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Thursday, August 05, 2010

Why the Prop 8 ruling is a beginning step, but not the end

When Prop 8 took hold in California, banning gay marriages in that state after they had previously been made legal, a lot of us were cheering on the people who challenged it in court. As of yesterday, we now know that they won and Prop 8 has been declared what it is, "unconstitutional".

But this is only the beginning. There will undoubtedly be an appeal and it's possible the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court. We could be hearing about the ramifications of this for months and perhaps years to come depending on how fast the process moves.

Then there is the other problem: the fact that this law was passed at all. The main argument against gay marriages is that they are "morally wrong" and marriage should lead to babies. What about all of the childless couples out there who either can't or don't want children? Has anyone stopped to think about how disturbing this argument is?

And of course, marriage equality is the tip of the iceberg for people in the LGBT community who are bullied, harassed, assaulted, and even killed on the basis of their sexuality and sexual identity on a regular basis. Even here in "liberal Massachusetts", I have a friend who is a trans woman who was physically assaulted because she is trans. We are a LONG way away from establishing civil rights for all, including the basic right to live without physical harm or death for whom we love and who we are.

I will be honest: growing up I refused to say the pledge of allegiance. Why? Because I feel it's a lie. We are NOT given "liberty and justice for all" and the issue over civil rights in regards to the LGBT community is proof of this. When I heard a young child was taking a similar stand in a news interview, I was thrilled. The sad part is that twenty-five years have passed since I was in school, and people in the next generation still have to take that stand.

The battle also continues in other states where marriage equality continues to be an issue, and some authors have done their best to do their part to increase awareness and fight the good fight. I contributed to an anthology called To Love and To Cherish, which is a collection of stories about women marrying women. Note that I don't use the term "lesbian" as I feel it excludes the segment of women who are bisexual but wind up in a monogamous gay relationship. My own story, "My Big Fat Greek Pagan Lesbian Wedding" is about two women who are Greek polytheists, one who is a devotee of Hera and the other Aphrodite, and the trials and tribulations that unfold for them as they plan their wedding. Between friends and family who try to mean well but sometimes miss the mark and miscommunications between them, I take snapshots of it all. LGBT couples go through the same sorts of issue we all do regardless of our backgrounds, and that was more or less the point of my story.

Proceeds from To Love and To Cherish are donated towards Marriage Equality in order to fight for civil rights.

You can find my story in the anthology in ebook, Kindle, or print format on Amazon.com and other retailers online.





Love & Magic,
Adrianne
www.adriannebrennan.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree, Adrianne! It is just the first step, and it is a terrible miscarriage of justice that the law even gets a say as to what race, religion, or sexual orientation you have to be in order to marry the one you love. It sickens me that society puts rules on love, when love is supposed to be the most pure and free commodity in the universe. And it saddens me that the people who most vehemently oppose same-sex unions in this country are people who also claim to belong to a religion that bears the name of a man who taught love above all else. So, I ask the Christians out there - What WOULD Jesus do? My guess is, he certainly WOULDN'T have voted for Proposition 8!

Unknown said...

The whole basis against gays is based on Bible pseudoscience where it was believed that a man had a limited number of seed, and that masturbation and sex which couldn't lead to children meant the potential of the dying out of their family line and hence culture. Why this crap still is bought today as a legitimate and "spiritual" belief is beyond me. I don't care WHAT religion you're from; bigotry, discrimination and hatred against others who are different from you is NOT a spiritual value. It will not make you into a better person. Whatever divine force you believe in, if is truly divine, would not support such a thing.

More good people need to come out and not be afraid to take a stand against the hatemongers who would remove basic civil rights and liberties from others.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Esther! :)



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