South Carolina GOP Gov Henry McMaster Just An 'Old-Fashioned' Gay-Hating Bigot

That's sadly not that old-fashioned among Republicans.

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade , defiantly compromised Justice Clarence Thomas declared war against marriage equality, contraception, and whatever else Thomas finds personally offensive. If the Samuel Alito Supreme Court overturns Obergefell v. Hodges , Republicans have already expressed their eagerness to pass same-sex marriage bans. That will apparently fix inflation, we guess.

During last week's South Carolina gubernatorial debate, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster reaffirmed his opposition to marriage equality. He said, "Gay marriage in our [state] constitution is not allowed, and under state law it is not allowed. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I think marriage ought to be between a man and a woman."

No one cares what Henry McMaster thinks about marriages that aren't his own. He's not "old fashioned," which is both a delightful cocktail and a swinging Ella Fitzgerald tune. He's a bigot who somehow considers same-sex unions inherently inferior to whatever Stephen and Katie Miler are doing. If he still carries a pocket watch and listens to vinyl, he can call himself "old fashioned," but not when he's proposing legalized discrimination.

PREVIOUSLY: South Carolina Governor, First Lady Attend White House Holiday Party, Catch COVID-19 .... Somehow. 

“Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC): “Gay marriage in our constitution it is not allowed, and under our state law it is not allowed. I would follow state law … Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I think marriage ought to be between a man and a woman.””

— The Recount (@The Recount) 1666882684 

Offering some more culture war gibberish that won't lower gas prices or make it easier to buy diapers, McMaster insisted his narrow definition of marriage was just "common sense," like how he thinks "that boys ought to play in boy sports and girls ought to play in girl sports. But, I mean there's — you have to have some common sense in this arena, which seems to be changing all the time. But I think our traditions are strong and for a reason."

The bullies who target trans children playing sports aren't upholding any meaningful traditions. Society didn't crumble because we stopped actively tormenting anyone who was different. Since the marriage equality ruling in 2015, no Christian busybody withered and died just because loving same-sex couples were able to marry.

McMaster has upheld South Carolina's traditional obsession with guns, which defies all common sense. After the Uvalde, Texas, gun massacre this summer, McMaster announced that he was putting gun-toting cops in every South Carolina classroom.

"We're putting law enforcement officers in every classroom, with pistols, trained law enforcement officers. Also mental health counselors," the governor said during campaign event in Spartanburg. Obviously, South Carolina schools can barely afford teachers, so McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes later clarified that he meant an armed officer in every school, not classroom. Seven armed guards weren't enough to stop a gunman from killing people at a St. Louis school last week. Guns are the problem.

Former Democratic House Rep. Joe Cunningham is running against McMaster. It's not vote suppression or anything to acknowledge that he's likely to lose. However, he stuck the landing with his response to McMaster's same-sex marriage remarks.

Cunningham said, in clear disbelief, "It's 2022 and Governor McMaster wants to ban same-sex marriage — you just heard that tonight, folks." He handled this beautifully, treating McMaster like a damn BetaMax. "We have politicians that have been in government so long and have become so calcified in their beliefs and Governor McMaster has been a politician literally longer than I've been alive, and he's been taking our state backwards the entire time. Gov. McMaster has been leading South Carolina into the 1950s since the 1980s."

This isn't a generation-specific issue, either. Republicans born well into the 1990s are still obsessed with the "traditions" and social hierarchy of the 1950s. But not even a DeLorean can take the country back there, no matter how much Republicans whine. This is 2022, whether they like it or not.

[ NBC News ]

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