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November 13, 2008

Theater Director Resigns After Supporting Gay-Marriage Ban

Scott Eckern, the artistic director at the California Musical Theater, in Sacramento, resigned Wednesday after some gay and lesbian activists called for a boycott of the theater in protest of Mr. Eckern’s donation to a campaign to ban gay marriage in the state, reports the Associated Press.

Mr. Eckern said in a statement that his departure comes “after prayerful consideration to protect the organization and to help the healing in the local theatergoing and creative community.”

Thursday November 13, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

1. So where’s the outrage? What about his First Amendment rights? A perfect example of one’s livelihood being threatened for one’s personal political beliefs. My understanding is the donor made the gift as a private individual, not as the artistic director of the Theater. Also, the mission of the Theater is, well, theater! Not gay rights advocacy. This should cause anyone, regardless of political leaning, to consider the abusiveness of such behavior by the gay activists. Welcome to the new unifying USofA of President Elect Obama.

   — Mike from Indianapolis    Nov 13, 02:02 PM    #

2. If this country were truly unified, Gay Americans would have the same civil rights, including the right to marry, as do all other Americans. While it may be unfortunate that Mr. Eckern chose to resign, actively supporting discrimination is wrong and should not be tolerated. Gay Americans have the right to boycott or protest any person or organization that promotes or supports discrimination and/or discriminatory practices.

   — Lara    Nov 13, 02:38 PM    #

3. So are these gay and lesbian activists going to follow Mr. Eckern from job to job boycotting every employer this man has until the law changes? This is akin to blacklisting. These tactics were abhorant in the 1950s, and they’re just as awful today. There are better ways to make your point than to ruin someone’s life.

   — Kevin Feldman    Nov 13, 08:02 PM    #

4. “Actively supporting discrimination is wrong, and should not be tolerated”….tolerated by whom, Lara? By gays and lesbians? And since when is exercising one’s first amendment rights discrimination? I think it deplorable that Mr. Eckern felt it necessary to resign to spare his employer—and himself—from the thuggish tactics of these so-called “activists”. “This guy has the gall to disagree with us, so let’s see if we can punish the entire theater company—hey, maybe even put them out of business— by picketing and harassing the patrons.” Their Gestapo-like tactics are what is not acceptable, Lara. This is still the U.S.A., and the constitution is still intact—at least for now!

   — Jimmy White    Nov 13, 08:09 PM    #

5. The constitution is still in tact? Hmmm…I don’t think so, not after 8 years of the Bush Administration. Peacefully demonstrating is a perfectly just way to protest an organization’s or an individual’s participation in bigoted acts. Just as Mr. Eckern has a right to his opinion and how he acts on them, the gay lesbian community has a right to name their oppressors and protest.

   — Bonnie Cook    Nov 13, 10:14 PM    #

6. The blatant hatred and discrimination against gays and lesbians in Mike, Jimmy, and Kevin’s comments is very disturbing. Perhaps we need a proposition on all state ballots repealing gays and lesbians’ first amendment rights?

   — Pat    Nov 14, 01:22 AM    #

7. The outrage over one person choosing to resign their position as opposed to the blase and ‘blame-the-victim’ attitude toward marriage rights advocates expressed by some above, speaks volumes about what is wrong in our society. The passage of Proposition 8 is nothing less than majority-inspired, state-sponsored discrimination. If Mr. Eckern chooses to resign for whatever reason, he enjoys more freedom than the same-sex couples that seek to marry.

   — Rich    Nov 14, 09:27 AM    #

8. Jimmy White, you need a history lesson. Since when is calling for a boycott akin to “Gestapo-like tactics?” I have advanced degrees in Government and History and I lived in Germany for several years. Free speech is not in any way “Gestapo-like.” You may not like that their free speech caused another person to CHOOSE to resign from his job because of a backlash to his exercise of his First Amendments rights, but don’t blow it out of proportion! Free speech and exercising the right to support political issues are guanranteed to every American, whether they are gay, straight, neo-Nazi, environmentalist, Conservative, Liberal, religious, atheist, etc. Members of our armed services fight for these rights every day, even if they don’t agree with a particular person’s or group’s viewpoint. I hope that someday the average American will adopt the same attitude and not condemn someone because they believe and actively advocate a different position. This applies to advocates on BOTH sides of the issue. Unless you have proof of real “Gestapo-like tactics” (and the Associated Press article does NOT mention any such activity) then Mr. Eckern’s rights have not been violated, just opposed by a group with a vested interest in the outcome of Proposition 8. Open protest is not unconstitutional nor un-American. To Mike from Indianapolis, President-elect Barack Obama had nothing to do with this. Democrats AND Republicans fall on both sides of this issue.

   — Melissa    Nov 14, 10:35 AM    #

9. 9. If any thing, Barack Obama helped pass 8. During his Saddleback interview, he stated his definition of marriage as between man and woman, and the CA pollsters now believe that the high black voter turnout (energized for Obama) was also over 70% yes on 8. Statistically it is interesting that Obama won nationally by a popular vote of 52-48, the same percent that passed 8 in CA.

   — Val    Nov 16, 12:54 AM    #

10. He has the right to express his views and they have the right to boycott him. That’s called democracy! But obviously he had a need to call attention to himself—otherwise who would have known or cared?

    — bswell    Nov 19, 11:37 AM    #

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