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It's not just No to H8
Author: Raine    Date: 11/17/2008 13:34:21

Now is the time to keep pushing forward. Now is the time to not give up, to not get complacent. Now is the time to be very aware of everything that is happening.

If a well organized group of people can use the Constitution to take away one group's rights , then who is next? It's a fair and valid question to ask, and not one without precident in America. We must ask this question because we are all in jeopardy of having what so many in our nation have fought for, taken away.

We went to our city's capitol building to stand beside our GBLT brothers and sisters in America to protest not only Prop 8, but all of the ballot initiatives that have gone before and are still to come in America. We stood against prop 2 in Florida, and we stood against Arizona and Arkansas, and even our own state that passed Constitutional Amendment 1 in 2004:
Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that this state shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman? This first paragraph of this proposal provides that Georgia shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman and prohibits marriages between persons of the same sex in this state. The second paragraph of this proposal further provides that the state: (1) shall not recognize any union between persons of the same sex as being entitled to the benefits of marriage; (2) shall not give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state or jurisdiction respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex where that relationship is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other state or jurisdiction; and (3) removes from the jurisdiction of Georgia's courts the ability to grant a divorce or separate maintenance or otherwise consider or rule on parties' rights arising from or in connection with such a same sex relationship.
That ballot stripped away not only the rights of Gay couples, but also the rights of their children. Georgia has no work protection to people who are not hetrosexual.

In 2006, we had Arizona Prop 107, Colorado Prop 43, Alabama Marriage Act, Idaho Amendment 2, South Carolina, South Dakota Amendment C, Tennessee Marriage Act, Virginia Marriage Act, and Wisconsin Question One. We all know about this year.

For many this is a battle for gay rights, but I see it as far more. This is about equality in our oft inequal country. We have fought to make Americans equal since the very beginning of our nation and we must continue to do so. That is the Promise of the United States of America; we the people can make change. It is not only our right but our responsibilty to make sure no one is disenfranchised.

Laws have been wrong in the past and that is why we have the ability to change them and overturn and find them unconstitutional. And marriage for all is just one of those things that we have to work on.

It's not one law... It's the over 1000 federal rights that hetrosexuals have in a marriage that homosexuals are not allowed to have. In Georgia, there are about another 400 state rights that were stripped away in 2004.

And the religious right would have you believe it's about morality and the sanctity of marriage. This comes from the Morman Church, whose history includes polygamy, child abuse and racism within their own church; from the Christian Fundamentalists who would tell you that sex is for procreation only, that abstinence is holy, as their teens find skyrocketing pregnancy rates and STD numbers going through the roof. Then there are the Catholics, who have a few issues of their own regarding priests and pedophelia. These are the people telling Americans what is moral and right; these are groups who have been tied to funding all of the above initiatives, and will likely fund more in the future.

What is moral and right is ALL Americans having the same access to the Constitution of the United States of America, regardless of sexual orientation, skin color or gender.

This is not just about Prop 8. Prop 8 has become the symbol of what must be done and all that still must be undone. This is about the fabric of our nation and what we are going to do to make it a more perfect union. I don't want to live in a nation where I have more rights legally than my brothers and sisters. I will fight for the rights of all. Ignorance, bigotry, racism and mysogyny need not apply. Those are the tools of the people who would keep the United States of America divided.

:peace: and :heart:
Raine


 

128 comments (Latest Comment: 11/18/2008 04:55:07 by BobR)
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