Last night, something happened for the first time. In fact, it happened for the first, second, and (possibly) third times. Something that before yesterday had never happened before. The winds of change are blowing for marriage equality. For the very first time in our nation's history, a ballot measure put to the people's vote concerning gay marriage was approved. Maine, Maryland, and Washington all had ballot measures asking voters whether gay marriage should be legal. These measures have passed in Maine and Maryland for sure. Not enough data has come in from Washington to call the vote at this time, but it is leaning in the direction of approving gay marriage.
What does this mean? This means there are now eight (9, including Washington) states where gay marriage is now legal. This means nearly 20% of the United States has decided to take the route of equality for gays. We are one step closer to being an enlightened, egalitarian society. But, more than that. Opponents of marriage equality have continually cited the statistic that out of the 30-something times gay marriage has been on the ballot in any state, it has failed--that the voice of the people is that gays should not be given the same rights and protection under the law as straight people. But now that is no longer true. Now it can no longer be said that the voice of the people is against gay marriage.
I am proud of and express sincere gratitude to all of the voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington who have taken a stand for marriage equality. I also thank all of the people who have donated to these campaigns, who got the word out, and who helped people see why this is such an important issue to us gay people.
It should not go unmentioned that in Minnesota, there was a ballot measure that would have made a (state) constitutional ban on gay marriage and the measure failed. So, Minnesota voters also voted in favor of equality. Although, gay marriage is still not legal there, at the very least it is not a constitutional ban. So, gays cannot marry in Minnesota yet, but there is one less hurdle to jump over when the time comes that they are ready to allow marriage equality.
Obama was re-elected. Most of the people on my friends list now are liberal, so I see much rejoicing on my Facebook newsfeed. But, I still have many conservative friends. I see some of them being rather reasonable, voicing their opinions about why they think America made a mistake in this election. However, I also see some who are being completely irrational, saying that Obama is Marxist, fascist, and "just as bad as Mao Zedong". I don't know whether to laugh or to be frightened by these comments. They exhibit such a striking disconnect from reality. Of course, the starry-eyed Obama supporters also exhibit a striking disconnect from reality. According to them, all of the world's problems will now be solved and we'll have peace and prosperity for a thousand years or something.
It is my opinion that of the R-D candidates this year, Obama is the lesser of two evils. Romney would have fought to ban gay marriage nation wide. He would have made the rich richer and the poor poorer. He already pays a lower tax rate than the middle class and he thinks that the rich need even more tax cuts. He would have fought to make abortions illegal, even in cases of rape. He may or may not have been able to actually accomplish all of this, but the fact that he was saying all of it to be elected is enough for me to dislike him.
Obama, on the other hand, wants to raise taxes for the rich. This will help decrease the deficit. I don't see why conservatives are opposed to this, because they're the ones screaming that we have too much debt. He supports marriage equality. Ever since he took office, he resisted DOMA, he refused to enforce it. He signed into law the repeal of DADT, allowing gay people to serve openly in the military. He has done much for gay people, and I believe that having him in office will be good for equality. But I do have to add my view one more time that I also believe he has demonstrated through many of his actions that he does not value the principles of individual liberty, and therefore I do not personally believe he is fit to hold the office of president.
What does this mean? This means there are now eight (9, including Washington) states where gay marriage is now legal. This means nearly 20% of the United States has decided to take the route of equality for gays. We are one step closer to being an enlightened, egalitarian society. But, more than that. Opponents of marriage equality have continually cited the statistic that out of the 30-something times gay marriage has been on the ballot in any state, it has failed--that the voice of the people is that gays should not be given the same rights and protection under the law as straight people. But now that is no longer true. Now it can no longer be said that the voice of the people is against gay marriage.
I am proud of and express sincere gratitude to all of the voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington who have taken a stand for marriage equality. I also thank all of the people who have donated to these campaigns, who got the word out, and who helped people see why this is such an important issue to us gay people.
It should not go unmentioned that in Minnesota, there was a ballot measure that would have made a (state) constitutional ban on gay marriage and the measure failed. So, Minnesota voters also voted in favor of equality. Although, gay marriage is still not legal there, at the very least it is not a constitutional ban. So, gays cannot marry in Minnesota yet, but there is one less hurdle to jump over when the time comes that they are ready to allow marriage equality.
Obama was re-elected. Most of the people on my friends list now are liberal, so I see much rejoicing on my Facebook newsfeed. But, I still have many conservative friends. I see some of them being rather reasonable, voicing their opinions about why they think America made a mistake in this election. However, I also see some who are being completely irrational, saying that Obama is Marxist, fascist, and "just as bad as Mao Zedong". I don't know whether to laugh or to be frightened by these comments. They exhibit such a striking disconnect from reality. Of course, the starry-eyed Obama supporters also exhibit a striking disconnect from reality. According to them, all of the world's problems will now be solved and we'll have peace and prosperity for a thousand years or something.
It is my opinion that of the R-D candidates this year, Obama is the lesser of two evils. Romney would have fought to ban gay marriage nation wide. He would have made the rich richer and the poor poorer. He already pays a lower tax rate than the middle class and he thinks that the rich need even more tax cuts. He would have fought to make abortions illegal, even in cases of rape. He may or may not have been able to actually accomplish all of this, but the fact that he was saying all of it to be elected is enough for me to dislike him.
Obama, on the other hand, wants to raise taxes for the rich. This will help decrease the deficit. I don't see why conservatives are opposed to this, because they're the ones screaming that we have too much debt. He supports marriage equality. Ever since he took office, he resisted DOMA, he refused to enforce it. He signed into law the repeal of DADT, allowing gay people to serve openly in the military. He has done much for gay people, and I believe that having him in office will be good for equality. But I do have to add my view one more time that I also believe he has demonstrated through many of his actions that he does not value the principles of individual liberty, and therefore I do not personally believe he is fit to hold the office of president.
Comments
Post a Comment
Anyone is allowed to comment on this blog. As you can tell from reading my blog, I am very opinionated and I'm not afraid to share my opinion. You're welcome to disagree with me as mildly or vehemently as you like, but be aware that I will reply with my own opinions, very strongly. If you don't want that kind of open discussion, or you think it will hurt your feelings, then please avoid posting. I do try to be respectful, but my verbology often comes across as brusque.