For those of you who are celebrating the recent decision of the California Supreme Court (not such an “activist court” filled with, in the words of Sean Penn, “commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns,” when they rule for your side now, eh?) to uphold Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage, I give you this paraphrased quote:
It is time for straight people to try and put themselves in the position of gay people and understand what their lives are like.
Close your eyes and imagine this. You find, after many, many, many years of searching, the love of your life. You want to be with them always and forever and any separation is heart wrenching. You have the butterflies and the yearning and that “Damn, Cupid!” woozy sensation in your head. You want to share your life – in both good times and bad – and to commit yourself completely. You want to stand up in front of witnesses and loudly proclaim your love for this person who, miracle of all miracles, feels exactly the same way about you as you do about them.
Now imagine your government telling you, “No.”
Better yet, look at the one you’re with – the one who gave you those exact feelings today, yesterday, once upon a time, whenever – and imagine your government telling you, “No.”
Just for the sake of argument, is the government merely saying “no,” or is it actually preventing me from doing these things? If so, how exactly is the government stopping me from sharing my life with someone, making a commitment to them, and publicly proclaiming my love for them before witnesses?
Good questions all, Ashley. I do not have the answers.
That just about sums it up, Linda. It has also never been fully explained how marriage equality threatens heterosexual marriage. It seems that the ability to divorce is what truly threatens heterosexual marriage.
I don’t get many answers to this question, but perhaps you can help. Prop 8 restricts marriage as being between a man and a woman. I’m wondering how the terms “man” and “woman” are defined, by whom, and how the state of California will uphold or enforce those definitions. Is a “woman” a being with a uterus and ovaries, or a being capable of having children? Is a “man” a being with a penis and testes? How will the state know if you have a penis or a uterus? Are there to be government-mandated physical exams prior to the issuance of marriage licenses in California? What about people born with ambiguous genitals?
I know, this is so sad. It is just wrong. Two of the most wonderful people I know – Trice and Paul – just celebrated 16 years together. Not 16 years of marriage because they are not allowed by law to marry. I, on the other hand, have been married 3 times. And not to the same person. So, it is better for me, as a heterosexual to be able to marry as many times I as want to while people who obviously are much better at being in a committed relationship than me cannot marry? Why? Because they are of the same sex. It just blows my mind how unfair it is.
It’s preventing you from doing these things in the same way that other Americans are sanctioned by the government to do these things…
Just for the sake of argument, is the government merely saying “no,” or is it actually preventing me from doing these things? If so, how exactly is the government stopping me from sharing my life with someone, making a commitment to them, and publicly proclaiming my love for them before witnesses?