Opposing Views: NEWS:86-Year-Old WWII Vet Talks Sacrifice, Gay Marriage in Maine

86-Year-Old WWII Vet Talks Sacrifice, Gay Marriage in Maine

By Opposing Views Editorial Staff , To Protect and Serve Opposing Views - October 21, 2009

Comments(32) | (2)

The next battleground state in the fight over same-sex marriage is undoubtedly Maine. The state is in the midst of its own "Prop 8"-type debate.

As part of the discussion, this video of an 86-year-old World War II veteran named Philip Spooner has surfaced. It shows him speaking out on gay marriage in April 2009. During his remarks, he talks about having four sons, one of them gay -- and the reasons he fought in such major battles as Omaha Beach and the Battle of the Bulge.

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NEWS:86-Year-Old WWII Vet Talks Sacrifice, Gay Marriage in Maine

Equal rights.

A person that knows what it means to be an American.

- mike1948 October 21, 2009 10:49AM

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- Bless him.
  
  So grateful for people like this who stand up for what is right.
  
  - Babaroni October 21, 2009 11:25AM
  
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- Funny thing ...
  
  there's a difference between being equal, and having equal rights.
  
  - JKM121 October 29, 2009 8:35PM
  
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It's time Maine.

Kudos to Mr Spooner.
Cheers, Joe Mustich, Justice of the Peace,
Washington, Connecticut, USA

- CornetMustich October 21, 2009 11:49AM

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what do you think I voted for at Omaha Beach

Wow, that is one epic burn on those who oppose SSM.

- MrBook October 21, 2009 8:20PM

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How can anyone care about any marriage

but HIS OWN? Mind your own business. It's not liek the great institution of marriage is (a) that old, (b) that inclusive (c) that monogamous. So since the definition has changed so drastically already, grow up and extend that franchise, too.

- Mathematicaster October 28, 2009 11:32AM

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Makes no sense

If the freedom and equality he fought for in WWII so obviously includes marriage based on gay sex , why are we only _now_ (meaning this decade) hearing about it? Why didn't he say something sooner, like maybe in the 1950s?

All those years I was growing up in the 1950s and 60s no one saw fit to tell me that gay marriage was a fundamental human right. What _else_ is a fundamental human right, I wonder, that I might not yet have been told about?

- fsilber October 28, 2009 11:53AM

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- Of course it makes sense
  
  Considering the bigotry from people like you, I am not surprised if he has not spoken out earlier. Speaking out could have gotten him in trouble. Of course no one told you in the 50s and 60s. They would have been killed.
  
  That said, how do you know that he hasn't spoken out earlier?
  
  - WayOfTheDodo October 28, 2009 1:09PM
  
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  - Bigot
    
    It is bigotry to call someone a bigot.
    
    - JKM121 October 29, 2009 8:34PM
    
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    - Not at all
      
      No, it is not bigotry to call a bigot a bigot. Not at all.
      
      - WayOfTheDodo October 30, 2009 3:36AM
      
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      - Bigot
        
        n. One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion , race , or politics and is intolerant of those who differ. - dictionary.com
        
        Now, by defaming someone, one displays intolerance for them, and the reason for such (which I'm sure most would agree could be other than those lested) can be gathered from the context. In otherwords, bigotry is intolerance, and calling someone a bigot is an intolerant act, though this stems more from the connotation of the word than the denotation; a bigoted act.
        
        - JKM121 October 30, 2009 4:53AM
        
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        when it quacks like a duck...
        
        When someone holds a bigoted position it is not defaming them to call them a bigot.
        
        If we were standing by the side of the road and a group from the KKK went by with signs with racist statements would you say I was being bigoted if I said "There go a bunch of bigots"?
        
        - MrBook October 30, 2009 7:13AM
        
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- Think harder next time
  
  Spooner is saying that he and his brothers in arms fought for freedom and equality for all, including his son who is gay. At that time there were other civil rights issues that took the forefront for obvious reasons. Moreover, it is only now that society as a whole has begun to truly wise up on this issue. While many are still bigoted, many more have realized that they know and love someone who is gay. Before, very few gay people were "out" and the stigma of being so was quite high. The stigma is still high in places, but clearly less so overall.
  
  I'm sorry that you feel the need for someone to tell you what is a human right. It seems to me like equality would be an obvious one.
  
  - ToddG October 28, 2009 1:23PM
  
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  - They would have written about it.
    
    Even of other civil rights struggles took the forefront, the topic would have been at least discussed or written about in the 1950s if it were so obviously a human right as you say.
    
    Now, if this generation were to decide that previous generations were wrong and that we should _change_ our concept of fundamental human rights to include this, then fine, get the super-majority necessary to amend the Constitution and until then be patient.
    
    - fsilber October 28, 2009 2:24PM
    
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    - Who is "they"?
      
      You mean some powerful straight white men would have written about it? I can't say I'm well versed in gay rights history, but I'm doubting you bothered to do a literature search. A quick Google and Wikiperdia search turned up some relevant results: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950s_in_LGBT_rights and
      http://lgbt.wisc.edu/gayhistory /
      http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/recommended_readings_for_lgbt_rights
      
      The Constitution doesn't need to be amended, though it wouldn't hurt. What we need is for people to not be bigoted and want to force others to behaving in a way that is their definition of "moral". I'm all for an amendment to make it clear, but there are people that don't deserve to have to wait in order to be equal.
      
      - ToddG October 28, 2009 5:19PM
      
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      - Gay Rights does not imply Gay Marriage
        
        I'm sure there were people in the 1950s talking about the desire to end the criminalization of homosexuality . What I'm talking about the assertion that homosexuals have a right to have gay marriages that are recognized by the government . This is something that I believe no one even talked about back then.
        
        Just because _some_ people decided in very recent decades that it _should_ be a right doesn't mean that it _is_ one, or that everybody else has to change their opinions to match.
        
        - fsilber October 28, 2009 5:52PM
        
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        civil rights
        
        The same could be said for allowing women to vote . Is it a right because people decided that it was? Or was it a right that is logically consistent with a modern reading of the Constitution.
        
        - MrBook October 28, 2009 7:54PM
        
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        Exactly
        
        Women gained the right to vote when an amendment to the Constitution was passed. Presumably, people who believed women should have that right worked many years to convince enough voters so that such an amendment could pass.
        
        Women's sufferage (not to be confused with women's suffering) is consistent with modern ideas about rights, but it was not consistent with the Constitution we had until we amended it.
        
        - fsilber October 28, 2009 9:00PM
        
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        More comments in this thread
He is so WRONG!

GAY AND/OR LESBIAN LIFESTYLE IS A CHOICE AND NOT INBORN. IT IS UNGODLY AND SINFUL, AND IF A PERSON CHOOSES TO DO THIS, THEY DESERVE WHAT THEY WILL RECEIVE!

esawskid

- esawskid1 October 28, 2009 11:58AM

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- He is right
  
  He is right, and you are wrong.
  
  Homosexuality is not a choice. Who are you to tell other people who they can and cannot love?
  
  You are nothing but an evil racist bigot.
  
  - WayOfTheDodo October 28, 2009 1:09PM
  
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  - Pitiful
    
    When God made Adam and Eve he saw that it was good. NOT Adam and Steve, so you see, you are
    among the wrong way believers if you see it their way!!!And as for the names you have called me, that says something about who you are too.
    
    - esawskid1 October 28, 2009 1:18PM
    
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    - Bigotry
      
      You are assuming that everyone believes in your god .
      
      There is something called "freedom of religion" which ignorant bigots like yourself apparently don't get.
      
      The bottom line is, homosexuality is not a choice, and you have no business telling other people how to live their lives.
      
      - WayOfTheDodo October 28, 2009 1:42PM
      
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      - Jesus is Lord!
        
        I truly pray that everyone would believe in The Great God of Heaven and Earth, for He it is, that shall judge all flesh at the end of
        time! It has nothing to do with me,you or anyone else, it WILL happen. I sincerely hope and pray that you will not wait too long to make a yes decision to accept the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
        
        - esawskid1 October 28, 2009 2:35PM
        
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    - religion
      
      It's fine if you believe that, but please do not push your fairy tales onto the rest of society . This nation was founded as secular for a reason.
      
      - kylo1 October 28, 2009 2:35PM
      
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- question for you esawskid.
  
  How does two people being married affect your marriage ?
  
  - oldfoxbob October 28, 2009 1:20PM
  
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yes we can!

hear hear! makes me so happy. yes we can!

- statekid22 October 28, 2009 6:34PM

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