Whew! What a relief. My favorite scenario has actually come to pass.
People voted. Votes were counted. Obama won. I look like chicken little a little. The end.
Well not quite the end, in the sense that, in my state, Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriages passed, which I think is quite unfortunate, and makes the progressive Obama victory just a little bittersweet…
It also made me change my “gay rights” category to “equal rights “civil rights” because this isn’t about the right to be gay, it’s about the right to marry whomever you wish. It’s a pretty big part of that whole “pursuit of happiness” thing, if you ask me.
Update: 11/07/08 – (And yes, I just changed again. I remembered what happened with the whole ERA thing in the 80s, and how saying “equal rights” instead of “civil rights” seems to water the concept down somehow. Being able to marry whomever you wish is a CIVIL RIGHT. Ok, now I can move on…)
But alas! Time to move forward and keep up this momentum we seem to have going.
Thanks for all your information, love and support, during these past 8 years of hell.
There were some times in there when all we knew we had was each other – over the internet.
Now we are making our presence felt in the “real” world too. Good job!
Onward!
Category Archives: Civil Rights
Let Congress Know You Don’t Oppose Gay Marriage
1 Reply
This just in from my pal Bobby Lilly.
Bobby’s trying to get the word out about the Million for Marriage.org website and petition in favor of same sex marriages.
It’s all from the Human Rights Campaign.
From Bobby: Got this request and am passing it on to friends I think might support the issue. So, if you haven’t signed the petition yet, please use the link they offer in the body of the message below and maybe pass it on to a friend.
Click the following link to sign a petition that will be delivered to Congress in favor of same sex marriage:
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/3daiyNY1FBPx/
****************************
Human Rights Campaign/MillionForMarriage.org
Let’s get to a half-million by May 17
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/37aiyNY1FBP3/
****************************
Dear Bobby,
In just 10 days, same-sex couples will be issued marriage licenses for the first time in Massachusetts. As the newlyweds celebrate their marriages, we know that our ultra-conservative opponents will use this historic moment to viciously attack them and all GLBT families.
We – all of us who support marriage equality – must demonstrate our strength and unity at this critical time. Here’s one important way you can help: Right now, almost 450,000 people have signed the Million for Marriage petition. By May 17th, we’d like to get to 500,000 – a half-million people.
Please, take a minute to think of one more person that you could persuade to stand up for equality. Click here to send them a message right now:
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/37aiyNY1FBP3/
Or forward this e-mail to your friends and ask them to click the following link to sign the petition:
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/3daiyNY1FBPx/
Our voices – 500,000 loud and strong — will help counter the right-wing extremists’ wave of fear and lies, and will give hope and support to the couples about to marry in Massachusetts. Thank you, as always, for your actions today.
Many thanks,
Cheryl A. Jacques President
**************************** (c)2004, Human Rights Campaign, 1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-3278 Phone: 202/628-4160 TTY: 202/216-1572 Fax: 202/347-5323, membership@hrc.org
Jon Stewart On Illegal Marriage Solemnization
This is from the March 4, 2004 program.
Here’s Jon commenting on the Mayor of New Paltz’ illegal marriage solemnization:
Stewart Comments On All The Gay Marriages (Small – 4 MB)
The Daily Show (The best news on television.)
Nice Collection Of Gay Marriage Photographs
Disclaimer: this first couple didn’t actually get married, but the rest did.
A nice collection of happy gay marriage photos.
Massachusetts Supreme Court Rules Gay Marriage Legal!
SJC: Gay Marriage Legal in Mass.
By Kathleen Burge for The Boston Globe.
The Supreme Judicial Court today became the nation’s first state supreme court to rule that same-sex couples have the legal right to marry.
“We declare that barring an individual from the protections, benefits and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts constitution,” Chief Justice Margaret Marshall wrote in the 4-3 decision.
The ruling won’t take effect for 180 days in order to allow the Legislature “to take such action as it may deem appropriate in light of this opinion,” the court ruled in its 50-page decision. Since the SJC is the ultimate authority on the state constitution, however, the Legislature cannot overturn today’s decision — nor would the US Supreme Court agree to interpret a state’s constitution.
Opponents could fight for a constitutional amendment, but the soonest that could be placed on the ballot is 2006. The Legislature has already been considering several bills, including one that would allow gay marriage, that would grant benefits to same-sex couples.
The SJC ruling held that the Massachusetts constitution “forbids the creation of second-class citizens.” The state Attorney General’s office, which argued to the court that state law doesn’t allow gay couples to marry, “has failed to identify any constitutionally adequate reason for denying civil marraige to same-sex couples,” Marshall wrote.
The court rejected the claim of a lower court judge that the primary purpose of marriage was procreation.
Daily Show Gaywatch Update: NYC’s Harvey Milk High and Russia’s First Gay Wedding
This is from the September 11, 2003 program.
Daily Show Gaywatch Update (Small – 9 MB)
The Daily Show (The best news on television.)
CBS News On First Gay High School In NYC
This is from CBS News on September 8, 2003.
Gay High School Opens In NYC (Small – 3 MB)
A ‘Gay Couple’ Of Clips From The Daily Show
Hope I got the dates right on these guys. I’m pretty much in “catch up like a madwoman” mode…It’s from August 6, 2003 — I think 🙂
A pair of comedy clips to assist in furthering the aggressive homosexual agenda, courtesy of The Daily Show. (The best news on television.)
GayWatch (Small – 10 MB)
Stephen Colbert On The Recent Gaysplosion! (Small – 9 MB)
Jon Stewart On Gay Marriage
This is from the July 31, 2003 program.
Jon Stewart On Gay Marriage (Small – 2 MB)
The Daily Show (The best news on television.)
More Info On The Supreme Court’s Overturning Of Texas Anti-sodomy Law
Supreme Court Strikes Down Texas Law Banning Sodomy
By The Associated Press for the NY Times.
The 6-3 ruling reverses course from a ruling 17 years ago that states could punish homosexuals for what such laws historically called deviant sex.
Laws forbidding homosexual sex, once universal, now are rare. Those on the books are rarely enforced but underpin other kinds of discrimination, lawyers for two Texas men had argued to the court.
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The men “are entitled to respect for their private lives,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote.
“The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime,” he said.
Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer agreed with Kennedy in full. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor agreed with the outcome of the case but not all of Kennedy’s rationale.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.