What She Said!
Oct. 7th, 2003 06:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kyra_ojosverdesThe associated press recently reported that a coalition of conservative political groups intend to make same-sex marriage the hot-button social issue of the 2004 election.
The Christian Coalition, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Eagle Forum are among the organizations campaigning for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in the United States.
Their fervor seems to be grounded in some bizarre belief that the an American family has one and only one true definition. To acknowledge any other will cause the downfall of the nation faster than you can say "Tinky Winky."
Sandy Rios, president of Concerned Women for America, summarized it best when she told the AP. "This [same-sex marriage] is the very underpinning of civilization. If we remove those foundations, our entire civilization will come crumbling down."
Really. Kind of like it did when interracial marriage become legal? Or women got the right to vote? Are we better or worse off when we strive for true liberty and justice for all in this country? Using the constitution as a tool to discriminate is in my mind much more dangerous to our civilization than whether Adam and Steve get a tax break when they file jointly.
As Americans, I hope we all consider three things as we ponder the legitimacy of such an amendment:
1. Adhering to Judeo-Christian standards is not a prerequisite for citizenship
2. Discrimination in marriage hurts families
3. Second-class citizenship for any American is wrong.
Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, noted in a press release that these groups are blatantly misleading the American people by proclaiming to be "protecting" families. "What they're really doing is fostering discrimination ... Gay Americans are tax-paying, hard-working citizens who deserve these basic legal protections," she said.
Just so we're clear, understand that the two-sentence constitutional amendment, called the Federal Marriage Amendment, is designed not only to outlaw gay marriages, but also to prohibit the recognition of *any* civil rights for same-sex or unmarried heterosexual couples, including civil unions or domestic partnerships. So families that don't fit the neat little definition these white middle- to upper-class conservatives have drawn up for us all to adhere to have no hope for attaining equality under the law in any type of compromise or solution.
Personally, I kind of resent that intrusion and the assumption that conservatives know what's best for me. If I really wanted a bunch of narrow-minded judgmental zealots to run my life, there are plenty of exclusionary churches I could join. Hate the sin, not the sinner and all that. Why some lawmakers think they need to get in on the discrimination game is beyond me. While the government may require us to tithe in the form of taxes, I have a problem with being required to snub the single moms, queers, transsexuals and feminists among us in the name of "moral law."
What I choose to pledge my allegiance to is a loving God who doesn't discriminate, and a country that is supposed to protect everyone's rights, not just Ward and June Cleaver's. Gay and lesbian citizens should have the right to exercise their own preferences for family, intimacy, love and sex, and still retain the same dignity and legal protection as every other tax payer. If the religion of certain narrow-minded judgmental conservatives frowns on this, then the constitution grants them the freedom to pray harder. The constitution shouldn't require that everyone else agree or join them.
-- Paula Lauer
The Christian Coalition, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Eagle Forum are among the organizations campaigning for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in the United States.
Their fervor seems to be grounded in some bizarre belief that the an American family has one and only one true definition. To acknowledge any other will cause the downfall of the nation faster than you can say "Tinky Winky."
Sandy Rios, president of Concerned Women for America, summarized it best when she told the AP. "This [same-sex marriage] is the very underpinning of civilization. If we remove those foundations, our entire civilization will come crumbling down."
Really. Kind of like it did when interracial marriage become legal? Or women got the right to vote? Are we better or worse off when we strive for true liberty and justice for all in this country? Using the constitution as a tool to discriminate is in my mind much more dangerous to our civilization than whether Adam and Steve get a tax break when they file jointly.
As Americans, I hope we all consider three things as we ponder the legitimacy of such an amendment:
1. Adhering to Judeo-Christian standards is not a prerequisite for citizenship
2. Discrimination in marriage hurts families
3. Second-class citizenship for any American is wrong.
Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, noted in a press release that these groups are blatantly misleading the American people by proclaiming to be "protecting" families. "What they're really doing is fostering discrimination ... Gay Americans are tax-paying, hard-working citizens who deserve these basic legal protections," she said.
Just so we're clear, understand that the two-sentence constitutional amendment, called the Federal Marriage Amendment, is designed not only to outlaw gay marriages, but also to prohibit the recognition of *any* civil rights for same-sex or unmarried heterosexual couples, including civil unions or domestic partnerships. So families that don't fit the neat little definition these white middle- to upper-class conservatives have drawn up for us all to adhere to have no hope for attaining equality under the law in any type of compromise or solution.
Personally, I kind of resent that intrusion and the assumption that conservatives know what's best for me. If I really wanted a bunch of narrow-minded judgmental zealots to run my life, there are plenty of exclusionary churches I could join. Hate the sin, not the sinner and all that. Why some lawmakers think they need to get in on the discrimination game is beyond me. While the government may require us to tithe in the form of taxes, I have a problem with being required to snub the single moms, queers, transsexuals and feminists among us in the name of "moral law."
What I choose to pledge my allegiance to is a loving God who doesn't discriminate, and a country that is supposed to protect everyone's rights, not just Ward and June Cleaver's. Gay and lesbian citizens should have the right to exercise their own preferences for family, intimacy, love and sex, and still retain the same dignity and legal protection as every other tax payer. If the religion of certain narrow-minded judgmental conservatives frowns on this, then the constitution grants them the freedom to pray harder. The constitution shouldn't require that everyone else agree or join them.
-- Paula Lauer
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no subject
Date: 2003-10-07 06:39 pm (UTC)First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
I think we'll be able to get married pretty soon, if they want to make it a hot issue to stop us. It's kind of heartening when you think about it. First women didn't exist politically. Then women in politics were seen as jokes--I've seen editorial cartoons and the like, and overall it was humor with a bit of apprehension. Then the men in power finally realized the women were organizing pretty effectively, and dug in for a fight.
You can't really say we've 'won' yet, or one of every two presidents would be female, but we've made huge strides... and most of what we still struggle against is inertia.
The same will be true of queerfolk and the right to marry, adopt, and generally be considered as equals. They ignored us until they couldn't ignore us anymore--mid-eighties, really, with ACT UP and the AIDS rallies--and made a lot of jokes about homosexuality for two decades.
I guess the folks in power have just realized that there are a lot of us and we're making our way into the public consciousness quite nicely... so now they're fighting us.
Next, we win. :)