Michael Schiavo: "Take it from me, when the government gets involved in our personal relationships bad things happen"

Mike Riggs | October 15, 2008

Gay rights advocates fighting Proposition 8 in California have in their corner Fallout Boy, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the conservative Orange County Register, Google, the California Episcopal Church, and a handful of other notables; but who's donating face time on behalf of the anti-Amendment 2 crew in Florida? As of yesterday, Michael Schiavo. Remember him? He's the guy who wanted to remove his brain-dead wife's feeding tube, but—thanks in part to a network of moralizing meddlers—couldn't (then could, then couldn't, then did).

Schiavo's an interesting choice for Progress Florida, which has been the most vocal opponent of Amendment 2. He's more qualified than any celebrity to speak on the repercussions of government infringement in private matters, but I think he gives a lot of Floridians the willies. By the end of the Terri Schiavo case, most Floridians had at best a luke-warm attitude toward him even if they strongly agreed with his right to do what he did. Conservative "murder" rhetoric and 24-hour media coverage pushed a lot of moderates out of the debate, while stirring up the worst in civil libertarians and religious fundamentalists alike. I wonder if Yes2Marriage, the Christian group behind the proposition, is going to air any anti-Schiavo ads to rejuevenate its campaign?

The Schiavo spot [The best line, IMHO: "As a former Republican, I think if the people behind Amendment 2 really cared about respecting a legal marriage between husband and wife, they would've respected mine."]:

Sidenote: On a related post, a handful of commenters conflated lobbying for gay marriage rights with lobbying for expanded government powers. In response, I'd like to suggest that, because there is no viable movement to de-legislate state marriage licensing, gay marriage is an issue where libertarians should vote the lesser evil even if it means expanding government powers.