@dotlizard and honest ape
You guys bring up a really interesting point about race and sex in this country. The United states is finally coming to a point where is doesn’t publicly condone racism, but on matters of sexuality we’re still centuries behind. Not to go on too much of a feminist rant here, but I really believe that many of the problems we have respecting the various manifestations of sexuality in this country are due to the presiding powers– largely heterosexual males and females who act like men.

As far as Schwarzenegger is concerned, well, I like him about as much as I’ve ever liked any conservative leader. He’s done some good things and some bad things for California, but I agree that he’s just pandering to the current position of his party here. It was pretty cowardly to do what he did, but a larger issue is why so many people in California would vote to suppress human rights in the first place. I understand a nut job here and there (after all, Cali is the land of the fruits and nuts) but the MAJORITY? I can’t understand or explain that.

Here’s what I have a problem with. There are times when an elected official has to do something unpopular because it’s the right thing. There’s a reason that Eisenhower had to deploy troops to escort the first black students at Little Rock High School, overriding the governor’s deployment of the Arkansas National Guard to bar black students from entering. This was against the will of the voters in Arkansas, and an unpopular decision. But it was the right thing to do.

Governor George Wallace personally stepped in front of two black students to stop them from going to college at Foster, only moving when US Marshals forced him to.

So, what am I bringing up two cases involving segregation? Because it was unpopular to allow Blacks the same rights as Whites in the South, but strong elected officials over-rode the will of the people. For the betterment of our nation, in my opinion. And, I reckon, the opinion of the majority of Americans.

The legislature, elected by the same people Schwarzenegger claims to represent, voted to enact this law. It wasn’t just three gay guys on a street corner. It was enacted into law through the legal legislative process. Schwarzenegger is doing something to appease his party and Republican voters. He’s not doing this for the good of his people and his state. He doing it because he’s a pandering coward.

And that’s all I have to say on the matter.

For myself and my husband, we only got married to protect our rights as a couple. We would have been perfectly content with signing a paper telling the government ‘hey, we’re legally responsible for and to each other now!’, and then having our ‘Spaceballs’ wedding ceremony. We got as close as we could to that by having a family friend perform the ‘real’ marriage in private a few hours before what was real to us.

With all the back and forth on recognizing gay marriage or not, at least one positive thing came out of it for the huge company I work for. Even though we’re self-insured (which basically means they can snub their noses at what states say they should do, such as recognize gay marriage), because we pointed out the discriminatory pitfalls of their initial reaction of ‘Oh no, we’re not going to let same-sex couples cover each other on our medical plan (even though our Summary Plan Description clearly says if it’s a legal marriage, they can do it…)!’ they met us in the middle, and will now recognize domestic partnerships. I think that’s a step forward, because it’s then not just a same-sex couple benefit, but a good thing for those opposite-sex couples who live together, but choose not to get married. In Washington state that will benefit at least two of our employees that we’ve had to turn down before, because they did the paperwork to have the state recognize them as domestic partners, but that still didn’t constitute a ‘legal marriage’.

While I don’t consider myself a Christian, I definitely feel in touch with my spiritual side, and strongly believe in a power greater than myself. I also feel very strongly that each person’s faith and spirituality should be unique, and honored. It boils down to respecting each other, and being mature enough to say ‘I don’t agree with you, but that doesn’t mean you’re wrong.’ Hopefully we’ll keep making strides as a community to make that the standard we go by.

i just don’t see how we can reconcile denying gays the right to legally recognize their unions. and while you may object to the government’s role in certifying the sanctity of marriage (which i also object to), realize that since they’ve done that, it is a vital part of that commitment now. without it, life partners forfeit the rights to make crucial decisions in time of medical emergency, to share insurance, so many things that are vital to protecting our well-being. very basic rights. and we are denying these to individuals who are different from the majority.

this is just so abhorrent to me, it makes me crazy, and when i hear the asshats with their wringing of hands & gnashing of teeth, it makes me want to scream. or cry. or puke. or some combination thereof.

great post!

BTW, I voted no on Prop 22.