We’re not sure what’s worse, malice or hypocrisy, but evidently the Alabama state legislature is chock full of both.
Republicans in Alabama House of Representatives, like Republicans all over the Deep South, have made no secret of their disdain for same-sex marriage and the people who want to enter into such unions. After a federal judge struck down the state’s gay-marriage ban, Attorney General Luther Strange led the charge of conservative politicians pushing to have the ruling placed on hold pending an appeal.
U.S. District Judge Callie Granade granted that request on Sunday, placing a two-week hold on her ruling even as she expressed doubts about the state’s chances at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
For state Rep. Patricia Todd, a Democrat who represents Birmingham, her conservative colleagues’ reaction to that decision was a step too far.
“I will not stand by and allow legislators to talk about ‘family values’ when they have affairs, and I know of many who are and have,” Todd wrote on her Facebook page. “I will call our elected officials who want to hide in the closet OUT.”
Todd told AL.com that she was furious at Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R)’s comments on the marriage ban being overturned. Hubbard had called the decision “outrageous.”
“Don’t start throwing bricks at my window when yours is already cracked as well,” Todd said. “I’m very upset about Hubbard’s (comments) and what he said about the ruling.”
When the federal court overturned Alabama’s gay marriage ban, Todd was positively ecstatic, posting this image to her personal Facebook page.
Hubbard, who promised to “keep defending the Christian conservative values that make Alabama a special place to live,” told AL.com that he was “sorry that she is upset about my remarks.”
It remains to be seen what Todd will make of Hubbard’s non-apology apology about an attitude that is increasingly at odds with American values. Todd has yet to name any of the hypocrites who have carried on affairs while preaching about the sanctity of marriage, but for all we know, Hubbard will be first on her list.
H/T AL.com | Photo via Stuart Seeger/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
