According to State Rep. Debra Maggart, most gays and lesbians are unfit to parent because they have "emotional dysfunctions and psychological issues."
The divorced and apparent heterosexual says gays and lesbians can't maintain stable relationships. Heh. Guess Maggart hasn't checked the heterosexual divorce rate lately, a divorce rate that positively soars in red states.
If gay and lesbian couples have any "emotional dysfunctions and psychological issues," it's because they live in the midst of bigots like Rep. Debra Maggart.
As a parent, I strive to keep my children away from bigots. Email Debra Maggart , and tell her to stay away from your children. I think that's a pretty mild response to unrestrained bigotry from a public official.
State representative Debra Young Maggart (R-Hendersonville, TN) explained in email messages to Sara Dykstra, a master's student in special education at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College that most gay and lesbian couples have "numerous emotional dysfunctions and psychological issues."
You can read the entire email exchange here. It includes the names of Maggart's fellow members of the "Homosexual Adoption Study Committee."
It's high time some of us citizens formed the Bigot Study Committee. I nominate Maggart for the honor of being the first object of study.
Rep. Maggart (rhymes with maggot) is a small business owner in Hendersonville. We can't find the name of her business, but we suspect it's, Bigots Inc.
Last year, Maggart voted for a failure of a bill that would have outlawed gay adoptions. Maggart has apparently voted for every bigoted bill she can find. Here's the list of her wingnutty friends who voted for the gay marriage ban.
According to the Commercial Closet, Rep. Maggart's crimes include breaking campaign finance laws, for which she was fined $5,000.
But the biggest crime is that Maggart poses as someone "fit" to lead the people of Tennessee. The only place Debra Maggart is leading anyone to - is a world of ignorance, bigotry and hatred.
Jerry Jones at Out & About broke this story. Here's an excerpt (snippets) from Out & About:
Dykstra said she was shocked by the response received from the elected official.
“My initial reaction when I read that was both shock and anger. I was surprised to hear such one-sided, ignorant and false logic coming from someone who is elected for the common good,” said explained. “I do believe that Rep. Maggart honestly believes she's doing the right thing by taking this position. She really believes that there is something deviant about being homosexual.”
Rep. Maggart went on to write to Dystra that she had seen “evidence” that homosexuals could not maintain a stable relationship, and that gay couples often sought young men to adopt for, apparently, “unfretted access to subject them to a life of molestation and sexual abuse.”
That “evidence” was apparently presented to a legislative same-sex parenting study committee, which according to Maggart, met last summer when “we met and heard testimony from researchers on both sides of this issue.”
A bill to ban gay adoption failed last year. However, numerous bills affecting adopting and child visitation rights have been filed this year by many legislators who supported the gay adoption ban bills last year. Some political observers say that is a veiled attempt to ban gay adoption by amending other laws affecting parenting.
Those bills include: HB2945 - Purports to expand the definition of “biological parents”(Kelsey); HB2944 - Purports to clarify “parental rights including "guardianship” for adoption (Kelsey); HB2763 - Bill extends child visitation rights to grandparents (Strader)- Filed by anti-gay adoption bill co-sponsor; bill opens State child custody and visitation law; HB2943 - Bill purports to change a definition regarding termination of rights in child custody matters (Kelsey)- Filed by anti-gay adoption bill co-sponsor; bill opens State adoption law.;
SB2828 - Bill extends child visitation rights to grandparents (McCleary)- Filed by anti-gay adoption bill co-sponsor in the House; bill opens State child custody and visitation law; HB3606 - Establishes certain rights for children and spouses in certain cases of neglect (Kelsey) Filed by anti-gay adoption bill co-sponsor; bill opens State estate law.
According to the bio posted at the General Assembly website, Maggart belongs to a Brotherhood for Women, or Fraternity for Women.
We're afraid to ask.
Update: Maggart's fame has spread outside the TN borders. Bloggers are ripping Maggart (rhymes with maggot) apart. I think that means the homophobe will get some letters. Wayne Besen has, Shocking Screed By Redneck Rep.; Pam's House Blend has, Who's Dysfucntional?; Pandagon has, Dysfunction in Tennessee and Tiny Cat Pants has, Okay, Tennessee, Listen Up.
Gay Bigot Study Commitee Debra Maggart Gay Adoption Gay Marriage Homophobia Bigotry Same-Sex Marriage Hendersonville Radical Right Tennessee
