First they were allowed to get married, and then they were told they couldn't. One day they had human rights, the next day they were stolen. But today in California they won another big victory.
“All that Proposition 8 accomplished was to take away from same sex-couples the right to be granted marriage licenses and thus legally to use the designation ‘marriage,” the judge wrote, adding: “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gay men and lesbians in California."
I'm so proud of my brothers and sisters who refused to give up. And I'm so grateful to the plaintiffs who led the charge. Like this lesbian couple and their teenage sons.
"Today, the 9th Circuit [Court of Appeals] said to our family that we are equal under the law," she said, adding that now, "we can see over the dark wall of discrimination."
But I am also angry that gay people still have to fight for the right to be treated as fully human. So I feel like this British guy does about the battle for gay marriage.
Homophobia is actually quite a kind, forgiving word. It is really quite generous. It is saying, “look, it’s OK. Your discomfort around gay people is just because you don’t really understand them. You’re unfamiliar with them, that’s all. Once you overcome that fear, once you see that, you know, we’re all just people, we’ll be fine”.
But this is not about fear. The MPs who would deny marriage to gay people are not, I think, afraid of gay people. I think that they fundamentally believe that gay people are vastly inferior to heterosexuals: and I fear that what underlies this belief is not a transient misunderstanding, still less a passionate commitment to Scripture, but a firm, unyielding contempt.
Because I don't care what some hairy desert dweller had to say about gay people, while screwing his many wives, his concubines, his daughters, and his many goats.
Or what any religious bigot has to say about my life. Including those in Canada.
Their contempt for me and my brothers and sisters is nothing compared to the contempt I feel for them.
And if those grubby hatemongers don't like that eh?
They can take a flying fajita.
Shove their bloodthirsty Big Mamunga where the sun don't shine.
Or eat my favourite t-shirt...
Because we're still here baby. And I was BORN to fight.
Long live the power of gay love.
Hooray for my beautiful people...
That is great news Simon.
ReplyDeleteConservatives and right-wing followers are only ever happy(or as close to that as they can get) unless they are actively hating someone or some group and seeking to deny them rights.
The 9th Circuit court of appeals is the most progressive in the US as far as I remember and at least one GOP candidate has vowed to shut it down. Thank god for the US West coast.
I would actually really like living in Oregon I think, do you suppose if we become the 51st state we'll get US citizenship?. Likely not, we'll get all the crap and none of the potential perks. Vermont is another really great place. That's 2 out of 50...lol.
On a side note, that Wee Man Ned's crew video that you posted a while back. Arghh. It now resides on my HD and I have to watch it at least once a week. Thank you for that. I had to go find out about the fellow who plays the part as I thought it was real at first.
I love Scotland and visited there often as I was growing up. My mother was from Liverpool and my Uncle was the Colonel who ran Stirling castle for years and years into the late 80's I think. We went to wedding there for a cousin. It was amazing, we got to spend time on the battlements and in the officers mess and rooms. Sat in the Royal box at the Edinborough Tatoo, such fun, esp. to a youngster. Scotland is starting to look better and better compared to this "new" Canada. They are like Quebec is in Canada, more progressive in the face of the domineering majority power.
This is a bit talky for a comment so feel free to edit it to just the first bit. Do you still have a Glaswegian accent? The videos of Friday night bus rides there are somewhat extreme. Looks like quite a place.
Take care Simon,
Stewart
hi Stewart...you're comment was too good to edit. Besides I have to make one thing absolutely clear, I'm not from Glasgow, and like most other Scots and others I sometimes have great difficulty understanding Glaswegian. ;) I come from the placid Moray, and consider my spiritual home to be Edinburgh. But I have visited Glasgow frequently to attend football games and support my favourite Scottish side Celtic. Which unfortunately led to several violent altercations with my Protestant confreres, who support Glasgow Rangers Rangers, an ugly lot if if ever there was one. So I'm biased eh? But I'm glad you like the Wee Man Ned's video, because when I first saw it I laughed so hard I practically fell out of my chair. He captured those neds, or chavs as we call them in Edinburgh, perfectly. However, if you do visit Glasgow, which actually has many historical attractions and connections to Canada, may I suggest you DON'T go out on a Saturday night. The neds are all as drunk as skunks, and they're armed to the teeth with knives. That's why Wee Ned has a scar on his face. It's considered a badge of honour. Gawd.
DeleteAs for your connection to Stirling Castle, that's amazing. It's one of the few castles in Scotland I haven't ever visited, but I certainly intend to some day, because it looks absolutely magnificent.
And yes, it's so encouraging to see Scotland telling the Cameron Cons to take a hike, because what they are doing to Britain is absolutely frightening, and a harbinger of what might happen here...
P.S. I don't know about Oregon, but Vermont is a lovely place. They have banned roadside ads, so it's absolutely pastoral. When I was at McGill me and my friends used to love to drive down to Burlington and on the way back visit the original Ben and Jerry's...
More good news Washington state lawmakers vote to legalise gay marriage
ReplyDeleteLawmakers in the US state of Washington have passed a bill legalising gay marriage, making Washington the seventh US state to back the measure.
hi sassy... yes isn't it great? Two victories in two days. I must be doing something right, I just can't figure out what... ;)
DeleteThe woman has it exactly right, well worth listening to.
ReplyDeleteRepublican Chokes Up At Gay Marriage Debate In Washington