Same Sex Marriage Ban is passing....

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by amber

yep. To requote my earlier post...
"Why can't people see that, if some peoples rights are threatened, all peoples are? An administration who'll take away gay rights, will take away yours, people..."

It's a matter of arrogance. We've even seen it demonstrated here on the Ledge a few times, in conversations about gay rights: "It doesn't affect me, so why should I care?"

We should all care when anyone's rights are threatened.

[amber]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

It's a matter of arrogance. We've even seen it demonstrated here on the Ledge a few times, in conversations about gay rights: "It doesn't affect me, so why should I care?"

We should all care when anyone's rights are threatened.

It seems so obvious, to me, but i guess it's not.. I mean, if you've studied history, or anything, it just seems really obvious and logical

[Patti]

Johnny Stew, count me in. I'm right there with you all. What's so disgusting is these marriage bans have passed by huge margins in all the states where they were on the ballot. Unfortunately, I have the dubious distinction of living in the state, Missouri, where the first ban passed. As I said in the other thread, I am totally disheartened. I truly am having a hard time believing *my* country is like this. It's sickening me to the core.

[Mari]

This sucks. Somehow it doesn't surprise me, but still.

Well alright. Count me in.

[dissention]

The people of this country are pigs. There's no other way to say it.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

Who wants to join forces with me for a Queer Takeover?

Count me in!

Hillary

[ontheEdgeof17]

We were talking about this in my Community Nursing class and one of my classmates said "For the first time, women are getting to vote in Afganistan.
He is freeing that country."

I shot up out of my seat and said "He is freeing the Middle East but telling me, an American, a person under his command, that I can't legally commit to who I love? That's **** that he wants freedom in other countries while condeming freedom in the land of the free."


I'm usually not outspoken about gay rights...aka EQUAL RIGHTS...but I'm getting heated now.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by ontheEdgeof17

I shot up out of my seat and said "He is freeing the Middle East but telling me, an American, a person under his command, that I can't legally commit to who I love? That's **** that he wants freedom in other countries while condeming freedom in the land of the free."

I'm usually not outspoken about gay rights...aka EQUAL RIGHTS...but I'm getting heated now.

Congratulations on speaking up and out, Curtis.
I used to be more passive regarding gay rights... never saw myself as much of a political person, and felt that others were far more capable than I was, to intelligently and articulately stand up for the things I believe in.

But over the last few years, I realized that the only person capable of standing up for me, is me.
If I want something, I have to fight for it.

So, welcome to the ranks, Brother Curtis. We're going to win this battle yet.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by ontheEdgeof17

We were talking about this in my Community Nursing class and one of my classmates said "For the first time, women are getting to vote in Afganistan.
He is freeing that country."

I shot up out of my seat and said "He is freeing the Middle East but telling me, an American, a person under his command, that I can't legally commit to who I love? That's **** that he wants freedom in other countries while condeming freedom in the land of the free."


I'm usually not outspoken about gay rights...aka EQUAL RIGHTS...but I'm getting heated now.

Yay Curtis! I'm so glad you spoke out! I'm not always so bold!

Hillary

[Mari]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

It's a matter of arrogance. We've even seen it demonstrated here on the Ledge a few times, in conversations about gay rights: "It doesn't affect me, so why should I care?"

We should all care when anyone's rights are threatened.

Huh? DéjÃ* vu all over again. Didn't I say these exact words, here, some time ago? Oh whatever, we don't want to bring thát ledgewar back, do we. Funny to see you agree with me now, though.

[strandinthewind]

This letter appeared in Friday’s AJC. For those of you who may not know who she is, Sadie Fields has been a key force in gettomg the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage on the ballot. She lobbied state legislators and organized rallies while the Georgia House and Senate debated the measure, which voters will decide at the polls Tuesday. As chairwoman of the Christian Coalition, she directed publication of an influential voter scorecard and is working with a large network of churches to help turn out voters on Election Day.

Reject my mother's bigotry

By TESS FIELDS
Published on: 10/29/04

I am the daughter of Sadie Fields, president of the Christian Coalition of Georgia. I was appalled by the column my mother wrote justifying her bigotry, and I feel compelled to respond ("Can't let the few hurt society as a whole," @issue, Oct. 25).

The first time there was a definitive split between my mother and me, I was in the seventh grade. My best friend's name was Lisa. She was Jewish. Concerned about what our pastor had stated about Jews in the afterlife, I went to my mother and asked her if Lisa was going to burn in hell. My mother's response, "If she does not accept the Lord Jesus then yes, she will go to hell." Right there, she lost me. I have disagreed with her ever since.

I was 24 years old when my mother, through a series of mishaps, found out I was gay. My mother came over to where I worked, screaming, and told me I was "dead" to the family. She called me "sick," "crazy" and "of the devil." She said that I would never see my family again.

For more than five years after that day, I heard nothing from my family. No birthday cards, no invitations to Christmas or Thanksgiving events. It wasn't just the loss of my immediate family that was difficult, but the loss of my extended family as well. Since my mother refused to be in the same room with me, it forced my aunts and uncles to choose sides. I have not been to a family reunion in more than a decade.

When my partner, Trisha, and I decided to have a child, we were not unlike most couples making this decision. We considered whether or not we were emotionally and financially ready. We considered the ways that it would change our lives and our relationship with each other.

After two years of planning, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Trisha, during the pregnancy, held my hair out of my face when I vomited from morning sickness. She attended birthing classes, cooked organic meals for me every single night, and calmed my fears about the labor. We bought baby books and argued about names, started a college fund, and perused garage sales for the best deals on cribs and diaper-changing stations.

The only thing unusual about our pregnancy was the critical necessity of a lawyer.

Given my mother's abject hostility toward gay and lesbian people, in the process of my pregnancy we had to spend thousands of dollars protecting ourselves from her potential interference. In spite of the fact that she has never, in more than a decade, visited me, and has written numerous articles comparing me to pedophiles and people who have sex with animals, according to the law, my mother has more rights to our child than Trisha.

What if I died during the birth? What if something happened to me before the lawyers could get the adoption finalized? These were the kinds of fears that our family had to face, and we felt robbed. Expecting a child should be a wonderful moment in a couple's life. Pregnancy, in and of itself, can be challenging, but the greater excitement of a baby on the way seems to balance these fears for most people. My family, however, had to be concerned about my mother's extremism, and what legal grounds she had if she decided to try and take Trisha's child. And then we had to prepare, meticulously, if that threat were ever realized.

A friend once told me that becoming a parent does two things: It teaches you to love in a whole new way, and it teaches you to fear in a whole new way. It was not until I became pregnant that I understood completely what she meant.

While some people may disagree about gay marriage, passing a constitutional amendment ensuring that one group of people is singled out to be treated differently is wrong. The state's constitution is for protecting our most basic and important rights. It should not be used to settle partisan, religious, or ideological disputes. And it should never be changed in a way that hurts people. But Amendment One would deny thousands of gay and lesbian Georgians and their families access to health care, fair survivor rights and the ability to make lifesaving medical decisions. We may disagree about social issues such as marriage, but those disagreements do not belong in the state constitution.

So my fellow, fair-minded Georgians, I am writing to encourage you not to follow my mother's lead. Learn from our example. For all of the struggles my family experienced while I was growing up, none has been more damaging to its foundation than my mother's religious extremism and fervent black and white ideology. We have not been in the same room together for more than 11 years. My mother's religion has left us not merely splintered, but broken. It leaves no room for compromise or even mutual respect for people that have different ideologies.

But most importantly, I have this to say. If we lose this battle on Nov. 2, I want to let my gay and straight friends in Georgia know that we will not lose the war. Celebrate and be proud of who you are and the strong families that you have created. Spit in the eye of your oppressor with the ultimate revenge; be happy, be successful and live your life fully and completely, as God intended.

For those of you voting no on Amendment One, thank you for standing up for families like mine. Thank you for making the world a safer place for our son. Thank you for helping ensure that he receives good health care. Regardless of what happens to me, he will continue to grow safely in the arms of his loving mother and grandparents. Thank you for not allowing a form of religious extremism that leaves families shattered and broken to be written into law, becoming a way of life for all.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tess Fields is a manager with a Portland, Ore. affiliate of Planned Parenthood.

[estranged4life]

those who voted for Oklahoma's state question 711 do not realize as of yet that the issue not only bans gay men/women from marriage but it also gives the state the power to no longer accept "common law marriages" as law and to also deny those common law marriages the same rights as regularly (Defined) marriages...

Betcha those who are in favor 711 who are common married will NOW wished they thought differently...

Brian "Both Deb & myself voted to defeat 711...But y'all knew that already" j.

[Nixxxed]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

Who wants to join forces with me for a Queer Takeover?

Whew! I was just waiting for someone to ask. Off to iron my uniform and clean my guns...

"Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition..."

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by Mari

Huh? DéjÃ* vu all over again. Didn't I say these exact words, here, some time ago? Oh whatever, we don't want to bring thát ledgewar back, do we. Funny to see you agree with me now, though.

I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to, but I have my guesses.
But if anyone has ever felt I've done something to quash someone's rights, then they have the wrong idea about me.

There's a difference between denying rights and maintaining rules, and I'm perfectly capable of fighting against the denial of rights while being respectful of rules and decorum.

I would've thought I had demonstrated that a thousand times over by now....

[Johnny Stew]

But most importantly, I have this to say. If we lose this battle on Nov. 2, I want to let my gay and straight friends in Georgia know that we will not lose the war. Celebrate and be proud of who you are and the strong families that you have created. Spit in the eye of your oppressor with the ultimate revenge; be happy, be successful and live your life fully and completely, as God intended.

Amen.