spouse, just as I'm sure Peter Sprigg would, but in essence I'm throwing away money on a fund that my partner cannot take advantage to in the event of my death.

At the very least, the federal government should allow Gay spouses to designate each other for survivorship benefits under Social Security. If a "civil union" would allow us to do this, I'm all for it. If not, then nothing but full marriage equality will suffice.

I am a happily married father of two. Despite Sprigg's hateful diatribe, I do not understand how gay people getting married is supposed to affect my union one way or another. Will I suddenly stop loving my wife? Will my commitment to her suddenly vanish? No. This book just tries to scare people into fearing gay marriage by predicting all these horrible outcomes that are pretty far fetched.

I hope my kids create a better world where bigots like this are laughed at and ignored. That's why I send them to good schools.

Wow, I bet you people who gave this 5 stars were the same kind of people who opposed Loving v. Virginia in 1967 so white women couldn't marry black men. I read some of this and just put it down and felt disgusted by people in America who are like this. I can't give this a negative rating so one star will do I guess.

In the book Outrage, Peter Sprigg, who has previously written work that has been criticized by medical professionals for distorting their research on homosexuality in his book, Setting it Straight (the rest of the "research" is outdateed and debunked garbage) attempts to explain how gay marriage will somehow destroy America. This is, of course, ridiculous. Mr Sprigg spends a lot of time blabbering about how gay marriage will destroy America's "sacred" marriage, but fails to note how divorce has probably destroy any "sacredness" that marriage has.
Sprigg also tries to show that homosexuals won't want to be in long-term relationships for marriage, yet because there are so many instances of infedility among heterosexuals, and there is no real empiricial evidence regarding gays in marriage, his argument is a total failure. He also attempts to distort science on gay adoption, but his conclusion is, of course that gay adoption will "hurt" children, regardless of the fact that most mainstream medical groups disagree and find this to be totally untrue. Of course, what does the AMA know about human sexuality compared to a fundamentalist christian group like the FRC?

This book is recommended for anyone wanting a laugh at far right(...)

I have a gay brother and sister, and they are exactly the same people now they were as small children -- except they've grown up to become a doctor and a respected business executive, each still with a partner they met over 30 years ago.

Their "agenda"? My sister: to heal the sick, and raise her son in an atmosphere that isn't poisonous with hate and bigotry. My brother: to lead an otherwise normal and happy life with his partner.

Sorry to spoil the horrible picture painted by the author, but I've known both these gay people for over 50 years, and they're as normal as you and I -- but thank God, NOT like the author of this book.

My brother and sister are NOT filled with hate like the author of this book, NOT trying to recruit followers with lies like the author of this book: my siblings are just simply trying to lead good lives with their loved ones and their friends (gay and straight.)

And I've met plenty of their gay friends -- again, nobody with any agenda but to live a life as normal as possible, despite the hate-filled bigots waging a cultural war against them.

The only people with an agenda that I can discern, are like the author of this book, trying to force their own distorted and hellish vision of religion on the rest of us normal human beings.

Oh lord, another fundamentalist christian psycho lunatic thinks that gay marriage is going to destory America. If you honestly believe that gays are out to destroy western civilization, read this. Otherwise, you can read it for a good laugh.