Connecticut Legalizes Same Sex Marriage!

Another state has followed in California's foot steps to legalize gay marriage through Supreme Court decision. Connecticut has become the third state in the US to legalize same sex marriage, and was the first state to institute same-sex domestic unions.

The Court's opinion:

"Like these once prevalent views, our conventional understanding of marriage must yield to a more contemporary appreciation of the rights entitled to constitutional protection. Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice. To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others. The guarantee of equal protection under the law, and our obligation to uphold that command, forbids us from doing so. In accordance with these state constitutional requirements, same sex couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry."

The state has not put a hard and fast date on when same sex couples can begin getting marriage licenses, but will announce that soon. This is only right and fair, and I hope to see more come of this!

Thank You

From Good As You writer Jeremy Hooper, and general bad-ass word fighter, concerning the Crazy Christian's attack's on Gay Marriage rights in California:

Regardless of your views concerning marriage as it exists through the eyes of God -- and we humans certainly have many different opinions on the subject -- what we are actually discussing here is CIVIL MARRIAGE. Via reasoned court action, gay couples in California have been afforded the right to obtain a CIVIL marriage license. As for the religious component? Well that is, has always been, and will (hopefully) always remain an optional component when it comes to the obtaining, fulfillment, recognition, and dissolution of civil marriage contracts. No matter how valid one might find the religious aspect-- and in many faiths, the religious certificates, blessings, and customs are far more important than the civil -- it still will not afford a couple the civil rights, benefits, and protections that come from a state-issued marriage license.

Just like a heterosexual atheist couple can now marry without so much as acknowledging a Bible, gay couples can choose whether or not they want faith brought into their state-recognized marriage. Some will employ faith, and some will not. Some will desperately want to have a religious ceremony, but their faiths and sects will not allow for it. These are all valid religious matters worth discussing. They are not, however, a suitable basis for denying constitutional freedoms.

The issue of religious marriage? Yes, that notion is all about a particular book or books of faith. But the issue of civil marriage equality is no more a "biblical issue" than it is a "Curious George or Da Vinci Code issue"! The only way we are going to be able to have a grown up national conversation about marriage and its fair recognition is when we stop resorting to blatant untruths to support our points of view. At the very least, those on the "pro-family side need to extend the rest of us the courtesy of sticking to the matters at hand rather than the matters that are more politically viable for your side.

I'll second that.

Happy Legal Marriage In California Day

At 5:01 today, California began performing legal marriages between same-sex couples, and things were good.  This was indeed another momentous day for us.

At 5:01:01, a gay boy was harrassed, and possibly beaten, in rural mid-America.  At 5:01:02, a young lesbian girl was raped to "show her what a man felt like," in Southern US.  At 5:01:03, a transitioning male-to-female transgendered person was denied a job.

This is truly a great day to celebrate, and we need to acknowledge every advance we get, but don't forget that there is still plenty more left to do!

Dear Ann Barnett: You're Pathetic

One of the most ridiculous pieces of drama to come out of the California Marriage decision has to be Auditor/Controller/County Clerk for Kern County, CA, Ann Barnett's decision to protest Gay Marriage by simply not performing any marriages in the county... at all.  Which is awesome. 

If there is any single one way to prove your undieing devotion to the sanctity of marriage, not marrying people has to be it.  I mean, if you don't want a small group of people to have equal and legal protections under the law, all you need to do is deny the right to marriage to the 85% of the population that has been enjoying these rights and benefits, and viola!  What will happen is the heteros will hate those damned uppity queers for this (because, obviously, it's the gay peoples fault that this is happening), and everything will go back to the Theocratic ways that this country was founded on.

Or not...

No, what will actually happened, Miss Idiotic-McPathetic Barnett, is that everyone will realize how much of a mistake it was to elect you.  They will boot you out of office, because regardless of the someone's stance on Gay Marriage, the straight people still want to be married.  It also further serves to confirm the absolute idiocy of the Christian Right's position on this issue.  So please, by all means, break the newly created State Laws.  I hope you do.  I can't wait to watch your effigy on the news, you waste of human office space.

And for more evidence that this woman is a waste of ballots, check out this story from a local news station wherein they are almost forced out of a public building and denied access to their elected officials whom are responsible to the public... because they are FRAKIN PUBLIC OFFICIALS!

When The ADF Has Time On Their Hands, We Get Pretty Pictures!

Oh, that loverly organization Alliance Defense Fund, the absolute most Fundiest group and part of the inspiration of one of my earlier posts.  They are soooo imaginative and creative over there, don't ya know?  I was unsure that the conservative groups had it in them to be creative, but after the California marriage decision, they've truly shown the depth of their imaginations.  Today's particularly inspired drawing destined for the Refrigerator:

 Full Sized Pic Here

Yep.  There we have it.  Our master plan.  Ya know, I'm on the council and I never saw this document... I'm a little peeved.  I mean, Ellen is, like, my girl, and she didn't fill me in?  Oh, yeah, we just elected her head of the council after he showdown with McCain, which rocked!

Open Letter To Crazy Christians

Dear Crazy Christians,

I'm over it. Completely and totally over it. There was a time when I was sympathetic to the cause of family values and freedom from over-zealous legislators. But that time has passed, washed away faster than it came. And let me tell you why:

You are bat shit insane. Completely. Not all of you, but that rabid Conservative Machine that governs you actions and thoughts, you know, the one that acts like the Catholic Church of old with your various Cardinals and Popes (Dobson, All the twits on 700 Club, etc.). Yep, those ones. You mean to tell me that it is within your jurisdiction to hate? At all? Ever? Really? I'm probably not the first person to point this out, and sure I won't be the last, but your message of intolerance and bigotry is... well, kinda ridiculous and hypocritical.

I know, I've kinda been one to focus on details instead of the bigger picture many times. I'm guilty of that too. But, in reality, the bigger picture of love and peaceful coexistence is pretty much exactly the point you're missing. Love for all and everyone. But there's that little quote there in this book you hold tight to all the time, isn't there? A few of them? Cool, cool, I get it, but there's plenty more, in that same book, that explain why just about everything you do is ass-backwards.

I for one am tired of your bigotry and fevered hatred. I'm over it. You really need to stop hating and fighting, because, let's be honest, the only reason you fight gay rights is because it's a pissing match for you. Here in the states, the minority are protected from the tyranny of the majority by things like a court system. What's really ironic about that is that idea was originally instated to protect the churches from the tyranny of those of us who think you are bat shit insane and would prefer to never see your organizations around again. How quickly the tables turn though. Once you taste power, you go for the fucking throat as if you have a "moral majority" and can affect change.

Well, too fucking bad. Us Gays are going to keep fighting, and we're going to win. Because we're absolutely in the right, and you are obviously insane. So, for your own sake, I'd back the fuck off the gay rights and marriage issues, because in the end you'll lose, not just the fight but money and supporters. As people see you for what you really are, bigoted ass hats hiding behind a pretense of religious vigor, they'll flock. They already are, but it's going to get worse. I'm not hating, I am judging, but in the end, I'm just Gaying...


(Please, feel free to leave your thoughts and additions in the comments)

Ellen's Getting Married!

After the landmark California Supreme Court decision, Ellen Degeneres announced on her show that she and actress/girlfriend Portia de Rossi will be getting married!  I'm supper excited for the couple, and the clip below made me even more so.  The look on Portia's face is just pure happiness!

Also in celebrity gay marriage news, George Takei announced he will be marrying long time partner partner Brad Altman!  So who's next on the queer celebrity marriage block?  Are we going to start seeing some crazy shotgun style gay weddings?  I'm not sure, but I can't really hide my excitement about this decision!

California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban

'Bout GD time someone pulled their head out of their arse! Today, the California Supreme Court overturned the states ban on same sex marriage. Yeah, I know, everyone else seems to be talking about the legal implications and the possibility of a stronger US Supreme Court case, but give me a break. This is basic human rights and constitutionality. I could care less about your pithy religious beliefs, or "how you were raised," no one has the right to determine for me my sexual and/matrimonial preferences.

A few weeks ago, the lovable Mildred Loving passed away. For those that don't recognize the name, Mildred Loving was the name behind the case Loving v Virginia, which was the case that once and for all determined that it is, in fact, perfectly wonderful for people of different ethnicities to marry. Today, to almost all of us, it just seems silly that a white boy couldn't marry a black girl, or that a Hispanic boy couldn't marry an Asian girl. The case freed us to marry the person we love... with one powerful exception. If it happened to be a white boy that wanted to marry a African-American boy, well, that just wasn't right.

In June of last year, Loving wrote a note about the anniversary of her landmark case:

"The older generation's fears and prejudices have given way, and today's
young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to
marry...I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their
sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom
to marry. Government has no business imposing some people's religious
beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people's civil rights."

I can't help but wonder when the rest of this great Country is going to figure this out? Is it simply that they have not suffered enough adversity that they show no sympathy? Is it because some aspect of areligion they believe, the same aspect that has rotted and festered into a cancer on the religion, tells them that it is "not right?"

Sadly, I don't really have the answer to those questions. But what I do know is that things are changing, and they're changing at an ever-increasing pace. People in my generation have an overwhelmingly affirmative view of sexuality and the fluid nature of human emotion. People in the older generation are starting to realize that they will soon have to rely on our kindness for their well-being. Thank you, California, for this next step. I'm sure that there will be opposition, but just as sure as I am of that, I am even more sure that we have righteous strength behind us and we will not be stopped!

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