August is many things: National Immunization Awareness Month, summer's last hoorah, and the bane of vacation-loving, school-adverse children everywhere. But for Longview, Texas, August is about "traditional marriage."
From KYTX19:
"The City of Longview is declaring the month of August "Traditional Marriage Month" in response to the LGBT proclamation in June.
Members of "We The People" of Longview say they are still in shock from the Supreme Court's decision legalizing gay marriage in all 50 states.
'My personal reaction was obviously extreme disgust,' Jeremiah Hunter said.
'I was very surprised.' Tracy Vincent said. 'I think there was a wave that went across the nation and it got that wow effect because I don't think anyone really expected for it to come the way that it did.'...
For [Jeremiah Hunter], the proclamation signed by Longview Mayor Andy Mack allows other voices to be heard.
'Just again as a balance, not as a slam, not as trying to come back against the group that asked for the LGBT proclamation." Hunter said. Really it's just again trying to provide a balance for the city because there was a lot of people that we're very upset back in June.'"
Longview's proclamation, a mish-mosh of Young Earth creationism and paranoid Religious Right rhetoric, was signed by the city's mayor on June 25. No word yet on what this celebration of traditional marriage actually entails or whether this is just another impotent attempt to fight the tide of history and justice.