Focus on the Family Citizen March 2009 : Page 14
whee! the people Sean Penn, international correspondent E quite—not yet. “In a city launched by shot- A gun weddings and quickie di- vorces, and which offers the chance to be wed by faux Lib- eraces, King Tuts and Grim Reapers, there re- mains at least one nuptial taboo,” the Los Angeles Times reports: “You can’t be mar- ried by an atheist.” Yes, it’s true: Those who offici- ate weddings in Nevada (ex- cept for judg- es et al) must be tied to a congregation, how- ever loosely defined. (Wher- ever two or more are gathered, there you can have a Church of 14 ABOVE: DAVE CLEGG BELOW: TRAVIS FOSTER veryone thinks Sean Penn’s a gifted ac- tor. Now, though, he claims he’s also a re- porter—and no one’s buying his performance. The Milk star recently claimed to have landed the “first ever interview to a foreign jour- nalist” from current Cuban ruler Raul Castro. But the “interview” turned out to be one big love fest. “Raul Castro was warm, open, energetic and sharp of wit,” Penn gushed. “His eyes are bright and his voice is strong.” Moonstruck, the ac- What Vegas hath joined together nything goes in Las Ve- gas, right? Almost, but not Elvis.) The requirement goes back to the ’60s, when the state was trying to keep the Vegas- wedding biz from getting total- ly out of control. Alas, it didn’t work. These days, com- petition’s so heated that rival chapels’ employ- ees accuse each other of death threats and slashing tires. The law’s days are likely num- bered: An athe- ist plans to sue, and as one University of Nevada Las Vegas law professor says, “It’s v e r y weird to try to support these laws in a city of 24-hour wed- ding chapels.” So much for Las Vegas’ last standard. Jillette of the duo Penn & Teller—even though he’s an outspoken atheist. In a vid- eo making the rounds on the Web, Jillette tells of being approached after a show by a man who gave him a Gideon Bible. “This guy was a really good guy,” he P recalls. “He was polite and nice and sane, and he cared enough about me to proselytize.” In fact, Jillette has a message both for Christians and his fellow atheists: “I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize.” “If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell,” he says, there’s no excuse for thinking, “Well, it’s not really worth telling them this because it would be socially awkward.” He boils the issue down to one question: “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible, and not tell them that?” Now that’s a message believers and unbelievers alike should hear, loud and clear. Citizen tor let the dictator run on and on—for seven hours—without facing a single tough question. (Asking about political pris- oners would have ruined the mood.) A leftist mag (The Na- tion) snapped up Penn’s puff piece. But judging by most media reaction, he won’t be adding a Pulitzer to his awards shelf. “Why does someone like Penn think he can do this job, which isn’t his job?” The New Yorker wondered. “Perhaps because he can write down and relay the words of famous people to whom his own fame gives him access.” Better heed the critics, Sean: Don’t quit your day job. Magic words rosleytizing is a dirty word to many people. But not to magician Penn
Whee! the people
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