Brian Brown: I'm Thankful For Jo Jordan

"It's been a tough year for those of us who labor to preserve true marriage, but I am still thankful for so many things. First, I am thankful for the struggle that we're in the midst of experiencing. Though we've suffered some losses, they have been hard-fought and close. I'm thankful for all those who stood with us in the state battles in Delaware, Rhode Island, Illinois and Hawaii. These were all very difficult states for us, yet with your help we waged a principled battle throughout. I am grateful to all those elected officials who were willing to listen to the stories of those who have been denied their religious freedom for honoring their belief in true marriage. Many legislators opposed redefining marriage because of the concern for the impact on others — including the first openly-gay legislator, Rep. Jo Jordan in Hawaii, to vote against redefining marriage. Candidly, I'm grateful that we have our toughest states behind us. For most of the past two years, we've been working in territory where the political deck has been stacked against us from the outset. Thankfully, the battle moves now to states where we are much stronger politically, such as Ohio and Indiana." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, from yesterday's Thanksgiving message.

Tony Perkins Praises HI Rep. Jo Jordan

"Until this morning, one signature was all that stood in the way of Hawaii and same-sex 'marriage.' That all changed at a private ceremony, when Governor Neil Abercrombie (D) made the law redefining marriage official. While some in the state cheered the move, still more are bitterly disappointed -- including lesbian state representative Jo Jordan (D). During the hearings, when she hadn't stated her position, Jordan says that she expected 'to get blasted by the religious community.' Instead, pastors and faith leaders stunned her with their outpouring of thanks just for listening. The people who were truly hostile, Jordan says, were her own LGBT community. It doesn't matter who you are, homosexual activists will harass anyone who isn't one hundred percent sold out to their radical agenda to remake society. Unfortunately, Jo Jordan found that out the hard way. Hopefully, her story will help dissuade others from trying to appease the extreme Left on marriage." - KKK-affiliated hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

Brian Brown Applauds Jo Jordan

"Despite being called 'Judas' in the gay press (along with suffering some other malignant and tasteless personal attacks) she is doing the right thing to express concerns about the many examples of punishment that people have suffered when marriage has been redefined elsewhere. Legal scholars on both sides of the issue brought this to the attention of all lawmakers, and it’s gratifying that Rep. Jordan is examining those concerns. I don't know what Jordan will do in the future with respect to this issue. She is under tremendous pressure from gay activists and we should hold her in prayer. But whatever her final vote, the fact that she has acknowledged as legitimate the concerns many people have about the consequences of redefining marriage is an example of the kind of public servants we need more of in this country: elected officials who are willing to critically examine the issues without counting the cost and without worrying about being maligned and vilified by small-minded individuals who have no respect for the democratic process." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, writing before last night's final vote.

As we know now, Jordan did indeed cast her final vote against the civil equality of her own people, becoming the only openly gay legislator to ever have done so.

Honolulu Magazine posted a lengthy interview with Jordan before last night's vote. An excerpt from her responses:

I haven’t figured out why I felt so compelled to fight for the religious exemptions, to not erode Constitutional rights. I don’t belong to any particular denomination. I don’t wear one of those hats. I take religion out of everything. My religion is the mountain, the aina and spiritual. Everybody finds their own religion somewhere. I have the same values as they do, but it’s just a little different. When I walked into this session, that rose to the surface. Why me? Why am I trying to protect your religious rights? I’m still trying to figure out. I’ve always followed paths. I don’t find the path. The path finds me. This, obviously, is a path I’m supposed to go. You’re not supposed to question. Just ‘OK.’

Tweet Of The Day - HI Rep. Jo Jordan

Openly lesbian Hawaii state Rep. Jo Jordan has only tweeted once since voting against marriage equality during the second reading of the bill on Wednesday. Zack Ford reports that she made history in doing so:

Denis Dison, senior vice president at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, confirmed to ThinkProgress that there is no prior known example of an openly gay lawmaker casting a vote against marriage equality. The Victory Fund lists Jordan on its website, but he noted that she has not ever attended one of the group’s candidate trainings nor earned its endorsement. Reacting to her vote, Dison said, “It’s hard to understand how a member of the LGBT community could vote against the simple freedom to marry the person they love.”

Jordan gets a chance to make things right during today's final vote. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)