Civil unions in Rhode Island

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Michael

The governor of Rhode Island intends on signing a just passed civil union bill into law:

State senators voted 21-16 to endorse the bill, about two hours after it was voted out of committee. The legislation, which already has passed the state House, allows gay couples to enter into civil unions that offer the same rights and benefits given to married couples under Rhode Island law.

It is now headed to Chafee’s desk for his signature. Ahead of the vote, the independent governor called the legislation an “incremental step” toward allowing gay marriage, which he supports.

It is true this is an incremental step. There will come a day down the road when all 50 states protect equality in marriage and we’ll all be able to point to the times today as being instrumental in achieving that goal. But we’ll also be able to point to these days as a time when ‘separate but equal’ arguments were allowed to exist once again. I think future generations will understand, but they will also ultimately be disappointed that there was ever such a struggle.

Filed under: News, Rights, Same-sex marriage | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Gay marriage in New York

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Michael

The process is only inching along at this point:

Old-time, backroom politics faced down hundreds of chanting protesters from each side of the highly charged gay marriage debate in New York on Monday as the issue stalled again over whether religious groups could be protected from discrimination charges under a same-sex marriage law.

And Albany’s notoriously entrenched politics won, for now.

After a three-hour conference behind closed doors, while groups from each side waited in a stifling hot hallway, Senate Republicans emerged without comment. A vote within the conference to even move the bill to the floor for final legislative approval was pushed to at least Tuesday as private negotiations continue between Republican Senate leader Dean Skelos and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who made same-sex marriage a major initiative.

This doesn’t mean too much for either side right now. Perhaps there will be language that allows religious individuals to refuse to marry gay couples, but I hope that it is very, very limited. After all, it isn’t like it’s okay for a state-employed notary to refuse marriage to a black couple, so why carve out a difference concerning gay couples? Of course, that is what they’re doing when it comes to private organizations, but they need to be equally careful there.

What I find interesting about this whole thing is the sort of arguments coming from the religious right. Of course we still have all those invalid arguments from religion. Apparently it was never explained to these people that the U.S. government is secular; it, in fact, does not endorse or condemn Christianity. But what we don’t have anymore is the argument that we must – we just MUST! – follow the will of the people. The reason why is obvious:

Support for marriage equality/same-sex marriage/gay marriage is at a new high in New York, according to today’s new Quinnipiac Poll…Voters in the survey backed legalizing marriage between same-sex couples 58-36%, “higher than ever while statistically unchanged from 56-38% April 14.”

Problem, Christians?

Filed under: News, Politics and Social, Rights, Same-sex marriage | Tagged: , , , | 7 Comments »

Higher gay marriage/abortion support among younger generations

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Michael

Support for gay marriage is significantly higher among younger generations while support for abortion rights is significantly higher among those under 65 (pdf):

I can’t say I’m surprised. Christians like to spend a lot of time making up lies about gays, but as time and people progress, these myths are being knocked down. In fact, I would be interested to see a survey that asked if homosexuality was all or mostly about sex. I suspect similar generational gaps would be present.

Another significant effect here is that it has become more and more acceptable to be critical of religion. This has brought atheists out of the religious closet. In fact, those claiming “None” when asked what religion they hold constitute the fastest growing proportion of the population. Of those, a significant number are atheist or agnostic. The gross grip of religion is loosening and we’re seeing the benefits of that. For this, at least in part, we have those evil Gnu atheists to thank.

I’m glad that even if there are bumps along the road, I can be confident this positive trend will continue in marriage. It’s just wrong that we deny civil rights to a group (didn’t we learn this 60 years ago?), and it’s even more wrong that we allow the religious to impose their unconstitutional ‘morality’ on the rest of us (didn’t we learn this 235 years ago?). Just as bad is their unscientific positions on abortion (didn’t Terrance promise a response “in a day or two”?). Somewhat surprisingly – and fortunately – the generational divide is not there for those under 65. Yet despite this fact, I’m less confident we can get a positive trend going here, especially with political ‘justices’ like Scalia and Thomas on the Supreme Court. But at least public opinion and the law are on the right side of the issue right now.

Filed under: Politics and Social, Rights, Same-sex marriage | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

The march of progress

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Michael

Increased civil liberties are on the horizon:

Fifty-three percent of Americans support making gay marriage legal, a Gallup poll showed on Friday, a marked reversal from just a year ago when an equal majority opposed same-sex matrimony.

The latest Gallup findings are in line with two earlier national polls this spring that show support for legally recognized gay marriage has, in recent months, gained a newfound majority among Americans.

It’s hard to say exactly what it is that is causing this shift. I suspect it’s actually a number of factors. For instance, the five states that have given basic civil rights to gays have not fallen into ruin, so people might be recognizing that the fear mongering of conservative bigots was just a bunch of lies. It could also be that more and more people are coming out the closet. As Harvey Milk said, if people realize that they know gays and gay couples, they’re less likely to hate. Or it could be that people are actually recognizing the principles they claim to hold, thus applying them consistently. After all, “I won’t give my approval!” is a rather dishonest argument.

Of course, there is one thing that can’t be missed:

In a sign of a generation gap, Gallup found 70 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 support gay marriage, compared to only 39 percent among those 55 and older.

The irrelevant generations do tend to hold back progress, but it really is so often that the energy and improved perspective of younger generations that brings about important, needed, and principled change.

Filed under: News, Rights, Same-sex marriage | Tagged: , , , , | 9 Comments »

Two gays students threatened with suspension

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Michael

A principal at a Florida high school has threatened two lesbian students with suspension for the crime of holding hands:

Some are accusing the principal of Blanche Ely High School of discrimination after two students of the same sex were nearly suspended for holding hands.

The two girls, a junior and a senior, were threatened by the school’s principal with a 10-day suspension for their public displays of affection.

The principal, Karlton Johnson, would certainly never do this to two straight students. In fact, other students in various articles have repeatedly said that the holding of hands has never been an issue at the school. But it apparently is now.

Of course, I want to be fair. It is school policy that students not hold hands. I think that aptly shows the immature mindset of the administrators. Despite what I’m sure they teach their students in sex ed courses, people cannot get pregnant via hand-to-hand contact.

But let’s say this is all just a big misunderstanding, all the other students just don’t realize how often the rules are evenly applied to all sexual orientations, and maybe this is a non-story. Except there’s another problem:

[Activists] also are upset because the principal took things one step further after calling the girls into his office.

“He outed her to her parents, and that is something that social workers will tell you and professionals who work with (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) youth and families, it’s something you just don’t pick up the phone and say, ‘Your daughter’s a lesbian,'” Rajner.

Not only did Johnson needlessly take the two lesbian students into his office, but he called both of their parents. For one girl this was trivial. Her parents are aware of her orientation. But for the other girl, she was still in the closet, at least to her parents. It is wildly inappropriate and wholly ignorant that Johnson would go so far as to mess with her life like that. He has no standing to make such emotionally and socially important decisions for other human beings.

I just wish I could say I was stunned that someone would be such a piece of garbage.

Johnson’s email: karlton.johnson@browardschools.com

Filed under: Politics and Social, Rights | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Law students protest bigot lawmaker

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Michael

Young, well-educated people keep improving the bigoted world created by older, one-foot-in-the-grave generations:

More than 100 newly graduated lawyers walked out of their own graduation at the University of Michigan Law School on Saturday to protest the commencement speech by antigay Ohio Sen. Rob Portman.

It’s just mind-boggling that there really are still people who hate gay people. It’s like these bigots haven’t even bothered to consider what sexuality is, how it works, how it doesn’t work, and what goes into forming healthy human relationships.

Filed under: News, Rights | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Moral progress in Arkansas

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Michael

The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled the will of the people of Arkansas invasive and unwarranted:

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a voter-approved initiative that barred gay couples and other unmarried people living together from serving as adoptive or foster parents.

Associate Justice Robert L. Brown wrote for the court that the law would encroach on adults’ right to privacy in the bedroom.

“Act 1 directly and substantially burdens the privacy rights of `opposite-sex and same-sex individuals’ who engage in private, consensual sexual conduct in the bedroom by foreclosing their eligibility to foster or adopt children,” Brown wrote.

Just like with most civil rights issues, it’s going to take the courts to bring the country up to speed – especially the south.

Filed under: News, Rights | Tagged: , , , | 8 Comments »

“I won’t give my approval!”

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Michael

This post title is increasingly one of the most common lines that anti-gay bigots use. “Why, I didn’t vote for equal rights for gays because that’s like asking for my approval of their ‘behavior’! It’s just absurd!” It’s little more than bigot talk and here’s why.

Imagine 38 states get together with Congress and the President and want to pass a constitutional amendment that says the KKK can no longer have parades or organize or do any of the things they legally do today. We all get an opportunity to vote in favor or against the amendment. If the bigots who hate gays – and come on, that’s all this is about for them – were at all consistent, they would immediately vote in favor of the amendment; I’m sure a few of them actually would. But I think an overwhelming majority would recognize that the question on the ballot isn’t “Do you approve of the KKK?” Only a fucking moron would think that. No, most people would realize that they hate the KKK, but that there are dire consequences when we take away one group’s rights. Most people would have to vote the proposal down.

And they would be right – without approving of the KKK in the least. In fact, most of today’s bigots do actually say they support X group’s right to free speech despite not liking the group. This is really basic, really easy, really obvious logic. It is a lie, a damn convenient lie, when a bigot claims not to have voted for a civil rights measure because he would then be approving of the group facing discrimination.

We have a huge number of states all across the country that still don’t have protections for sexual orientation in housing, education, work, and other areas of daily life. Think about that. Gays can fire straight people for being straight. Straight people can deny gays home loans simply for being gay. It is absurd. And the bigots want us to believe that it’s all because fixing the problem and protecting civil rights would be the same as giving moral approval for a group? Puh-lease.

It would be nice if the bigots of the world could stop lying and just come clean: They hate gays because 1) their religion, not reason or rationality, tells them it’s wrong to be fair, 2) they don’t understand them, 3) they’re ignorant and unwilling to learn, 4) gays are different and they find that yucky, and 5) they are sexually immature little infants.

Filed under: Religions, Rights, Same-sex marriage | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

Stubborn bigotry

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Michael

The Supreme Court got rid of all bans on interracial marriage in 1967. Unfortunately, it took two states over 30 years each to formally get rid of the statutes they still had on the books. Both states – South Carolina and Alabama – had to go through the process of a vote because of how their constitutions work. In 1998, 38% of South Carolina voters said they did not want to remove the ban. In 2000, 41% of Alabama voters said the same thing. Those numbers were shockingly disgusting. People like to hold on to their bigotry, quite apparently.

Now the same thing is going on in Kansas:

Members of Kansas’ gay community aren’t happy as lawmakers in Topeka, KS, have decided to leave on the books laws banning homosexuality.

Laws banning gay sex have been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the law remains in place in Kansas.

An effort to repeal the law was killed this week, leaving gay and lesbian Kansans outraged…

The House Judiciary Committee was considering a bill to clean up Kansas’ criminal code when a pair of lawmakers, Jan Paul from Hutchinson and Lance Kinzer from Olathe, removed an amendment from the bill that would have repealed the law banning homosexual acts.

Got that? People were considering cleaning up Kansas’ ugly past, but Jan Paul and Lance Kinzer said they prefer to keep things dirty, filthy, and ugly.

“I think their motivation is pretty clear,” said Thomas Witt, chair of Kansas Equality Commission. “They don’t like gay people and they’re going to make sure in the eyes of the law we’re still considered criminals.”

Filed under: Rights | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Justice Department to no longer defend DOMA

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Michael

Given that the act is legally and morally indefensible, this makes sense.

Attorney General Eric Holder said President Barack Obama has concluded that the administration cannot defend the federal law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. He noted that the congressional debate during passage of the Defense of Marriage Act “contains numerous expressions reflecting moral disapproval of gays and lesbians and their intimate and family relationships — precisely the kind of stereotype-based thinking and animus” the Constitution is designed to guard against.

Good.

Also, take note of this:

Holder’s statement said, “Much of the legal landscape has changed in the 15 years since Congress passed” the Defense of Marriage Act. He noted that the Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct are unconstitutional and that Congress has repealed the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

The highlighted portion references Lawrence v. Texas. Political Justice Scalia, being purely political and all, made his biggest objection to overturning the anti-gay laws in Texas on the basis that the decision could lead to the legalization of gay marriage. He also says that it’s important to abide by the past decisions of the Court less there be an overwhelming reason for change. That means – logically – that he will likely support overturning anti-gay marriage laws. Key word “logically”. So don’t expect him to care about that. Just watch. The guy is a joke, the worst legal mind the nation. He will vote to uphold every anti-gay law that comes his way, no matter the constitution or previous rulings of the Court.

Filed under: Rights, Same-sex marriage | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

« Previous Page — Next Page »