okay, so this being like the 30 millionth anti-gay ruling in the history of American anti-gay rulings, i realize that it's just another setback along the road to civil rights. but that being said, this one hits especially close to home for me, those of you who know me well know why.
in case you haven't tuned into the news yet today, the California supreme court has upheld Proposition 8 today, banning constitutional equal rights for gay people, namely the right to be married in the eyes of the law. at the heart of the issue is the debate over whether or not gay people should be protected under the same laws that are there (ostensibly) to protect families, i.e. healthy environments for the creation and upbringing of children.
i really thought this one was gonna be a victory. i thought that given the momentum around the country, that at this point, California would come out on top. but i was wrong.
California is my home state (San Francisco, to be precise) and in addition to yet again preventing my parents from being legally partnered in my state of birth, there are (as i see it) two very dangerous and invalidating assertions behind the proposition:
1) that gay people are unfit parents and therefore have unhealthy offspring
2) that somehow through legislation, a privileged majority is entitled to single out a specific minority and attempt to paternalistically keep them from their god-given right to create children
this, my friends, is fundamentally un-American, and furthermore it is bigoted, and it is wrong. do not be fooled, this is not at this point an argument between the left and the right. it is a manipulation of the privileged majority by a few on the radical right desperately urging you to cling to the status quo.
i am 27 years old. my whole life, my parental figures have been queer identified, gay and lesbian. gay people are every bit as qualified as any other human being on this planet to raise a child, and moreover they are doing it everyday.
this legislation does not reflect my reality. and yet i feel like i am at the heart of it. but i want to urge you all to feel out the ways in which you are at the heart of it as well. what do you stand to lose when the government hands out constitutional rights based on moral/value judgements? are there any situations in which you feel like a minority? as a whole, we all suffer from injustice.
today i find myself in Washington DC, our nations capitol. and although the District of Columbia is far removed from California, i am feeling the need to protest. so i'm sending out this letter. i hear there is an organized protest in Dupont Circle tonight at 8.30, but i'm not sure who's organizing it, and am reluctant to say i'll be there given i know very little about it, and am wary of public protest. but i may go, especially if there are others here in the District who are feeling like they too would get something out of a show of support.
anyways, these are my thoughts. please feel free to pass this along to anyone. many thanks and many hearts.
Dakota
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2 comments:
My parents remind me that we'll win this thing eventually, but I'm not living in eventually; I'm living now. I want equality NOW. I want recognition NOW. Afterall, my family is my family NOW and FOREVER.
I hear ya. Thankfully I'm able to be here in SF and keep busy until the protest tonight. I hope you're able to join the DC protest and you find it emotionally fulfilling. Have fun!
It is nice to hear a different perspective. I'm religious but at the same time, I realize that individuals need to protected by the state and from the state. I have relatives in a committed relationship and I know I want them to have the same rights I have in my marriage.
Gays and Lesbians make wonderful parents (better than some married and hetero couples) and the fact that many same sex couples want to have children or open their homes to abandoned children is a blessing.
Equality will come.
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