I hadn’t realised that this had happened, but I was startled and gratified even more to see that Colorado Republican MHR Marilyn Musgrave was amongst those consigned to history last week.

Who is she?  Musgrave was one of the ringleaders of federal Republican attempts to pass a so-called Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have outlawed same-sex marriage in the whole United States through a constitutional amendment.

Musgrave had only been an MHR for five years, and her constituency included most of eastern Colorado, outside Denver and Colorado Springs. She had her start in core Christian Right obsessions as a member of the anti-abortion movement, pressed for inclusion of junk science ‘abstinence education’ instead of comprehensive sex education, and is apparently a Pentecostal fundamentalist, affiliated to the Assemblies of God denomination.  Her supporters included  Focus on the Family, Alliance for Marriage, the Family Research Council, the Christian Coalition, and the Traditional Values Coalition, as well as  the Heritage Foundation.

She was an antigay firebrand, opposed to LGBT adoption, civil unions and same-sex marriage.  Musgrave was the main sponsor of the unsuccessful Federal Marriage Amendment in the 108th and 109th Congresses. This document was  originally drafted by the so-called “Alliance for Marriage”. It consisted of a proposed  constitutional amendment, which would define marriage as “the union of a man and a woman” and bar any recognition of same-sex marriage or civil unions within the United States.

In a September 2006 speech to the Family Research Council’s “Values Voters Summit”, Musgrave revealed that this was the paramount issue of concern for her: 

“As we face the issues that we are facing today, I don’t think there’s anything more important out there than the marriage issue.”  However, she was also a rabid anti-abortionist, opponent of gun control, supporter of special rights for ‘homeschooler’ fundamentalists, anti-union and had a mediocre record on environmental issues.

Happily, though, she’s gone- she was defeated by her Democrat challenger, Betsy Markey. Congratulations, Ms. Markey, and congratulations to the people of Colorado for having been spared any of this woman’s further depredations.

On Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Musgrave

 “Hateful bigot Marilyn who lost”:

http://www.americablog.com/2008/11/hateful-bigot-marilyn-musgrave-who-lost.html