Equal Rights + Sexual Minorities 1 | Page 30

Marriage as God Intended Team Member Name: Devin Fowles Publication: Salt lake tribune Date: 9-8-2015 Cartoonist: Pat Bagley, U.S. Title of cartoon: Marriage as God Intended Cartoon#: 13 What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context? The cartoon shows two different groups that are applying for a marriage license. One group appears to be a polygamist group and the other gay marriage. Kim Davis, a county clerk that was jailed because she denied gays marriage licenses (Jack Jennings, September 2015), is the clerk in the cartoon. Kim is denying the gay couple a marriage license while giving the polygamists a marriage license. Bibliography: Gay marriage has been widely debated for quite some time now. From flags supporting gay marriage, to rallies, to violence even, this topic has been discussed heatedly for quite some time now. Activists for and against this topic have been very busy. This cartoon is a reference to the action that took place in Rowan county, Kentucky (Jack Jennings, Sept 2015), where a marriage clerk named Kim Davis refused to give a marriage license to several gay couples, because of her religious beliefs. Several of the couples sued Kim and Rowan county, saying that Kim’s actions were against their constitutional rights (Kim LaCapria, July 2015). Kim’s refusal landed her in jail. Ironically, the people that are receiving a marriage license from Kim is a polygamist group and the male bares a striking resemblance to Warren Jeffs, the male leader that had a lot of news about him several years ago. What are the symbols in the cartoon? The marriage license itself is a symbol, representing the legal ability to be married. The Gay couple and the Polygamist group are also symbolism of their respective groups. The cartoon labels several different things as well, namely the marriage license and the sign for marriage licenses. Tone of the cartoon: 1) positive or negative framing of the issue 2) framing is supportive of or opposed to supporters 3) framing is supportive of or opposed to opponents What “reality” is constructed/framed about your issue? The cartoon sheds a negative light on Kim, showing that she is not only okay with handing out marriage licenses to polygamist families, but also polygamist families where the marriage is one sided, because it’s in the bible, but not gay couples, even though she’s been married four different times herself (Kim LaCapria, July 2015). Jennings, J. (2015, September 02). The Religious Beliefs Of Kim Davis, The Anti-Gay Clerk Who Refuses To Do Her Job, Explained. Retrieved March 22, 2016, from http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/09/02/3698100/kim-davis-hypocritical-theology/ LaCapria, K. (2015, July 9). ‘I Do’ as I Say, Not as I Do. Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.snopes.com/kim-davis-marri ed-four-times/ Bagley, Pat. “CagleCartoons.com - View Image.” CagleCartoons.com - View Image. 8 Sept. 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. 29 30