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Sen. Al Franken made FOF's Thomas Minnery look like a blithering idiot by calling him out of his faulty use of a study that he mischaracterized to attack gay couples.
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) took on a representative of the conservative group Focus on the Family for mischaracterizing a study on "nuclear families" at a hearing on a bill which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Ac.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, Sen. Franken noted that the group's testimony listed the benefits of children "living with their biological and/or adopted mothers and fathers" as surpassing those of children "living in any other family form." He observed they listed a Department of Health and Human Services study as backing that up.
"I actually checked it out," Franken said in reference to the study FOF's Thomas Minnery has cited. He then observed it uses the term "nuclear families" without specifically mentioning "opposite sex married families."
"Isn't it true, Mr. Minnery, that a married same-sex couple that has had or adopted kids would fall under the definition of a nuclear family in the study that you cite?" Franken asked.
"I think that the study, when it cites nuclear families would mean a family headed by a husband and wife," Minnery said.
"It doesn't," Franken said, getting laughs from the audience.
"The study defines a nuclear family as one or more children living with two parents who are married to one another and are each biological or adoptive parents to all the children in the family," Franken continued. "And I frankly don't really know how we can trust the rest of your testimony if you are reading studies these ways."
Much of the Televangelists that are engaged in the DOMA debate do not care much for truth or accuracy. They only see their hatred of the gay community and play the Game of Thrones Nixon or the politics of dirty tricks that Nixon helped define.
The Conservative Top of The Ticket blogger writes:
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) needed a better defense witness than Tom Minnery could provide Wednesday after Rep. Al Franken exposed him for misrepresenting a study.
Franken, the former "Saturday Night Live" cast member and now a Democratic senator from Minnesota, used some of his comedic skills and razor-sharp timing to take down the Focus on the Family representative.
He also used the curious technique of actually reading the study his witness cited. Hilarity ensued when Franken discovered that Minnery had misrepresented a Department of Health and Human Services definition of a "nuclear family" to better fit FOTF's conservative worldview.
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The Defense of Marriage Act was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein yesterday introduced a new bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, that would repeal it. President Obama has endorsed the new act.
Once again the use of satire cuts to the heart of the matter better than long winded explanations.
