So Much Hatred On The Right-- But On The Same Day As Dr. Tiller's Assassination, Civil Unions Veto Is Overridden In Nevada

Dr. George Tiller, assassinated by right-wing domestic terrorist

When I woke up yesterday I told myself I wouldn't be writing about the barbaric beheading and crucifixion in Saudi Arabia. What more is there to say than that the self-righteous, hypocritical religious fanatics in that country are primitive savages? And then came the reports of the murder of Dr. George Tiller inside the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita-- an act of right-wing terrorism, right wing terrorism countenanced and encouraged by Fox News for ratings points. (Some people think Bill O'Reilly should be charged as an accomplice.)

The anti-Choice, "pro-Life" terrorist-- somehow certain that God is on his side-- was arrested while primitive right-wing barbarians publicly justified it the same way that the Saudi crucifiers did.

I think most Americans were shocked. President Obama released a brief statement:

I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.

There are probably no Republican legislators who will cheer this, at least not publicly; they have their surrogates who will do that for them. In fact, investigators found a post-it note with the phone number of an operative from Operation Rescue-- a Republican Party-connected terrorist front-- in the assassin's car. If you think crowing over this is too barbaric to be real, take a look at the ever-growing tweets of hate from the people Charles Pierce wrote his new book about. Should Bill O'Reilly and Fox News be charged as accessories for the assassination of Dr. George Tiller?



You may not find the vicious, homophobic veto of a domestic partnership bill by Nevada's crooked right-wing governor, Jim Gibbons, related. But it is. It's this kind of self-serving hatred that gives permission to more extreme elements to dehumanize and target groups of people-- with God on their side. Saturday night the Nevada state Senate overrode Gibbon's veto, 14-7, in a rare, and very surprising, show of sanity, humanity and political courage. And then on Sunday night the state Assembly followed suit and voted 28-14 to override Gibbons' veto. Domestic partnerships will be the law in Nevada starting October 1. Nevada voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2002 enshrining marriage inequality.

Under the new law, same-sex and opposite-sex couples can go to the secretary of state's office, sign a registry, pay a fee and secure a domestic partnership contract that essentially gives them the same legal rights and responsibilities as married couples [in the eyes of the state]... Employers are not required to offer medical and other benefits to domestic partner couples but may do so if they wish.

Nevada's top employers, the gaming industry, had urged the legislators to override the veto, fearing a boycott from the gay community nationally. 28 of the 29 Democrats in the Assembly did so, as did one Republican (of the 14 in the Assembly). One Democrat and the one Republican changed their votes when the bill was first approved last month, and one Democrat who was absent voted "yes" this time. Those 3 votes made the override possible.