WASHINGTON: Native American Tribe Approves Same-Sex Marriage

A Native American tribe in Washington state has approved gay marriage.

On Monday, the Suquamish Tribal Council formally changed its ordinances to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Suquamish ordinance means gay couples are afforded all the rights heterosexual couples are allowed on the reservation and other places in which gay marriages are allowed. The new law allows the tribal court to issue a marriage license to two unmarried people, "regardless of their sex," if they at least 18 years old and at least one of them is an enrolled member of the Suquamish Tribe. In 2009 the Coquille Indian Tribe in Coos Bay, Ore., became what many believed to be the first Indian tribe to marry a gay couple, two women from Edmonds, Wash. Michelle Hansen, Suquamish Tribal attorney, said the Suquamish ordinance does not have effect anywhere else unless that jurisdiction decides to recognize same-sex marriages conducted elsewhere.

(Tipped by JMG reader Daniel)

American Family Association: Native Americans Are Morally Disqualified To Own Land Because They Have Rejected Jeebus

According to the American Family Association, Native Americans are "morally disqualified from sovereign control of American soil" because they rejected early efforts to impose Christianity upon them. Bryan Fischer explains:

The native American tribes ultimately resisted the appeal of Christian Europeans to leave behind their superstition and occult practices for the light of Christianity and civilization. They in the end resisted every attempt to “Christianize the Savages of the Wilderness,” to use George Washington’s phrase. They rejected Washington’s direct counsel to the Delaware chiefs in 1779, “You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ.” Thomas Jefferson three times signed legislation appropriating federal tax dollars for the evangelizing of the Native American tribes. It all came to nought, as one tribe after another rejected the offer of spiritual light and advanced civilization. God warned the ancient nation of Israel not to lapse into the abominable practices of the native peoples “lest the land vomit you out...as it vomited out the nation that was before you” (Lev. 18:28). Time eventually ran out for the Canaanites, because they filled up the full measure of their iniquity. Time ran out for the native American tribes for the same reason.

According to Fischer, even 21st century Native Americans have no moral right to what little land they still have: "Many of the tribal reservations today remain mired in poverty and alcoholism because many native Americans continue to cling to the darkness of indigenous superstition instead of coming into the light of Christianity and assimilating into Christian culture."

NOTE: Despite Bryan Fischer's incessant onslaught of racism and vile naked Christianist bigotry, his American Family Association radio show remains a popular destination for potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates.

Wingnut Headline Of The Day

This morning the above headline screeches across the top of World Net Daily. The true story is something else, of course.

Quote Of The Day II - Michael Bloomberg

"I said to David Paterson, I said, ‘You know, get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgun. If there’s ever a great video it’s you standing in the middle of the New York State Thruway saying you know read my lips, the law of the land is this and we're going to enforce the law.'" - Michael Bloomberg, telling Gov. Paterson that he needs to crack down on Native-American tribes selling tax-free cigarettes.

Gothamist notes that the Seneca Nation is, uh, "on the warpath" over the historical insensitivity of the comment. Like in the rest of the country, New York's native tribes consider themselves sovereign nations and therefore not subject to state taxes. Both the city and the state recently increased the tax on cigarettes to the highest in the nation, sending city residents flocking to local Native-American websites and tribal outposts. In NYC a pack of cigarettes presently costs about $12-$13, with another increase due shortly. Bloomberg has stated that he wants to see cigarettes cost $20/pack before the end of his final term.

Custer's Last Stand, Again

Some Native Amerians in South Dakota are upset that McDonald's has issued a new Happy Meal figure of General George Custer. The toy is a tie-in with the new Night At The Museum movie.

The fast food chain's decision to circulate the toy in Indian Country is akin to circulating a Hitler figure in Israel, according to Laurette Pourier, executive director for the Society for the Advancement of Native Interests-Today. “It's insensitive and disrespectful.” “We are oral historians, and Custer's escapades are not far from our hearts,” said Paula Long Fox, a guidance counselor for the Rapid City School District. “Custer didn't kill Indians or Natives, he killed relatives.” The majority of the U.S. Army's victims were friendly Native Americans who would not run, Long Fox said. The military campaigns against Native Americans were driven by the government's desire to acquire land without any consideration for Native Americans as human beings, she said.

McDonald's apparently plans to run the promotion as planned.