Good As You

This sums up exactly why i have trouble getting out of bed in the mornings!
I just cant keep facing this discrimination!
I feel more empowered to raise my voice and stop this pointless bias!

this is exactly how I feel today. Keeping in mind that the margin of the loss yesterday is the same as the loss in CA a year ago, I keep thinking that if this is true of the whole country, then more than half of the people I encounter today would be perfectly happy to deny me marriage rights, and given the glee with which this victory was pursued, I suspect there are some who would even wish me dead. I looked at all my straight colleagues today wondering just who would do that to me.

Ok, so...

What's next for supporters of marriage equality in Maine? Are we going to push this in state court? Is there a way to prevent NOM and co. to re-repeal it?

Next time theirs an election on gay rights, I want their to be a debate. A debate with a single question:

HOW DOES HOMOSEXUALS BEING ALLOWED TO MARRY AFFECT YOUR LIFE IN A TANGIBLE WAY?

And just keep asking, and asking, and asking until the bigots are forced to admit it doesn't.

Like you said the other day, they have nothing to gain, and we have everything to lose.

My sincere condolences to all of you in Maine. The fight for marriage equality is only starting here in Ireland and because of the prevelance of the Catholic Church and their influence during the writing of our constitution, it is going to be a long and hard fight.

Although I am legally married to my trangendered spouse for over 23 years, we have been warned that our marriage will be under threat - there is a law suit at the European Court pressing Ireland to allow post-transition reregistration of gender. If this is upheld and instituted into law then when she finally completes transition, our marriage will be regarded as a same-sex marriage and illegal under our present constitution!

I live in the UK and I've been following your blog for some time now. I can't decide what I feel more; sad or angry. Probably a balanced mix of the two, because I'm sad that the religious right (who are seldom religious and never right) have such an influence on civil law over there in America (although the religious law Lords here in Britain prevent us having full marriage equality too...) and angry that people are swayed when the words 'family', 'tradition' and 'protection' are used to discriminate. How can people fall for their rhetoric? I don't know the legal logistics, but if campaign slogans can be proven to be wrong, is that grounds for a lawsuit? That road is never popular, but I'm just sayin'...
And the Obama Administration's clear lack of support on this issue (and I'm sure the gay community was a big part of him being elected) is just unbelievable.

Grrr.

Here, this is what we have to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WVoC_CJbow

Not just for us, but for future gay and lesbian generation.

Here, this is what we have to do*:

It would help if I proofread before I post.

How eloquent, Jeremy - and so like you. Yes those hate mongers, Mutty, Emrich, MALONE (yes, MALONE you - who are supposed to walk in the steps of Jesus Christ - boy will you get a surprise when its your time at the pearly gates) Brown/Gallagher will never know this feeling but, oh, they should, anyone who spews hate over their fellow man SHOULD feel the same as a murderer - Christ's murderer and they don't even realize it, or if they do, they don't care - how can they lay their head on the pillow at night and sleep? Monsters!

This is exactly how I've been feeling today. Yeah, my wife and I are fine...now...in our state. But it hurts like hell to see people spend all that money and energy--make their living!--on ruining lives like ours. I keep saying that, and it still staggers me. Maybe threats to civilization don't know they're being threats to civilization, but I really don't see how we are, or how our siblings in Maine or California are, either. I think of where all that time and money could've gone. I think of what *we* could do, even, if we didn't have to keep defending ourselves and each other. It wouldn't be working to invalidate anyone's marriage, I know that much.

Ya, know, I think they many of those who cite their religion as reason not to support marriage equality actually think that they are preventing homosexuality from happening by supporting measures like Question 1.

I do hope it's doesn't take this long, but every civil right struggle in the US's history has taken several decades to be passed. Hell, people talked of women's suffrage during colonial days and it didn't come a 100% reality until 1920.

We will get the right to marry one day. Alot of ignorant people will have to die off first and younger generations--people who know gay people and know that we pose no threat to their marriage will be there to take their place.

"Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.
Gotta kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight"
--Lovers in a Dangerous Time.

One of my friend posted on facebook that she felt like Sisyphus. I told her lets bring in the heavy gear, break that rock into pebbles and then all of us can carry it uphill.

Every one who has posted earlier express my (and my husband's) feelings on this whole thing today.... I'm depressed, angry, and ANGRY; this is the United States??? (Liberty and Justice for ALL?). Unfortunately, I don't think this is the case at this point in time in the United States.

We WILL prevail; perhaps not in my life-time, but it will happen.

Jeremy:

I really found it interesting to be able to communicate with David Parker on your site last night. He actually sounded sincere in his call for a dialogue. I hope that you will consider taking him up on his offer. If you can establish some kind of ongoing relationship with Shirley Phelps Roper, you can certainly reach out to Parker.

Well, infuriating as elections can be, at least we have now learned that there is a Carrie Prejean SEX TAPE!!!

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2009/11/carrie-prejean-sex-tape.html

Too bad that information didn't come out last week, when NOM could have taken a big hit over it!

The ability of these people to disconnect is absolutely amazing:

"Scott Fish, a spokesman for Stand for Marriage Maine, said the campaign had never been anti-gay.

'The campaign was very clear about that,' he said by phone Wednesday. 'This was a campaign about protecting traditional marriage.'"

They just have no conception that saying that is just like someone pre-1960's saying:

"The campaign had never been anti-black. . .this was a campaign about protecting segregation."

As a Californian, it's sickening to have endure the same thing one year later, albeit to my brothers and sisters in Maine. I wonder why we don't show the harm to our families in commercials like the fake commercials from the anti-gay activists at NOM? Why don't we have a child of a gay couple running home in tears, "Mommy, mommy, today in school I learned that we are not a real family." Or "Mommy, mommy, why are people allowed to attack and make fun of our family?" Etc.

The opposition makes me think that they believe we are subhuman. We're just sexual beings with no feelings. We can't be hurt, because we have no feelings. It's causing a bit of a skirmish in our family. My husband wants to move to Winnipeg. That's not a big geographic leap for us. I want to remain here and be a thorn in the sides of as many wingnuts as I can. He probably has less than a year left, so I may move just to make his last days happy.

This was perfectly said. One other thing that I find so disheartening is not just the desire to inflict pain, but the joy these folks got out of inflicting that pain. Did you see the supporters of #1 after the vote came in? It was as if they were at a victory rally for a candidate they had voted for. All applause and smiles.

apassionateengagement.blogspot.com

To Jeremy and the whole LGBT community,

On behalf of all the "normal" heteros in the country, I am so sorry. I hope you guys know we are not all this retarded.

You are not hated, and if you are, it's by assholes like Maggie Ghallager and Mike Savage. People who are well educated and have actually ever interacted with an actual gay person know that their rhetoric is all bullshit.

I support the LGBT community with all my heart and believe in full marriage equality. You are not alone, and many many many heteros stand with you.

You are not subhuman, you are not sexual deviants, you are not abnormal or perverted or anything like that. You are wonderful human beings who love and feel and think and laugh and cry. You are great people. You deserve to be treated as such. Don't EVER forget that. The likes of Mike Heath and Maggie Ghallagher do not speak for me, or any of the people I associate with.

Keep the faith. Stupidity will never prosper.

Thanks, Stef. I've actually decided that heterosexual outreach is going to be a big focus over the next months/years. In any election, we have scores of would-be, could-be allies who do nothing, and often don;t even come out to vote. We MUSt change this.

I quoted the second paragraph of this post in a job interview presentation yesterday (with proper citation of course). A powerful reduction of the consequences of these votes. Thanks, Jeremy!

Also, a Californian... so it's déja vu..all over again, as Yogi Berra would say. ..and I couldn't even read this till today.
Sick at heart, was even more upset last year when I went to our JTI rally Nov 15th, and a nice young teacher got up to stage and said that now her children were being harassed both in school and the neighborhood by hate-mongers.
So I think Michael as a good idea, "Why don't we have a child of a gay couple running home in tears, "Mommy, mommy, today in school I learned that we are not a real family." Or "Mommy, mommy, why are people allowed to attack and make fun of our family?" Etc."
We need to show the hurt too.
As a straight ally I am becoming more active every day. Hubby converted by David Mixner, to ' of course it is a question of equal right." , But even he said why not just accept DP's instead of marriage... we will be discussing that further.

Right now since we have now successfully been set up via 30 years of piecemeal voting into a mishmash of GAY JIM CROW laws, we all need to study how those were finally overturned. .. and FULL EQUALITY must be in the title of every future plan.