Following a very, very passionate appeal to those “struggling with homosexuality,” Family Research Council vice president Tom McClusky told the audience at the Watchmen on the Wall conference today that people should not in good conscience support the right of same-sex couples to wed just as they should not help a depressed neighbor commit suicide. McCluskly was upset that President Obama cited the Golden Rule in his interview where he endorsed marriage equality, a remark that touched a nerve in the Religious Right with activists like Patrick Wooden railed against Obama for “quoting Scripture to debunk Scripture.” McClusky explained that if the Golden Rule is a reason to support the freedom to marry for gays and lesbians, then it would be just like using the Golden Rule to condone suicide.
McClusky: The President’s come out for same-sex marriage and in an interview in which he updates the nation on the latest evolution of his views, on this question the President notes that his mind was made up in part by his Christian faith, specifically by the Golden Rule, ‘treat others the way you want to be treated.’ It should be pointed out though that contrary to what the President thinks the Golden Rule alone tells us nothing one way or the other about whether to support same-sex marriage, it isn’t about merely protecting our neighbor’s preferences but advancing our neighbor’s good. In the absence of any moral standard then it would mean then that I would have to give my depressed neighbor—I would have to assist him to commit suicide if it was just a matter of doing what he thinks is best.
