Demagogue

For those who think that gays and lesbians don't need to be included in civil rights legislation, because giving them equal rights somehow amounts to "special rights," consider how you'd feel as a gay resident of Marshall County. Here, via the General, is the Marshall County Sheriff on the county's official website:

During this era [when the sheriff was growing up], love of God, family, and country abounded. Men were men and women were women and there was no mistaking which was which. Both were proud of their individual roles. Homosexuality was very queer and a despicable act… an abomination.

[snip]

A man's word was his bond. My word and bond to you, the citizens of Marshall County, is to do my very best to devote all my energy to do my part to return our society to the values that we once held dear.

This guy is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. How confident would you be that he'd protect you from gay-bashing? That an incident involving you and a straight person would be handled fairly? That you would be safe in custody in his jail?

And if you buy into stereotypes of gays as all being upscale urbanites and think there probably aren't any in Marshall County, you really have no clue. Red-state America isn't a queer-free zone by a long shot.

By the way, what is the halcyon age to whose values the sheriff would like to return his piece of Alabama?

I was raised in era, the 1940's as a child and the 1950's as a teenager, which I remember with great affection.

I'm thinking I wouldn't be too comfortable being black in this jurisdiction, either (not a big problem, I guess, since only 1.5% of the population is black). The county's one gay black guy should get the hell out of there ASAP (O.K.; I'm making that part up).