Despite much good-natured pressure, my partner of twenty years and I have not gotten married. If we ever do marry, I know I will want an old fashioned wedding. Really old fashioned. When I get married, I want a country.
I am the Mr. Big of gay marriage. That said, I completely support the freedom to marry for all gay people. I believe my friends when they tell me how surprised they are at the transformational power of declaring their love before family and friends. I love hearing their stories.
I hate hearing their stories of the on-the-ground, hand-to-hand combat against anti-gay ballot initiatives in Florida, Arizona [again], and California. In California, two newly wed lesbian friends called me as they drove to yet another “No on 8″ rally through a thicket of “Yes on 8″ yard signs. The friend who was driving was distraught because her usually serene partner who was having a homicidal, screaming jag triggered by all the Yes signage. She asked me to talk her down. I suggested she drive on the lawns and take out some signs.
In this financial climate, in California alone, sixty million dollars is being spent for and against the basic human rights of gay people. You would think the attitude would be, “Oh for heaven’s sake, it’s almost the end of the world, let the gay people get married.”
If we defeat Prop Hate, I say we sue our adversaries for anti-gay harassment and to recoup our money. We can use the money to continue to provide for homeless LGBT youth, HIV AIDS support, and care for our elder gays.
If we do not defeat Prop Hate, I say November 5th we call for a general gay work slowdown. Decorators will do deliberately bad, possibly dangerous feng shui. Hairdressers will mistakenly lay hot curling irons down on ears. Social workers will give bad advice, “Your father sounds like a great guy. Show him some love.” Salespeople will ooze, “Oh, that looks great on you.” Waiters will serve cold food and suggest the wrong wine. Flight attendants will put ‘out of service’ signs on bathrooms midway through long-distance flights. Some nameless malaise will dim Broadway.
If gay people are not to be full citizens of this country, we should stop paying taxes. To make up for the lost funds, as an alternate revenue stream, it is time to tax churches that have encouraged anti-gay hatred through their bullying pulpits. The FBI recently released hate-crime statistics that showed a 1% decrease in hate crimes over all, but a 6% increase in anti-gay hate crimes.
When and if I get married, I want my country. Call me old-fashioned.
We take for granted that this nation was founded to allow for equality and acceptance of religious observation and belief, provided the government stays out of religion and religion stays out of government. Jews gained from that “tolerance” as much as anyone. And by the way, so did Mormons, who were chased across the country by Christians who found their latter-day teachings heretical, cultish and worthy of death.
Why are Mormons, some fundamentalist Christians and apparently the Roman Catholic Church arrayed to attack my rights? How do I in any way undermine any of the beliefs or institutions of those religions? I feel laid bare that people I do not know can vote secretly to remove my rights. This is, unfortunately, reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s Nuremberg Laws that led to Kristallnacht, that horrible event 70 years ago next month that resulted in the burning of over 200 synagogues and countless other Jewish-owned establishments. The Nazis stripped rights from Jews piecemeal until finally Jews lost the right to eat and then to live.
There absolutely IS a difference of opinion within religious communities, including in the Christian community on what the Bible, God and Jesus Christ have to say about homosexuality and gay marriage – it is not a foregone conclusion that if you are a Christian or other person of faith that you oppose gay marriage,
This IS an issue of equality and civil rights
This IS an issue of love
People of faith have a long, rich and beautiful tradition of fighting for civil rights and justice. I believe that ultimately, they… you… will stand up for what is right.
This one is really, really important. FIND your elected officials on this list. If you do not find them, write to them. Ask why. Make your voice heard. Use your vote to make sure they know how important this issue is to you. Vote, write, call – this is so very important.
Posted by achievementgap 
Posted by achievementgap 
Posted by achievementgap 