Just a quickie entry about the attempt to repeal the recent same-sex marriage law in Maine.
The same folks who were behind Proposition 8 in California are mounting the campaign in Maine now. And their message is exactly the same: "Won't someone think about the children," which is total bullshit. Neither campaign had anything to do with children.
When Mom died this month, she died knowing that all her children were married; everyone had someone who would be with them "for better or for worse, through sickness and in health, forsaking all others until death do us part." She didn't have to settle for a limited domestic partnership contract agreement for one of her children. My husband Steve and I got married with the same vows, the same commitment and the same depth of heart and feeling as any of her other kids. And we probably appreciate the institution a hell of a lot more than most heterosexuals because it's something we thought we'd have to do without because we were second-class citizens.
To all those folks who are busy trying to repeal Maine's law, and who say that they don't hate anybody, I can only say, "What if someone wanted to take your marriage vows and rights away? You and your spouse would be roommates, longtime companions, and your children would still be yours, though they would be borne out of wedlock. And there would be many rights of marriage (150 in California, about 400 in Maine) that would vanish for you in an instant. But, hey, it's just the same as marriage, just without that very special word." Would anyone be satisfied with that? You say you don't hate gay couples, but you want to strip them of all those things, all that honor and dignity?
Just like with Proposition 8, people are actively working to take away rights that have been conferred on all citizens. They are putting words into the documents of government that limit and reduce the rights already granted to their fellow citizens, formally creating a second-class group of people, all in an effort to "do good" and keep things "normal" (see previous entry). The damage they are attempting to inflict is more massive than they could ever see in their myopic frame of reference, and the lives they are ruining are, over time, beyond number. And yet they see themselves doing good, and I truly believe they are sincere in that sentiment. But how tragically wrong they are.
There is a federal case moving forward in the 9th District Court. The last I heard, the judges had asked the pro-Prop 8 folks to provide the court with solid evidence that granting marriage rights to same-sex couples would damage and denigrate the institution. Unfortunately, there is no real evidence beyond the opinions of the religious right that pass for fact in their own minds.
Thank God Steve and I are married, and our marriage is protected by the Supreme Court of California and the laws of this state. Sadly, no other same-sex couple can get married in our state now. But, on a positive note, a law was passed and signed by the governor that says any marriages performed outside of the state will be honored by the State of California, so people can go to Canada or Britain or the Netherlands or Spain or Vermont or (still) Maine or Massachusetts or Connecticutt and get married and bring that union legally back to California.
For a gay couple, the decision is so simple: we just want to have our marriage honored like any other. We just want to be a valuable part of our community and make the same commitments that everyone else makes. Is that so hard to understand?
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