I get a fair amount of criticism in the comment section for being critical of American Christianity. That's probably a little fair, although I would content, as a Christian, I have some right to be offended by the wild misuse of what I believe in. However, it would really help me out if culture warriors like the One Million Moms group (affiliated with the American Family Association) would stop embarking on stupid campaigns.

In a recent Archie comc book, a series I think most people have largely forgotten about, a character from Riverdale got married. What is upsetting the One Million Moms is that the character, Kevin Keller, is male and he married another man. Cue the outrage!

Unfortunately, children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in a toy store. This is the last place a parent would expect to be confronted with questions from their children on topics that are too complicated for them to understand. Issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, which is becoming extremely common and unnecessary.

A few notes...one, as a parent of two, I spend a significant amount of time in Toys R Us stores and I have no idea where they keep the comics, so the odds of some sort of confrontation is somewhat slim. The odds of a kid being bombarded with a million messages to have more crap purchased for them to make them feel content for another hour, those odds are quite high, but I guess no one cares about that sort of thing.

Second, the battle over whether homosexual relationships actually exist is over. If you disapprove of such things, your children will be forced to accept the reality of same-sex marriage at some point. Two men might be holding hands in the very same Toys R Us! These things actually happen regardless of your religious-based horror! Hard to believe, but it's true.

There's certainly a space as a parent to be concerned about the world your children will grow up to live in, but instead of freaking out about a comic book cover that reflects an actual positive part of our world (people in love) and maybe start caring about whether there will actually be schools to attend, opportunity to be had, air to breathe, water to drink, whatever. I'm pro-people being happy and I'd like for my children to be the same.

The CEO of Archie Comics responded quite appropriately:

As I’ve said before, Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone. It’s an idealized version of America that will hopefully become reality someday. We’re sorry the American Family Association/OneMillionMoms.com feels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to their opinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, hate and narrow-minded people.

Riverdale sounds like a great place to live, but I suspect it's not the sort of place that the Million Moms can deal with.