A friend of a friend posted this on a Facebook note. It spells out why California specifically allows for religious institutions to refuse to marry anyone, so they can't be sued for it. She goes on to explain why the legal definition of marriage and the theoretical religious definition of marriage are different and not mutually defining.
I may not be gay, but I have best friends and people I admire who are, who had weddings planned that will now not happen. They are torn apart and I'm witnessing their suffering. Civil rights are number one on my personal philanthropy list, so don't tell me to "just get over it." Everyone has their hot-button issue; this is mine.
As to your claim that religious clergy could be sued, they couldn't. They are completely protected under California law:"SEC. 7. Section 403 is added to the Family Code, to read:403. No priest, minister, or rabbi of any religious denomination,and no official of any nonprofit religious institution authorized to solemnize marriages, shall be required to solemnize any marriage inviolation of his or her right to free exercise of religion guaranteedby the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or bySection 4 of Article I of the California Constitution."Source: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_0001-0050/ab_43_bill_20070409_amended_asm_v98.html
Furthermore, the word "marriage" was taken and used by the government to describe the legal union of individuals in the eyes of the government: tax/insurance benefits, custody issues, etc. The word "marriage" has a dual meaning: it can be a religious word, and it can be a term for a function of the government. In this case, it is a purely government, not a religious ceremony. It's unfortunate that the fellas who wrote our constitution decided to use that word, but they did. By law, separate but equal is not permitted; if straight unions are called marriage, so must be gay ones. If they change them all to "civil union," so be it, provided it's equal. That's kind of the point of having constitutions in the first place..You go up to my dearest friends whose relationships have just been invalidated and tell them to "just get over it." I'd love to see their reactions. I for one will continue gathering support to see another amendment passed.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Tell your CA friends: Vote NO on 8!
Hi everyone,
Please, if you haven't already, encourage everyone you know in California to vote NO on Proposition 8 - the constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, a right that we already have in California.
This will be the first time since the internment of American Japanese (yes, Japanese in internment camps), probation of interracial marriage and refusal to allow Armenians to own homes that California will legislate discrimination.
Last night, a friend of mine was heckled by a "Yes on 8" group for being gay. While he was stopped at a red light, they yelled things like:
"Be Straight, Yes on 8"
"You're a faggot"
and,
"We don't want AIDS anymore."
This is not about a right to maintain your personal religious beliefs in civil law. This is about creating another "separate but equal" status for a group of people who are still being murdered on American soil for who they are. This is about legitimizing the lessons that closed-minded, discriminatory parents teach their kids.
It's about weather or not it was okay for that 15 year old girl last night to tell my friend that he was a faggot and that she didn't want AIDS anymore - as if it was his fault.
Please, from someone who has faced discrimination all of my life, and as someone who has pushed from an early age to change something that isn't changeable (believe me, I tried) about my identity as a human being AND an American, vote No on 8 if you live in California. If you don't, encourage your friends in California (and Arizona and Florida) to vote no on the ban on gay marriage.
I can tell you from first hand experience how being separated from everyone else by law slowly eats away at your self worth. It's not okay for ANY American to be in that position.
All we want is to be equal. We want to swim in the same marriage pools and drink from the same marriage fountains and sit in the same marriage bus seats as all of the rest of you. We want to raise happy, healthy children and visit our spouses in the hospital. We want to be able to share our lives with another person without ever having to worry that the law might prevent us from enjoying all the benefits of a healthy, happy marriage.
Don't take that away from me, or from us. Please.
With thanks,
Ryan
Please, if you haven't already, encourage everyone you know in California to vote NO on Proposition 8 - the constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, a right that we already have in California.
This will be the first time since the internment of American Japanese (yes, Japanese in internment camps), probation of interracial marriage and refusal to allow Armenians to own homes that California will legislate discrimination.
Last night, a friend of mine was heckled by a "Yes on 8" group for being gay. While he was stopped at a red light, they yelled things like:
"Be Straight, Yes on 8"
"You're a faggot"
and,
"We don't want AIDS anymore."
This is not about a right to maintain your personal religious beliefs in civil law. This is about creating another "separate but equal" status for a group of people who are still being murdered on American soil for who they are. This is about legitimizing the lessons that closed-minded, discriminatory parents teach their kids.
It's about weather or not it was okay for that 15 year old girl last night to tell my friend that he was a faggot and that she didn't want AIDS anymore - as if it was his fault.
Please, from someone who has faced discrimination all of my life, and as someone who has pushed from an early age to change something that isn't changeable (believe me, I tried) about my identity as a human being AND an American, vote No on 8 if you live in California. If you don't, encourage your friends in California (and Arizona and Florida) to vote no on the ban on gay marriage.
I can tell you from first hand experience how being separated from everyone else by law slowly eats away at your self worth. It's not okay for ANY American to be in that position.
All we want is to be equal. We want to swim in the same marriage pools and drink from the same marriage fountains and sit in the same marriage bus seats as all of the rest of you. We want to raise happy, healthy children and visit our spouses in the hospital. We want to be able to share our lives with another person without ever having to worry that the law might prevent us from enjoying all the benefits of a healthy, happy marriage.
Don't take that away from me, or from us. Please.
With thanks,
Ryan
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