On Tuesday I woke up and skipped my workout routine in order to vote (I skipped the gym this morning too, but that was out of laziness) for the next president. Later that evening a large hunk of a Mexican dating one of my roomies knocked on my door, lifted me off my bare feet while I was in pajamas, threw me over his shoulders and then directly into his car to celebrate the next President of the United States: Barack Obama.
During the first four sentences of his acceptance speech, he said something that I have not heard from President Bush in the last 8 years he has been serving this country:
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It was a great evening, though I’m pretty sure being kidnapped in the middle of the night is why I nearly failed my exam on vitamins and minerals in the human diet.
Of course there was also the extremely disappointing part of this election. Though we’re still waiting on 3 - 4 million absentee votes, thus far it seems that California has passed Proposition 8. For those of you living under a rock, Prop 8, when passed, will make it illegal for same sex couples to wed in California.
If you’re not aware, California tends to be a rather progressive state. If gay marriage cannot pass there, where in the United States can it pass?
I don’t even want marriage. I want a union that will grant me the same rights as a heterosexual couple. The church does not need to be involved.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
So many marriages will now be null and void if Proposition 8 passes.
This is what it means to be an American?
Fuck that.
Liam Reed: 1987 model, runs fairly well, few dents, starts in cold weather, no baggage, loves flea markets and canned soup. Send all hate mail, love mail, and sexual advances to withtongue@gmail.com
Comments
Nate (Nate) says:
(Posted November 6th, 2008 at 11:51 pm)
And Arizona. Arizona screwed us too. The old regime gave us one hell of a parting gift. There’s a lot to be done.
Eli (Eli) says:
(Posted November 8th, 2008 at 6:34 pm)
Most likely (though not for sure) the 18,000 same sex marriages that took place between June and Nov 4th will not be null and void. The attorney general of California himself has said he interprets Prop 8 as establishing marriage as between man and woman from Nov. 4th on, and will not retroactively affect those marriages. good news for ellen and portia — bad news for those who waited.
while this is not definitive, its good news for those who were married.
also, my family law professor pointed out that there is no basis or history of our country ever granting marriage and then taking it away (with the exception of those in SF a few years ago, although that was a very different situation) - not that it won’t happen - but again, it goes against the whole argument of our society having an societal interest in a committment of lasting marriage to grant it and then take it away.
i think the law in arkansas is even worse than Prop 8 - no unmarried cohabiting couple in a sexual relationship can adopt or be a foster parent.
though that was directed (and advertised by its supporters) as anti-gay, it also affects heterosexual unmarried couples. think what you want about gay marriage, but this clearly flies in the face of what is best for those kids in foster care. Arkansas currently has over 2000 kids in foster care, without loving parents to care for them. this throws yet another huge hurdle in the way of hoping to find a family. certainly a home of love is better for the child than a life in a group home.
while i am proud of my country for electing Obama, and am thrilled that a step has been made towards civil rights equality, on Nov 4th, 2008 the civil rights of millions of americans were trounced on.
Liamz (Liamz) says:
(Posted November 9th, 2008 at 11:45 am)
I agree that stripping away the adoption rights of unmarried heterosexuals in Arkansas is wrong and terrible, but I think a lot more people are going to be pissed of nationally about Prop 8 than about what’s going on in Arkansas. It’s glitzier, and Americans pay attention to that. Maybe I’m wrong and there are protests across the country in support of Arkansas giving back adoptive rights to unmarried heterosexuals, but I haven’t heard about any of them.
Mike Consalvo (Mike Consalvo) says:
(Posted November 9th, 2008 at 6:37 pm)
Even those this is a devastating setback for us, I believe there is reason for optimism. For starters, here in Illinois, they can’t even get enough signatures to put the issue of gay marriage on the ballot. Also, these sort of things are usually ultimately settled by the courts. The California Supreme Court ruled in our favor and will probably rule in our favor again. Obama will probably appoint at least one more justice to the US Surpreme Court which is huge. Also, Obama is probably the most gay friendly president we have ever had. I’m cautiously optimistic about the future.
By the way, the rally was amazing, I will have to tell you all about it the next time we chat.
Mike Consalvo (Mike Consalvo) says:
(Posted November 10th, 2008 at 11:03 pm)
Check out this clip of Keith Olbermann nearly in tears over the gay marriage issue. Its great to see a straight person defend us with so much passion.
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Liam Reed
1987 model, runs fairly well, few dents, starts in cold weather, no baggage, loves flea markets and canned soup. Send all hate mail, love mail, and sexual advances to withtongue@gmail.com
good sean (good sean) says:
(Posted November 6th, 2008 at 10:08 pm)
oh don’t forget florida and banning gay adoption in arkansas.