Hey man, just play the gig!

[scarylullabiez]

If you can tell me where my title is from you get kisses and extra points. XD

I just wanted to say how sad I am about Prop 8. I usually try to talk about politics in a way that is devoid of emotion in order to avoid making a purely emotional argument with no logic behind it, but I'm not sure I can help myself in this case. Prop 8 directly regards my emotional life, and it regards it as inferior to the emotional lives of heterosexual people. I have to wonder just how far that inequality extends in the eyes of the law. If I'm raped, am I less violated than a straight woman would be? If my house is burgled and my belongings are stolen, is my anger less valid than a straight person's anger? Does the poor state of the economy frighten me less than it frightens straight people? On September 11th, when America's sense of safety was shattered, was I less horrified than straight people were? I can't imagine that anyone would answer those questions in the affirmative, but if the answer is no, then why am I less when I'm in love? And what about my family? According to Prop 8, my straight sisters and brother and parents are all superior to me: their emotions posses some quality that mine do not, one that legitimizes their relationships and families. Does that mean that I love my little brother less than my straight siblings, less than any straight person could? Do I love my baby niece less? Do I love my nephew less? Was I less devastated when he died? If anyone were to approach me in public or private and state such a thing to my face, I have to say that knowing myself, knowing how much I miss my nephew every day, I would probably be throwing punches. What am I supposed to do when over half of my home state, my home, is telling me these things? More than I feel angry or deprived at the limitations imposed on me by the law, I feel unwelcome. And I don't know what to do with that, because I really do love California, and the United States. I want so, so badly to be proud of where I come from, but how can I be, when the place I come from is so obviously ashamed of me?

I felt all those same emotions and had all those same concerns before, but having that right acknowledged and given, and then taken away by popular demand heightens them in a way I hadn't anticipated. I'm usually coated in a layer of thick Teflon cynicism, but this is just getting to me.

That said, I am happy that Obama won. Or rather, I'm happy that McCain lost. I didn't vote for Obama for a variety of reasons, mostly because I am strictly a third party voter, and I live in a very blue state, so it doesn't really matter. But seeing as how the choice this time around was between two candidates who don't support my right to marry, but one of whom thinks that women who are raped by, let's say Osama Bin Laden for inflammatory purposes, should be forced to have his babies... I'm glad the other guy won. And the Daily Show/Colbert Report coverage was lots of fun. So was BBC World News. Also, I'm very, very happy that it's over. And... that's all, I'm done.

Comments

[lady-deirdre.livejournal.com]

I was pretty devastated that Prop 8 was passed, too. As I said to someone else, it's like they've just sent another group of people to the back of the bus. WTF, y'all?!?

I cannot understand how anyone can justify taking away rights that they themselves have and would hate to lose themselves. And the argument that "America isn't ready yet for it" doesn't hold water: the constitution was ready for it 200 years ago. Equality was one of the founding blocks of the US, after all.

[scary-lullabies.livejournal.com]

What really blows my mind is how no one understands how this parallels racism. Like, they really can't get their heads around it. Interracial couples oppose gay marriage. It blows my mind.

[lady-deirdre.livejournal.com]

Maybe that's the best way to defeat this: take away everyone's right to marry. Let's see how straight people like it when their rights get taken away, and then watch their heads explode as they try to explain how "Civil unions should be good enough" only applies when it concerns other people.

Blows my mind is exactly right >_<

[scary-lullabies.livejournal.com]

There was a town that did that! Back when San Francisco was committing civil disobedience and issuing marriage licenses, someplace in Oregon declared that since they didn't want to break the law or discriminate against any of their citizens, they would not be issuing marriage licenses to anyone until the issue was resolved. They were only in the news the once, though, I'm not sure how that turned out.

[xtinethepirate.livejournal.com]

I know that Biden supported the ban against gay marriage, but was Obama openly against it too? I know when he made his victory speech he started talking about all Americans, and mentioned gay and straight alike under his umbrella of people who will be working together for the future.

I remember being so, so proud when the Supreme Court declared it was unconstitutional to discriminate against gay marriage; I got more than a little sniffly when Mayor Sanders when he reversed his opinions and decided to fight for gay marriage rights... and so this was all the more disappointing. I don't know your system well enough to know what measures will be needed to overturn this decision --- can it be appealed or overruled or just brought to another vote once more? --- but I hope that it is an issue that Obama addresses during his presidency. He of all people should know what it's like to face adversity and overcome discrimination, and should NOT allow it to continue in any form, against any minority.

And I'm getting a bit rambly, heh. But it just matters. One thing to say for Harper (though I have little to say for him) is that apparently, once his move to overturn gay marriage rights in Canada was beaten, he said he would never try to meddle with it again. I hope that the same thing happens for you guys.

Lol, tl;dr. *shame* But BIG HUGS to you, honey. I know if you wanted to move up the coast, rellebelle would be glad to have you, or if you wanted to come to the East coast, I would be too. :D *snug*.

[scary-lullabies.livejournal.com]

Blargh, I forgot I wasn't signed in. Also, I didn't mean to hit post before I was finished. Let's try this again.

Well, the Democratic party's platform states that marriage is defined as between a man and a woman. This was more of a priority issue before the financial crash, and it was talked about a lot during the primaries. At that time, when Obama was asked if he supported gay marriage, he replied that he supported "strong civil unions." Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part, but knowing what I know about Obama, I wouldn't be surprised if that were not his actual opinion, just one he was obligated to state as a member of his party. And I know that had he said yes, he absolutely would not have won. As a whole, the Democratic Party doesn't really do anything to oppress gay marriage, they just don't advocate for it either. Most of the Democrat senators voted against the federal marriage amendment, but you don't see them introducing any counteractive legislation.

OMG, I was sobbing when I saw mayor Sanders's statement. He put it so well, and he was so emotional. It felt almost like when I listen to Jon Stewart or read XKCD: I'm like, "YOU UNDERSTAND THIS." Only it's different when it's coming from a politician, because it's so surprising. It was like Christmas or something.

Whether or not it can be changed depends on a lot of things. Last time I looked, about 18,000 marriages had taken place since the CA Supreme Court overturned the ban. Whether or not this amendment nullifies those marriages is still in question. If it does, those couples will undoubtedly sue, and even if their suit is denied, they will appeal. That's probably the quickest way to get this overturned. But if those marriages remain valid, and it's just that no more can take place, then I'm not sure what would happen. We can appeal the amendment directly to the CA Supreme Court, because the legislature is technically supposed to review drastic changes to the constitution, and because we can argue that this part of the constitution is in direct conflict with other parts of it. But they tried that before the election, to get the measure taken off the ballot, and the Court declined to even hear it. The initiative in CA means that we could just write a proposition that voids this one, collect signatures, and vote on it next election, but given how this one turned out, I'm not sure how successful that would be. When they polled for Prop 8 about 6 weeks ago, it was 65% voting no, 15% voting yes, and 10% undecided. Then the Mormon church pumped a shitload of money into the yes campaign, from motherfucking Utah. It wasn't even local chapters of the church. That money went to all these disgusting 'THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!' tv ads, and signs that read "Prop 8 = Religious Freedom." I refuse to believe that any member of the yes campaign actually believed those statements, because they fucking wrote the measure, and they know it has nothing to do with education or religion, so they are willing to outright lie in order to prevent gay marriage. If we try to bring in a new ballot measure, they'll probably use millions of dollars from Scientologists in Brazil to convince Californians that allowing gay marriage will force them to chew a wad of tinfoil before breakfast every morning. can you tell I'm not feeling very hopeful right now?

LOL, talk about tl;dr!

That's actually a really awesome thing about Harper, because the parental notification before a minor's abortion people are never gonna give up. That measure has been defeated, like, three times or something.

My family was seriously and for real getting the hell out of here if McCain won. Like, we were looking at real estate. *huggles* It's good to know I am welcome in the icy North. XD

[echotiarra.livejournal.com]

I felt so throughly sickened by how prop 8 past-how could people be so cruel, stupid and inhuman to deny two people to be together. And the whole, "Marriage is about teh bayyybeees1", thing sickens me. Just as it is against the bible-I was seeing red when it past.

"NOT EVERYONE IS A FUNDIE CHRISTIAN %$&^%^&!" GODSDAMN IT, THEY GIVE THEIR OWN RELIGION A BAD NAME.

I want to see it overcome and am trying to think of a way to volunteer so the ban could get overturned.

One question though-if marriage is a binding legal contract, could it be ignored or discarded?

*huggles* I could hurt someone for you if you'd like.

[scary-lullabies.livejournal.com]

They're still not sure whether or not it's going to void previously existing marriages. It doesn't state that in the amendment, but some of the people who supported it want it to. I'm actually kinda hoping it does void those unions, because then all those people will sue, and maybe we'll get this overturned a little faster.

[rellebelle.livejournal.com]

As the sister of a bisexual woman who is currently (but soon not to be) married to another woman, it breaks my heart to read your post. I remember being at my sister's wedding on the beach in Vancouver, and laughing about the fact that they couldn't use their chosen spot on the beach because 'The L Word' was filming a lesbian wedding there. If that isn't irony, I don't know what is. But at least they had the chance to be acknowledged as a loving family with their son (my amazing nephew). I honestly can't imagine feeling what you're feeling right now of being unwelcome in your home, and all I can say is that you're always welcome here. Xtine read my mind. I can only hope and pray to every deity ever invented in every religion that you some day get to feel welcome, and more importantly equal to everyone else around you within your own state. I was suffering under the extreme misconception that California was more evolved than much of the US, but obviously that isn't the case. I just want you to know that at least here, you are loved for who you are... I had no idea what your sexual orientation was before now, and frankly didn't care simply because it wouldn't make a difference. My Dad has always said to us, "You guys could decide you liked having sex with goats, and I wouldn't care. I'll always love you just the same." Extreme yes, but it proves the point.

[scary-lullabies.livejournal.com]

Aw, way to make me cry. You and Xtine make me feel better. It seems like all I've seen the last week or so are 'Yes on 8' signs, and it's really nice to know that not everyone is so small-minded.

I know, I'm so disappointed in my supposedly ultra-liberal artsy-fartsy state. It's almost embarrassing: we've walked point for the nation numerous times in our history, but New Jersey is braver than we are in this regard. We were the first to repeal our laws against interracial marriage, but this might make us among the last to allow gay marriage. It's such a reversal of progress.