Get out the Vote.

Following the lead of two other Vassar-grad bloggers (Rebecca Davis and Gabe Anderson), I urge you to visit the website of the uber-conservative American Family Association to vote in its "marriage poll." AFA's objective seems to be to show Congress that Americans overwhelmingly oppose gay marriage. The poll asks respondents to choose between the following three choices:

I oppose legalization of homosexual marriage and "civil unions"

I favor legalization of homosexual marriage

I favor a "civil union" with the full benefits of marriage except for the name

Presumably, AFA figured that only like-minded folks would visit its site and vote in its poll. But the survey seems to have been co-opted by liberal forces. Gabe Anderson writes that the first forward he received said that when the sender voted, 93% of respondents opposed gay marriage and 3% were in favor; the next forward showed 30% in favor of gay marriage. When Gabe voted, it showed 51.45% in favor. And by the time I voted a few minutes ago, the poll said that nearly 60% of respondents favor legalization of gay marriage, and another 8% support civil unions for gay couples.

I suspect that as soon as AFA realizes that its respondents' "family values" are rather more inclusive than AFA's, it will yank this thing off its site. So stop that last-minute online holiday shopping for a moment and visit MarriagePoll.com to cast your vote.

While you're there, you might want to check out some of AFA's other "information." And then do yourself, your civil liberties, and your 2003 tax bill a favor by making a charitable contribution to an organization such as People For The American Way, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Anti-Defamation League, or the ACLU.

Happy holidays from the land of the free.