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The Israeli Foreign Minister has appointed a gay man as Israel's next ambassador to Angola. This diplomat is married in a same-sex union to a man with whom I am acquainted. The diplomat's partner will enjoy the same status - and emoluments - as are accorded to any ambassador's spouse.
Of course I am pleased with this news. But should it have made the headlines as "Gay man appointed Ambassador"?
(I remember that a few years ago Denmark sent an ambassador to Israel who was gay and married, and he and his partner presided over receptions as is customary.)
Am I being foolish when I think that an ambassador's sexual orientation should be of no consequence to the general public?
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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JFR's post points out the dilemma the posters here are in.
The question "Should this have made the headlines?" implies to me the answer yes. At the end he wrote:
>Am I being foolish when I think that an ambassador's sexual orientation should be of no consequence to the general public?<
which implies to that it shouldn't be a big deal.
Reading through the posts here in general there is a demand on the one hand for gay people to be treated as anybody else is and yet for a big fuss to be made if a gay man makes progress in being accepted by society at large.
We can't have it both ways.
Hugs
N
I dream of boys with big bulges in their trousers,
Never of girls with big bulges in their blouses.
…and look forward to meeting you in Cóito.
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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The answer is that it should have made and should continue to make headlines until it is such a normal thing that no-one cares any more.
THe real question, the one you are asking, is "Why do people still care about what his orientation is?"
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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timmy wrote:
The real question, the one you are asking, is "Why do people still care about what his orientation is?"
Is it "people" who care or is it headline-hungry copy editors? In other words, if the newspaper had not given the matter publicity would people have cared one way or the other?
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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The answer is more complicated than the question
I want homosexuality to be viewed as normal. So I wish not to see such headlines. But I recognise that, in order for me not to see them tomorrow, I must see them today a great deal. It's the Unicorn in the Park thing.
My opinion is irrelevant, because I am gay and a minority.
Even so I appreciate the prurient moral majority(!) who "wish to know" these things. They are the ones taking the unicorn for a walk for me. By their actions I will soon be accepted as normality
[Updated on: Wed, 25 November 2009 13:58]
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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In a word? Yes. Back on Oct 7th, I reported on the following:
"By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Oct 7 | A senior White House official indicated Wednesday that President Barack Obama has selected openly Gay lawyer David Huebner, as his nominee for the post of United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
It is likely that Huebner will be confirmed by the Senate and would be the administration's first openly gay ambassador. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both had openly gay ambassadors confirmed during their administrations.
Currently based in Shanghai, China with the law firm of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. Mr. Huebner heads the firm’s China Practice and International Disputes Practice. He specialises in international arbitration, mediation, and cross-border litigation, and advises clients on corporate compliance and governance issues. He serves as the firm’s Chief Representative in China.
Huebner, a graduate of both Princeton University and Yale Law School, is also currently the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's general counsel and previously served on the group's board."
[UPDATE: Huebner was recently confirmed by the United States Senate.]
The point is to all of the hubris about LGBT people being appointed, elected, running for, or serving in any civic environment globally, is that it sends the message to everyone that save for sleeping arrangements, LGBT folk are HUMAN beings with the same characteristics as the rest of the population in general.
From the Head of the NYC Council to the newly elected Mayor of Houston, from firefighters to ditch diggers, exposure is the number one way to make changes. Acceptance in today's world is a double edge sword, hence the debate.
I can only tell you, as a 30 year veteran of the press corps, I have seen change because of coverage and even in some cases, despite coverage.
The fight for equality, the fight for basic rights depends on the media coverage to force the more narrow minded of our fellow citizens to see us in a different light. If we don't do the shouting? I can tell you, it will be the ultra right, the conservatives, and the ill informed who claim that what is a basic component of out natural urges and make-up as human beings, is no more than bad or sinful behaviours that can changed.
You want acceptance? Then you by god have to fight for it. Sitting on your arse and debating the merits of the point is just silly. Even if you are still deep in the closet, then do this: Stroke a check to or cash donate to a charity that works with LGBTQ youth. Same thing for organisations like HRC, Matthew Shepard Foundation, Trevor's Project, or Stonewall UK.
Oh and most of all? Make sure that its not just the queer press that covers a story. Get the mainstream press involved and make sure that they know its LGBT related. CALL them, bombard their e-mail, make a difference.
“I cannot prevent anyone from getting angry, or mad, or frustrated. I can only hope that they’ll turn that anger and frustration and madness into something positive, so that two, three, four, five hundred will step forward, so the gay doctors will come out, the gay lawyers, the gay judges, gay bankers, gay architects … I hope that every professional gay will say ‘enough’, come forward and tell everybody, wear a sign, let the world know. Maybe that will help.” Harvey Milk, 1978
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Brody Levesque wrote:
You want acceptance? Then you by god have to fight for it. Sitting on your arse and debating the merits of the point is just silly. Even if you are still deep in the closet, then do this: Stroke a check to or cash donate to a charity that works with LGBTQ youth.
One of the drawbacks of communication in a medium such as this is that one cannot always hear the tone or even be sure to whom the words are addressed. It does seems to me that in the context of this discussion the vehemence that I hear in Brody's words here is unnecessary. The point is well taken, but there are many ways in which someone - even someone so deep in the closet that he cannot even see the door - can contribute and it does not always have to be with money. I am satisfied that I have made a meaningful contribution to gay acceptance in the spheres in which I have a modicum of influence.
Oh and most of all? Make sure that its not just the queer press that covers a story. Get the mainstream press involved and make sure that they know its LGBT related.
As far as the information that I presented at the start of this thread is concerned, it appeared in Israel's most widely read daily newspaper - together with a photo.
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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"One of the drawbacks of communication in a medium such as this is that one cannot always hear the tone or even be sure to whom the words are addressed. It does seems to me that in the context of this discussion the vehemence that I hear in Brody's words here is unnecessary."
Sorry JFR, but I strongly disagree. Inaction and soft spoken approaches will take a movement only so far. If I sound outraged, it is because I am. Nothing I said was directed at you personally, it was directed at a much larger audience beyond the confines of this MB.
You are correct that money is not always an answer, it just happened to be the first thing that came to mind as I wrote my comments.
Also, I am writing from the perspective of an out Gay man who accepts that there are those who cannot be out for numerous reasons. I too served my time in the closet therefore I understand only too well.
ALL I am saying, is that if, L G B T people, are going to gain acceptance by straight people as being just as NORMAL as they are. Then activism through awareness including the press and other outlets is the medium thru which much can be accomplished. I am not going to apologise for being vehement in my beliefs nor am I looking to start a pub brawl here at the MB either.
I have been given the impression via some posts and a couple of e-mails to me personally, that "newbies" should settle in first. Be appreciative, etc. In other words there is apparently a "seniority" one must achieve in order to be extremely passionate about one's beliefs. That damn near sounds like an "Old London Gentleman's Club" or an American equivalent. Okay, that's not how I gather this place is supposed to work according to its owner.
IF, I have stepped on toes.... it was not intentional. I am, as Nigel has stated, a provocative, brash, and quite loud individual. Oh, and quite mortal by the way Nigel.
I am not going to compromise my core values and beliefs for fear that I'll be offensive and controversial. Sorry folks, at age 50, its a bit too late for that.
I am also going to continue reporting on things I feel that are important to the greater LGBT community. As I have stated, until we have FULL equality & parity with the straight beings around us, then we are still NOT fully realised as human beings and hence a community, diverse as it is, and for now,separate.
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Brody wrote:
>I am, as Nigel has stated, a provocative, brash, and quite loud individual.<
I may well have implied provocative, but otherwise please don't put words into my mouth.
Hugs
N
[Updated on: Thu, 26 November 2009 15:57]
I dream of boys with big bulges in their trousers,
Never of girls with big bulges in their blouses.
…and look forward to meeting you in Cóito.
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Brody Levesque wrote:
I have been given the impression via some posts and a couple of e-mails to me personally, that "newbies" should settle in first. Be appreciative, etc. In other words there is apparently a "seniority" one must achieve in order to be extremely passionate about one's beliefs.
Brody, those who know me will readily admit that I am the fool who rushes in where angels fear to tread! So, let me say that I am truly shocked and hurt that anyone here should have written to you as you say they did. I am always pleased to read your posts - even those with which I disagree. The main drawback of this forum at the moment is that it does seem to be, as you wrote, a kind of old gentlemen's club. That is not what Timmy intended. Since I am in contact with a couple of the younger people who used to visit here I know what drove them away. 'Nuff said.
This forum thrives on new blood. There is not now and never has been any kind of "seniority" - and I have been here since the very beginning. Please accept my twopennywoth: you are very welcome here, vehemence and all.
And ... whoever it may have been who told Brody that "newbies" should "be seen and not heard", as it were: shame on you for that!
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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Mister R- Shalom! "Brody, those who know me will readily admit that I am the fool who rushes in where angels fear to tread!"
As Alice Roosevelt Longworth is quoted as saying: "I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where it itches. "
That is the basic job description of a journalist. Hence, you kind sir are probably more of a brethren than you realise. Of course in my case it's more often a case where the angels call a press conference and then send me in after the story......
I am what I am, and this old gay bird is not about change his feathers. (stops and preens self) Seriously, I am grateful you enjoy my work. I need to note for the record that 100% of my posts are derived from my work environment vis a vis stories I am either following or working on.
For example, next Tuesday of course is International Red Ribbon HIV-AIDS Awareness Day and many of us here in the Washington Press Corps have already gotten quotes, talked to our sources, rehashed previous year's remembrances etc. I have a call in to Cleave Jones who of course is noteworthy to the LGBT community for his being the driving force to the creation of the AIDS Quilt. Yes, and also for being a young supporter and later political aide to the late San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk.
This year, the focus is on the pandemic in Africa, and sadly, in the rising pandemic and reemergence of the HIV-AIDS among American youth, in particular among the African-American youth. Cleave is always a great resource not to mention very quotable.
Which reminds me, one of my better e-mails from here accused me of being a Walter Cronkite, Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Geraldo Rivera wannabe. Which was flattering, although entirely off base as I am what is referred to as a "Print" journalist. I am also freelance now, selling my words as it were to the wire services & others. I have not nor ever sought the "limelight" or nor did I desire a "Andy Warhol 15 Minute of Fame" moment. There are those in my profession who literally live to be recognised and have achieved a peculiar, well at least in my way of thinking, celebrity status.
I object to that as I personally feel that it detracts from one's ability to execute one's duties in this profession. Now, having said that, I will also note that its very humorous to watch certain colleagues of mine being fawned over by maitre d's and other diners at the various fancy D. C. powerhouse eateries around town. Me? Oh HELL no! I like being anonymous as it suits me well especially as I cover stories that sometimes get dicey.
Years ago, when I was young Mister R., I, like most people in late adolescence, had NO clue what direction I wanted my life to go. I also had additional baggage for you see, I knew that I was not like the other boys in my parochial high school. Nope, not even close. They'd talk about girls and boobies, I still don't get the fixation over breast size, anyway, I never said anything but lived for PE everyday, especially afterwards for the "showers." The view was magnificent.
Of course, there was a HUGE problem with that besides my erection. Boys DO NOT love other boys and God forbid even considering sex. So at the tender age of 20, after having graduated from high school and numerous unpleasant battles with my VERY catholic parents I quit university, crossed the border into the United States, and headed for Mecca. Aka: San Francisco.
Now, fate would have it, that I landed on the morning of May 21, 1979. To most folk, that date is of no special significance at all. But to LGBT people everywhere, that date is forever known as the White Night Riots. [google it] I watched SF burn that night and I realised that I wanted to tell the world what I saw. My friend, whose home I was at in the Castro, saw me writing furiously away in the dead of night in my journal I always kept and suggested that I might want to become a journalist. Here I am 30 years later and I am still at it.
The point to all this Mister R. is that EVERYONE has a story, and sometimes, just sometimes, you will see those stories or hear them in some odd places. Now, the MB folk that are angry with me probably are never gonna get over that. Which is okay with me as I have been agitating or "provocative" for along time now and have no plans to quit. I also do NOT need to be famous to do my job, as the British contingent would say, " Not my cuppa tea."
Hmm, I see I have contracted diarrhea of the mouth again... Oh, I am NOT a member of the "LGBT Media" either. Although I have volunteered to help get the old Washington Blade back on its feet. Look, here's a copy of an article written by a young lady who is a journalist in training, attending the American University here in Washington. She wrote this as an assignment for her professor. THIS is current and THIS is what I consider important and WORTHY of headlines not unlike appointing a LGBT person as an ambassador to which ever country blah, blah, blah.[According to the e-mail she wrote me she received a good mark too]
New resources, new laws: transforming the district’s LGBT community
A sign of the times—when ice cream flavors tribute state marriage laws
Deacon Maccubin’s face radiated when describing how he met his partner and soul mate.
They were at a gay bar in 1978 called the Fraternity House, and Maccubin, current owner of famous Washington, DC bookstore Lambda Rising, had ended a relationship only six months earlier, and was not looking for someone new. “But then I saw this attractive young man and tried to strike up a conversation,” he said, giggling, telling a story that started with a cold shoulder and ended in a connection over a few games of pinball. After living together for several years, Maccubin asked Jim Bennett to marry him, and told him there were only two acceptable answers: yes, or not today.
For months, the answer was “not today”, as Bennett could not fathom the thought of marriage between two men. They had a union in the early ‘80s, with a ceremony consisting of 350 witnesses including City Council members. They were the second Washington, DC couple to be registered domestic partners, and because the first couple has since broken up, they are the longest lasting partners.
“We are amazingly, disgustingly happy,” Maccubin said, “We never go to bed without telling each other ‘I love you’”.
Conflict solely occurs during hospital trips because paperwork only permits a husband or wife to enter a hospital room. Alternate forms do not exist. This is just one example of a benefit allotted just to married couples. Under the recent Jury and Marriage Act of 2009 (DC Act 18-70), if Maccubin and Bennett married in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts or Vermont, those states where same-sex marriage is currently legal, it will now be recognized in Washington, DC as a marriage. They would no longer have to argue for hospital visitation rights or any of the other approximately 1200 rights that are gained solely by a marriage license, which gay couples cannot access.
But, Maccubin said, the District of Columbia is their home, and as soon as same sex marriage is legal, they intend to marry here in the district.
And now it seems they won’t have to wait very long.
Ben Young, chief of staff for Councilmen David Catania (I-At-Large) said Catania’s proposed bill will soon be introduced. He expects major support from the City Council.
Most recently, Vermont was the state to attain same-sex marriage legalization. Vermont-based Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, a social activist corporation, celebrated in Sept. by re-naming the ice cream Chubby Hubby—to Hubby Hubby. The tub of ice cream now pictures two male figurines on a wedding cake, with rainbows painting the background.
“I think it’s definitely been people who support the notion and the idea have been very positive about it; they love the fact that we have been brave enough to take a stance on a controversial issue,” said Ben and Jerry’s Sean Greenwood, public relations representative, “But there are also people who have said ‘This is not my personal choice or value and so I disagree with this choice.’” Greenwood said there is diversity in terms of how people feel about the issue but that Ben and Jerry’s, as a company which has historically striven for social justice ideals, wants to share what their beliefs about the issue as one of social justice. .
Those in support of legalizing gay marriage tend to cite federal and societal benefits, progress in expanding equality, and the emotional aspects in a relationship. Those in opposition tend to refer to religious concerns. Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. from Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., has led the battle against DC’s equality laws. Jackson, along with several other ministers, asked the Board of Elections and Ethics to approve an initiative defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. However, city code prohibits a referendum in order to protect against discrimination towards minority groups. Although this summer, Jackson went so far as to rent a condominium on M. St. to attain voting ability in DC, many believe that the real challenge lies with Congress.
Freelance journalist Brody Levesque, who has covered LGBT issues in DC for more than a decade, expects City Council to pass the bill proposed by Catania, who is one of two openly gay Council members. Levesque thinks the trouble will show in the larger spectrum, and that much will depend on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her decision.
Many view this summer’s Jury and Marriage Act, the law that recognizes out-of-state marriages, as significant to the process. Approved by the Council on May 5, the vote was 12-1.
Also, the recent Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 3567), introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 15, 2009, would repeal the previous Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which many consider discriminatory. The Defense of Marriage Act, signed by President Clinton on Sept. 21, 1996, had a two-part effect: it said states do not need to treat same-sex relationships as a marriage even if it is considered so elsewhere, and it defines marriage as a legal union specifically between one man and one woman. The new bill would require all marriages valid under state law to be recognized under federal law. Many view this opposition to DOMA as a huge win for the LGBT community.
The atmosphere for LGBT individuals and the community in DC has changed significantly over the past few decades.
“When you look at the history and the movement, Washington actually was home to the early gay rights movement,” said Levesque, “Here, gay rights equals lobbying; you can’t say that about any other town.”
He said that the nation’s capitol really came into its own on an activist level as an outcome of the AIDS pandemic, which has left more than 25 million dead since the first case was documented in the early 1980s. He also credits technology and the abundance of resources that the internet has made available as a support system, as a way to share news and opinions, and as a vehicle for public education and public perception. The first noteworthy event broadcast on the internet was the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepherd, Levesque said, who was targeted and killed for his sexual orientation. Coverage of his death seized national attention towards hate crimes and prejudice.
“It happened on October 12,” Levesque said, hammering out the date faster than one might recall today’s date, “It really was of significance.”
Levesque said that one of the major issues propelling the anti-gay marriage movement is religion. Prop 8 in California was a “serious blow”, said Levesque, in bringing religion up as a serious issue. He questioned whether the US is truly secular, or “a theocracy masquerading?”
As a journalist constantly armed with his reporter’s notebook, he took out his small spiral with a rainbow striped lambda on the cover, to reveal text he found insightful in this instance.
He read from Dan Brown’s recently published novel The Lost Symbol: “Religions assure salvation; religions believe in a precise theology; and religions convert non-believers.”
Levesque explained this quote as relevant because marriage is an institution of legal standing rather than involving Biblical beliefs. Now he questioned whether marriage will be attributed as nonsecular, or as the right of a society where licenses are governmentally crafted. Whether Catania’s bill, titled the “Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009” passes, will affect other states because it is a “chain reaction”, Levesque said.
Although many opposed to legalizing gay marriage quote religious reasons, Michael Crawford, co-founder of DC for Marriage, a grassroots advocacy group, said that after they asked for support from a few clergy members, they “got so excited they formed DC Clergy United for Marriage Equality”. The aim of DC for Marriage is education about marriage legalization to ultimately further respect and equality for LGBT individuals.
“As we have face to face conversations about marriage and gay people, we see an increasing amount of support, not just among young people, it’s older people, people of all races and colors, people in all parts of the cities and all religious faiths,” Crawford explained, “What we’re seeing si that we’re moving towards a situation where people who live in DC want everyone to be treated equally, and that’s a fantastic situation to be in.”
He thinks that there is a strong opportunity to win marriage equality, predicting a triumph within the next year.
Beginning in 2011, Councilmen Catania’s bill would eliminate domestic partnerships. Already registered couples could choose to keep their partnership or alter it to a city-approved marriage. The bill, most likely to be introduced in early Oct., will pass the City Council, said Levesque confidently, because out of the 13 members, 10 are co-sponsors.
Washington, DC resident Tanya Renne, 39, considers the district unusually open, calling it a “bubble” of liberal-leaning residents, saying she would be unsurprised if gay marriage was an “easy win”.
Renne came of age in the late 1980s, before coming out was “fashionable” she said. She recalls the first lesbian film she ever saw. At this time, the word “lesbian” could only be uttered around 9 pm. In the movie, the only scene indicating a relationship starred one woman simply knocking on another woman’s door.
“It’s a dramatic shift, from that, to now, when the word ‘lesbian’ is on the cover of Newsweek,” she said. She said that more people feel comfortable identifying as homosexual now and that there has been a clear shift, with more open-minded tendencies.
Although she recently commemorated her 10th anniversary with her partner, marriage is undesirable to her.
“I am already married, in every way,” Renne said, “But if other people want one, then they should.” She said she is uninterested in an institution that has historically been oppressive to women, although she wondered aloud whether her kids, eight-year old twins Paul and Olivia, would be better protected if she were married.
“My partner is from a traditional home where marriage ended. What’s the point? Except maybe those 1,137 rights,” she said, conflicted.
Federal advantages involve categories such as social security, housing, taxation and employment. Currently, DC honors relationship recognition for same-sex couples under domestic partnership, as well as protecting employment. DC law also permits single LGBT individuals as well as couples to petition to adopt children, but federal benefits protecting families differ from heterosexual to homosexual homes.
But despite combat for equality regarding federal benefits, there is the emotional aspect.
“I know there are people who say that it’s just a word, and that it’s meaningless,” LGBT freelance reporter Levesque said, “But it is a fundamental part of a relationship. LGBT people should be allowed to have the same access and opportunity for marriage as the rest of the world.”
Domestic partnership provides numerous equivalent benefits, but many dislike the separate status. Crawford said it is partially about the respect accorded to married couples.
“When you say you’re married, everybody understands,” Crawford said, “You can go to the smallest town in the middle of Montana and everyone will know what you mean.”
However, there are two sides to each story, said Michael Cambellino, 25, a gay man raised Catholic in a Republican, Cleveland Park home. He does not believe in gay marriage because he thinks traditional marriage between a man and a woman should be upheld.
“I’m sick and tired of this issue,” he said, sipping from a plastic cup of iced coffee, “We should be focused on the economy. Who cares if we can get married? As long as I have God and the people I love around me, that’s all that matters. I don’t need the government’s permission.”
Cambellino is in the middle of a shaky break-up from a four-year domestic partnership but his relationship status has not changed his personal views. He said it is irrelevant whether or not same-sex couples marry—they can still screw it up “just like straight people do”.
His best friend, Marcus Horne, 23, works at Lambda Rising, the Dupont Circle landmark store that sells books and colorful merchandise geared toward the LGBT community such as rainbow-painted magnets and flags. The shop also serves as a community center and a recognized “safe place”. Horne is planning a commitment ceremony with his partner this November, but he rejects marriage for himself, as he is not religious. However, he believes it is important to gain the right as a sign of acceptance.
Horne described the LGBT community’s younger cohort as embodying change. “After seeing what the older generation has been through, we’re about movement, about doing something better, opening people’s minds.”
Beth Robinson, founder of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, a group that worked towards the passing of the recent bill allowing same-sex marriage in Vermont, said it was “incredibly exciting for a lot of people”. She described a friend, who works as a therapist, who reported that several clients experienced personal breakthroughs as a response to the vote because it was “such an acknowledgment that Vermont embraces them as full equals.”
Robinson said advances of 2009 have included legislation in New Hampshire, Iowa and Connecticut, while much of the current focus is on Maine. Celebrations in Vermont, extending to Ben and Jerry’s action, have caused both positive and negative reaction. Some Vermont residents have aggressively disagreed with the new name while others are petitioning for the peanut butter cookie dough ice cream, fudge and pretzels metaphor to permanently sit on the shelf.
“The passage of the bill this year was a culmination of 15 years of work we’ve been doing here in Vermont,” Robinson said.
The atmosphere has changed again in the nation’s capitol, after the new bill recognizing out-of-state marriages, and many are looking to marriage legalization as likelihood, some politicians like Ben Young predicting the change will pass this spring.
Many are unafraid of opposition like Harry Jackson, who Levesque labeled as one of the anti-gay marriage leaders.
“What he’s finding is that people in DC don’t want to discriminate against their neighbors,” Levesque said, “He’s making a lot of noise about how he wants Prop 8 in DC but most of the residents of the District aren’t having it; they aren’t paying much attention to him.”
Jackson appears to be a symbol of those fighting against gay marriage due to religious or moral beliefs. But many feel confident that legislation will pass because an overwhelming majority of Washington, DC residents are seemingly supportive.
Marcus Horne does not want to marry even though he is in love and committed to his partner. However, he, like so many others, would rejoice in possessing the legal right.
“From the times of Harvey Milk to now—talk about a jump,” Horne said, “Who we love is none of anyone’s business. It’s our life and we would like to live it freely.”
-Jordan Magaziner
Now you ask Mister R. Why is all of this germane to our discussion here? It is simply because I do not change my modus operandi either here on the MB or out there in everyday life. As I write these words, my laptop is precariously perched atop a pile of cookbooks, and I am debating whether or not I should add smoked oysters to my stuffing for the turkey. Today is Thanksgiving here in the United States although at home in Canada, ours was last month. I have a full house coming and as I told Tim in chat, which he & I do frequently, I have 8 souls headed for my place for what I hope is edible. 4 of them are LGBT couples in relationships and one of those couples will be very seriously affected by the outcome of what young Jordan wrote about. [I was pleased by the way she got a good mark.] My passions Mister R. are ALWAYS present. I am no different online than offline. I just think that the major difference is that I am a correspondent and let's face it, my lot is not often thought of affectionately.
There are things NOW that merit headlines and shall until LGBT folk reach FULL equality & parity with the rest of the humans on this planet.
As my "Broadcast" brethren would say Mister R. " Back to You....."
[Updated on: Thu, 26 November 2009 17:06] |
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