Can a Militia Be Supportive of Gay Rights?

I had the opportunity over this past weekend to spend some time with folks from the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, and the experience was quite interesting, to say the least.

This trip was the result of the renewed attention on the militia movement, which resulted from the indictment and arrest of members of a "Christian" militia group from southern Michigan called Hutaree (pronounced Who-Ta-Ree, by the way). The folks in the Hutaree, federal law enforcement officials allege, planned to kill a cop, then attack the funeral process with improvised explosive devices. This, the officials charged, would start the war with the New World Order.

But caught up in all the post-raid militia hype was another group of folks in the militia movement. While holding some definite conspiracy minded views on the New World Order and FEMA camps, these folks are certainly not your Hutaree militia types. And they certainly are not the Timothy McVeigh era types either.

In fact, I reported on Monday about Matt Savino, the leader of the Lenawee County Militia unit. Savino turned the Hutaree away when they came looking for assistance, and later assisted the FBI in trying to apprehend the one Hutaree who had managed to escape the raids.

Savino is also the only Muslim in all the Michigan militia units.

Nothing underscored this reality for me more than an interview I had with Tom Jr. Tom is a 24-year-old marine reservist from Canton (a suburb of Detroit). And while he certainly had concerns -- and was angry and frustrated with the government -- he had a certain logic that was nice to see in this type of movement.

He is a strict constructionist when it comes down to the Constitution. So I was surprised when I asked him about gay rights and abortion issues. Should they be protected?

"It's hard for me to answer that question because I have my own moral perspectives on that. But again, if I take my own moral, religious perspectives on things such as abortion and same-sex marriages, but taking that and putting it aside for a moment, I believe so yes," Tom Jr. said. "Because I believe that in this country people should have the right to pursue happiness so long as that pursuit of happiness does not interfere with some one else's rights. I mean its my right to exercise and carry arms. to bear arms. It's might right to bear arms. But if my right to bear arms is some how infringing on some one else's rights, then that's wrong again."

"I don't want to see my religious beliefs running this country. I think that would be wrong. Because then not everybody would be fairly represented," he continued. "I believe that that has to be a choice. And that's my choice to live my way, So I think they should have their choice to live theirs."

Talk about blowing away stereotypes.

Photo credit: Todd A. Heywood