For Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar, lies were a way of life. Under the weight of an irrational social ideology, the two men'gay lovers in Ang Lee's controversial film, 'Brokeback Mountain''repressed their 'immoral' passions for one another, marrying women whom they could never truly love and eventually suffocating their marriages with mendacity.
But that was 1960s and '70s Wyoming. In 21st century Wisconsin, gays and lesbians could lead completely honest lives, except the state Legislature suggests that we deny them the 1,338 legal benefits and protections of marriage unless they act straight and exploit marriage like Twist and Del Mar did.
If we side with the Legislature and approve the proposed constitutional amendment banning both marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples (likely to be on the ballot Nov. 7, 2006), we will be allowing illogical gut feelings to taint our laws. We will be telling gays and lesbians that if they choose to live an honest life, they will always live with fewer rights and privileges than the rest of us. How can we justify such unequal treatment?
Not with the truth, that's for sure.
Maggie Gallagher, president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, argues that our current marriage laws do not discriminate against gays and lesbians. In a 2003 issue of The Weekly Standard, Gallagher explained, 'There are no sexual-orientation tests for marriage ... Our laws do not require a person to marry the individual to whom he or she is most erotically attracted.'
Gallagher might as well have said that openly gay and lesbian people in the United States should just jump back into the closet and lock the door behind them. While it is true that our laws do not require a person to marry his or her one true love, it is more important to note that, for gays and lesbians, our laws do not allow it. They can marry only if they hide their identity and enter into a heterosexual marriage, much like the gay lovers in 'Brokeback Mountain.' But according to Gallagher, that is really not a problem.
The 1960s and '70s were cruel to Twist and Del Mar, but if we decide to ban both civil unions and marriage for Wisconsin's same-sex couples, today's gays and lesbians can look forward to only slightly less agony. They will be stuck with two choices: live honestly and thereby forfeit many rights and privileges, or marry into lies as Twist and Del Mar did. The future possibility for a third choice, living honestly with equal rights, will dissolve under the stress of our current social norms.
While 'Brokeback Mountain' depicts the agony of living a lie, the film also demonstrates that lies are still necessary for gays and lesbians. Instead of appreciating the unique story of two gay men, the film's marketing campaign emphasized universal love themes. In many previews, Twist and Del Mar were only shown being affectionate toward their wives, not toward each other. If 'Brokeback Mountain' was to receive widespread interest, its marketing campaign could not be completely honest about the film's gay love tragedy. Similarly, if gays and lesbians want the same rights and privileges as everyone else, they cannot be completely honest about who they are.
Banning both marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples will only encourage lies and demonstrate our intolerance. It will tell Wisconsin's gays and lesbians that we do not completely accept who they are and that we prefer lies over a disruption to our social norms. It is true that gays and lesbians will still live more honest lives than they could have in the '60s and '70s, but we will be pushing them toward the agony suffered by Twist and Del Mar.
