Posted: September 6th, 2011 | Author: Dinah | 12 Comments »
Gay marriage: you’ve read about it. Probably more than most other gay issues. Here’s why.
Gay or straight, we’ve all been brought up to understand that marriage is a central moment in our lives. Some folks may reject that premise in adulthood – and more power to them – but for a lot of us marriage is a major milestone, a change in identity to being a married person rather than still, in some sense, single. I’d put money down that you’ve put at least a little bit of thought into what your wedding might be like. Yes, you. But on top of all this cultural and spiritual meaning, marriage is an important legal status. Being married affects more parts of your life than you can shake a stick (or bouquet) at.
The freedom to marry is a big, big legal disparity to tackle for gay couples, but there are also lots of other incredibly pressing things that need to change in order for gay and straight folks to be equal under the law. This other stuff – employment discrimination, lack of housing protections, and second freedom from violence to name just a few – is vital for the health and well-being of gay Americans, and groups around the country are fighting for equality. Gay marriage is news largely because it’s an emotional issue. Love is a wonderful thing to rally around (getting fired for being gay is a real downer in comparison to potential weddings), plus there are 1,100 rights and protections associated with marriage. Your gay friends need them.
Marriage is the ultimate goal – not domestic partnerships or civil unions (more on these after the cut), and the Federal government and 44 states don’t recognize a gay couple’s right to marry. It has to change.
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Posted: June 22nd, 2011 | Author: Mae | No Comments »
Republican presidential candidate John Huntsman changed his position on the freedom to marry this week, according to The New Civil Rights Movement. Previously, Huntsman has presented himself as LGBT Republicans’ candidate; Charles Moran, a prominent Log Cabin Republican, endorsed his campaign with semi-depressing compliments:
Moran wrote that Huntsman supported legislation that established civil unions for gays in Utah in 2009 and also set up regular meetings with the Log Cabin Republicans as governor.
It’s pretty chill, being the gay rights champion of the Republican candidates. You just need two gay rights credentials, and one of them can be “regular meetings”!
But maybe Hamilton isn’t going to be a gay rights champion at all. The New Civil Rights Movement argues that Huntsman radically changed his position on the freedom to marry on TV this morning.
On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Huntsman said, “I think redefining marriage is something that would be impossible and it’s something I would not be in favor of,” adding, ironically, what now amounts to his stump speech, saying, “But I believe, just subordinate to marriage we have not done an adequate job in the area of equality and reciprocal beneficiary rights. I’ve spoken out about that, my support of civil unions, some people like it, some people don’t.”
I can’t tell if this is a radical position change, or if this is just a radical wording change. Does he support equal rights for gay and straight couples, and he just doesn’t want to call the gay version “marriage”? Or does he want gay couples to be “subordinate” to straight couples rights-wise as well?
Huntsman will probably clarify his position soon, but I’m curious what you guys think—is legally labeling same-sex marriage “marriage” important to you, or do you just care about the associated rights? Discuss in the comments! And support New Yorkers’ freedom to marry by calling your senator here.
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