My friends are up in a hullabaloo about Obama getting re-elected. I'm just happy Mitt isn't around to work to keep me a second-class citizen. To me, it is personal. I can't keep my politics separate from my friendships, because presidential elections mean the difference between a president who will re-enact DOMA (it's not off the books, just not apparently being enforced) and fight to keep my rights from me, vs. a president who will work to give me equality.
In other political news and reblogged news articles:
The Republicans don't want me. They want everyone else, but not me.
The Democratic party, however, does.
Bob Kerrey, running for Senate, supports gay marriage. (Unfortunately, he lost.)
I realize it might have been more productive to have reposted this earlier. Can I blame my workload?
Showing posts with label DOMA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DOMA. Show all posts
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
News and Politics
I know I've been absent for a couple months, but I've been racking up the news articles to send you. Warning: NYTimes.com only lets you view ten free articles a month, so think carefully before clicking the links. I can get around that by getting them sent to me in my inbox, but even I can't view my bookmarks.
So, Biden's big announcement in favor of same-sex marriage. I'm sure you've heard about this. Drove the White House a little crazy, rushing to make sure everyone knew this was Biden's personal opinion and not the official stance, and forcing Obama to say something one way or the other. I feel for the big man--he got voters from both sides by walking the line, and this doesn't help his cause. Quite frankly, I'm worried about what will happen if Mitt Romney gets in office. It really feels like he sets his stance based on what he thinks the public wants to hear, and changes it accordingly. What is the problem with Obama? I hope this is the article that talks about this--I keep getting a message that says I've read my free articles for the month before I can even read enough to see if it's the one I want. Basically, Romney's telling us Obama lost the country jobs--well, in his first few months of taking office, before his policies could take effect. And now he's trying to get us to return to the same policies that got us into this mess. Who really believes two terms are enough to dig the country out of its hole? Who thinks that a man who won't take a stance of his own and says what he thinks you want to hear will make a good president? (Apparently, a lot of people.) And Romney won't support same-sex marriage--he says so himself, although he also apparently has friends who are gay. Yes, ObamaCare may be in line with socialist ideals. But guess what? So is public education. It doesn't make him evil. We're so close to getting many of our rights, despite some waffling in the White House--Obama Won't Order Ban on Gay Bias by Employers--some of the original top supporters of DOMA are trying to get it revoked, and the public mind is changing all the time. Don't let the country take two steps back for every step forward. Pull out your common sense. Leave the states vs federal debate and the abortion debate for another day. Debate them in your own time, please do. Work to change people's minds for the things you really care about. But the whole country's going to suffer if you elect Mitt Romney. Re-elect Obama. Pass it on.
In other news:
Homophobic? Maybe You're Gay
All you have to do is watch Glee to know some of the most vehement anti-gays out there are in the closet and scared to death. A good reason to turn the other cheek and be kind to those who hate your guts.
Methodists Vote Against Homosexuality Rule Change
Basically, the Methodists have it written down that homosexuality is incompatible with their teachings, and they decided not to rewrite it.
Harming the Troops
Military Chaplains officially can't marry same-sex couples, even in states where it's legal. I think. Legalese confuses the heck out of me. I shall never be a politician.
Malawi President Wants to Repeal Nation's Antigay Laws
Malawi, a country in Africa, currently has laws prohibiting homosexual acts, but its president wants to repeal them if she can.
And:
Rutgers Webcam-Spying Defendant Sentenced to 30 Days
This is the kid who spied on his roommate having gay sex using a webcam, and posted about it on Twitter, leading to the young man's suicide.
So, Biden's big announcement in favor of same-sex marriage. I'm sure you've heard about this. Drove the White House a little crazy, rushing to make sure everyone knew this was Biden's personal opinion and not the official stance, and forcing Obama to say something one way or the other. I feel for the big man--he got voters from both sides by walking the line, and this doesn't help his cause. Quite frankly, I'm worried about what will happen if Mitt Romney gets in office. It really feels like he sets his stance based on what he thinks the public wants to hear, and changes it accordingly. What is the problem with Obama? I hope this is the article that talks about this--I keep getting a message that says I've read my free articles for the month before I can even read enough to see if it's the one I want. Basically, Romney's telling us Obama lost the country jobs--well, in his first few months of taking office, before his policies could take effect. And now he's trying to get us to return to the same policies that got us into this mess. Who really believes two terms are enough to dig the country out of its hole? Who thinks that a man who won't take a stance of his own and says what he thinks you want to hear will make a good president? (Apparently, a lot of people.) And Romney won't support same-sex marriage--he says so himself, although he also apparently has friends who are gay. Yes, ObamaCare may be in line with socialist ideals. But guess what? So is public education. It doesn't make him evil. We're so close to getting many of our rights, despite some waffling in the White House--Obama Won't Order Ban on Gay Bias by Employers--some of the original top supporters of DOMA are trying to get it revoked, and the public mind is changing all the time. Don't let the country take two steps back for every step forward. Pull out your common sense. Leave the states vs federal debate and the abortion debate for another day. Debate them in your own time, please do. Work to change people's minds for the things you really care about. But the whole country's going to suffer if you elect Mitt Romney. Re-elect Obama. Pass it on.
In other news:
Homophobic? Maybe You're Gay
All you have to do is watch Glee to know some of the most vehement anti-gays out there are in the closet and scared to death. A good reason to turn the other cheek and be kind to those who hate your guts.
Methodists Vote Against Homosexuality Rule Change
Basically, the Methodists have it written down that homosexuality is incompatible with their teachings, and they decided not to rewrite it.
Harming the Troops
Military Chaplains officially can't marry same-sex couples, even in states where it's legal. I think. Legalese confuses the heck out of me. I shall never be a politician.
Malawi President Wants to Repeal Nation's Antigay Laws
Malawi, a country in Africa, currently has laws prohibiting homosexual acts, but its president wants to repeal them if she can.
And:
Rutgers Webcam-Spying Defendant Sentenced to 30 Days
This is the kid who spied on his roommate having gay sex using a webcam, and posted about it on Twitter, leading to the young man's suicide.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Marriage legality
I was reading the New York Times today, and came across this article. It's about the fight for gay marriage and the new donor pool it has. The really interesting thing, though, was that I recognized the name of the Republican lawyer, Theodore B. Olsen. I came across him while writing my research paper. He stood out for writing about why conservatives ought to support gay marriage, something I think needs to be a central point in changing minds. You can't change many minds just by saying 'this is right' and 'your way is unconstitutional', you need to add a 'this is why you should want this' to the mix. People are selfish, and often won't do anything unless it benefits them or their values in some way. Anti-gay people know that refusing to pass ENDA and similar laws (not marriage--by legal definition, we have exactly the same right as straight people: to marry the opposite sex*) is pretty unconstitutional. They probably know they haven't got any decent arguments. But the whole idea of gay marriage and gayness at all hits their gag reflex. Plain and simple, they don't like it. So they throw everything they've got, like money and religion, against it. We need to make them like it. We need to tell them why they should want equality for all.
Here's Olsen's article.
*This confuses a lot of people. If you're one of them, I'll put it in black and white.
Susan is straight. She has the legal right to marry a man, whether or not she loves him. She couldn't marry a woman for whatever crazy reason. She doesn't have the right.
Annie is gay. She also has the legal right to marry a man, even if she doesn't love him. She couldn't marry a woman even if she does love her. She doesn't have the right.
There's no actual legal difference. Gay and straight (and bi) women alike have the right to marry a man, not a woman. Gay and straight (and bi) men alike have the right to marry a woman, not a man.
Straights don't actually get any special privileges--they're just lucky enough to have the people they're attracted to/people they're capable of loving in the same category as people they're legally allowed to marry, while gay people aren't.
This is not to say I support this. Yes, I think the federal legal definition of marriage should be changed. Point is, this is how things stand. We can't really shout 'equal rights' on this because we have them. What we're asking for is more rights--the right to marry any legal adult human being we please. It'll extend to straight people as well, who don't have that right either, although they generally don't want to marry someone of the same sex, so no one sees them as missing out.
Here's Olsen's article.
*This confuses a lot of people. If you're one of them, I'll put it in black and white.
Susan is straight. She has the legal right to marry a man, whether or not she loves him. She couldn't marry a woman for whatever crazy reason. She doesn't have the right.
Annie is gay. She also has the legal right to marry a man, even if she doesn't love him. She couldn't marry a woman even if she does love her. She doesn't have the right.
There's no actual legal difference. Gay and straight (and bi) women alike have the right to marry a man, not a woman. Gay and straight (and bi) men alike have the right to marry a woman, not a man.
Straights don't actually get any special privileges--they're just lucky enough to have the people they're attracted to/people they're capable of loving in the same category as people they're legally allowed to marry, while gay people aren't.
This is not to say I support this. Yes, I think the federal legal definition of marriage should be changed. Point is, this is how things stand. We can't really shout 'equal rights' on this because we have them. What we're asking for is more rights--the right to marry any legal adult human being we please. It'll extend to straight people as well, who don't have that right either, although they generally don't want to marry someone of the same sex, so no one sees them as missing out.
Monday, May 31, 2010
We are not free.
It's Memorial Day today in dear old America. And yesterday, at church, I heard something during the Intentions that kind of threw me, something about all the brave soldiers that died to protect our freedom.
But we aren't free.
Don't get me wrong. Those men and women who died were very brave and deserve recognition, and they died for many freedoms we should all be grateful for. We have freedom of religion, of the press, equal rights for all races and both genders, and even the right to elect our own leaders. These freedoms are precious and should not be taken lightly.
But we won't be completely free until gender identity and sexual orientation matter as little as biological gender or skin color.
We will not be free until laws allowing same-sex marriage, allowing gay people to serve in the military openly, preventing employers from firing people because they are gay or transgender, are made federal.
We must fight for our freedom. We might not be soldiers on the battlefield, but we can still fight.
If you want to tell the Democrats all this, you might read and sign the Courage Campaign's letter.
But we aren't free.
Don't get me wrong. Those men and women who died were very brave and deserve recognition, and they died for many freedoms we should all be grateful for. We have freedom of religion, of the press, equal rights for all races and both genders, and even the right to elect our own leaders. These freedoms are precious and should not be taken lightly.
But we won't be completely free until gender identity and sexual orientation matter as little as biological gender or skin color.
We will not be free until laws allowing same-sex marriage, allowing gay people to serve in the military openly, preventing employers from firing people because they are gay or transgender, are made federal.
We must fight for our freedom. We might not be soldiers on the battlefield, but we can still fight.
If you want to tell the Democrats all this, you might read and sign the Courage Campaign's letter.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Cleve and the Courage Campaign
Today I got an email from Cleve Jones.
It was about repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which of course, only applies to opposite-sex marriages. As important as that is, it's not what I'm here to talk about today.
For those of you to whom the name, Cleve Jones, seems familiar, he's the guy with the Afro and glasses in the movie Milk.
Unfortunately, it's an R-rated movie, mostly for profanity. But beyond the surface, it's a heartbreaking story, one that anyone (over 17) should see. It won Sean Penn an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Dustin Lance Black one for Best Original Screenplay. Watch the video of Black's acceptance through Courage Campaign. You won't regret it.
For those of you who are wondering how he got my email address, the email was a global, sent by way of the Courage Campaign. Who knows whether Cleve actually wrote the email or just signed his name? But, for the first time, a Courage Campaign email had a personal feel, apart from them mostly being for a cause (obviously) dear to my heart, because I'd heard of the person it was said to be from. Though I'd gotten an email from him before, that time I hadn't known who he is.
The Courage Campaign sends updates on events important to the GLBTQ community, like the status of Prop 8, and the story of Lt. Dan Choi, an army lieutenant, who was fired for refusing to lie about his sexual orientation and, very often, a request for donations. Among other things.
In its own words, the Courage Campaign is "the online organizing hub for progressive Californians. We are a network of more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots citizens empowered to leverage online tools for offline activism." Even if you're not a Californian (I'm not) it's good to be up-to-date.
If you read this post, but decided not to click on any of the links, go back and do it. Some of them are just FYI, but some of them are because I want you to see it. The video of Black's acceptance is one of them. It's not very long. It's worth your time. Let Black inspire you, in the movie whose screenplay he wrote and his speech both, to give your time to me. To us.
It was about repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which of course, only applies to opposite-sex marriages. As important as that is, it's not what I'm here to talk about today.
For those of you to whom the name, Cleve Jones, seems familiar, he's the guy with the Afro and glasses in the movie Milk.
Unfortunately, it's an R-rated movie, mostly for profanity. But beyond the surface, it's a heartbreaking story, one that anyone (over 17) should see. It won Sean Penn an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Dustin Lance Black one for Best Original Screenplay. Watch the video of Black's acceptance through Courage Campaign. You won't regret it.
For those of you who are wondering how he got my email address, the email was a global, sent by way of the Courage Campaign. Who knows whether Cleve actually wrote the email or just signed his name? But, for the first time, a Courage Campaign email had a personal feel, apart from them mostly being for a cause (obviously) dear to my heart, because I'd heard of the person it was said to be from. Though I'd gotten an email from him before, that time I hadn't known who he is.
The Courage Campaign sends updates on events important to the GLBTQ community, like the status of Prop 8, and the story of Lt. Dan Choi, an army lieutenant, who was fired for refusing to lie about his sexual orientation and, very often, a request for donations. Among other things.
In its own words, the Courage Campaign is "the online organizing hub for progressive Californians. We are a network of more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots citizens empowered to leverage online tools for offline activism." Even if you're not a Californian (I'm not) it's good to be up-to-date.
If you read this post, but decided not to click on any of the links, go back and do it. Some of them are just FYI, but some of them are because I want you to see it. The video of Black's acceptance is one of them. It's not very long. It's worth your time. Let Black inspire you, in the movie whose screenplay he wrote and his speech both, to give your time to me. To us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)