Weasel words

Ed Brayton at Dispatches from the Culture Wars has a post that is spot on about the not-so-hidden bigotry inherent in phrases like "family values":

There are few things that grate on my nerves more than phrases like "family values" or "pro-family." Gore Vidal was fond of saying that those were really just catchphrase that meant "get the fags" and he was right...
To bigots like LaBarbera, real families can't be led by homosexuals. But in the real world, there are millions of families that are led by gays and lesbians. By what possible reasoning - yes, I say that as though this was a reasoned position knowing full well that it's not - could this argument be justified?

Applause. The next time you hear "working families", do me proud and peg a brick at the perpetrator.