May 2008 Archives

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A same-sex marriage ban prevents governments and universities in Michigan from providing health insurance to the partners of gay workers, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The 5-2 decision affects up to 20 universities, community colleges, school districts and governments in Michigan with policies covering at least 375 gay couples.

Gay rights advocates said the ruling was devastating but were confident that public-sector employers have successfully rewritten or will revise their benefit plans so same-sex partners can keep getting health care.

The ban, a constitutional amendment approved in November 2004, says the union between a man and woman is the only agreement recognized as a marriage "or similar union for any purpose."

The court ruled that while marriages and domestic partnerships aren't identical, they are similar because they're the only relationships in Michigan defined in terms of gender and lack of a close blood connection.

Voters "hardly could have made their intentions clearer," Justice Stephen Markman wrote, citing the law's "for any purpose" language.

Dissenting Justices Marilyn Kelly and Michael Cavanagh countered that statements made by backers of the measure before the election suggest they only intended to prohibit gay marriage, not take away employment benefits.

The dissent also noted that gay partners who qualify for health care aren't given other benefits of marriage — equal rights to property, for instance. [...]

At least 27 states have passed constitutional bans, mostly since 2004 in response to gay marriages being performed in Massachusetts. At least 18 of those states, including Michigan, have broader amendments that also prohibit the recognition of civil unions or same-sex partnerships.

"It's a sad day in Michigan when we decide which children and which families are valuable enough to cover," said Tom Patrick, 50, who gets health insurance through his partner, Dennis Patrick, a professor at Eastern Michigan University. (source)

Well.............................

It's been awhile since I felt the urge to write about "marriage equality". But I felt that this was at least worth a mention because of how nasty it is. I've distanced myself from this fight considerably. Not because of all the energy it takes out of me, but because I'm so extremely disappointed in the majority of people in this nation. I mean, what kind of nation separates out one specific group of people for this kind of scrutiny. Yes, I know... we have done it before with other groups. But don't we ever learn?

To the gay couples in Michigan who are losing their health benefits because of the sanctimonious self righteous bastards who passed the so-called marriage protection amendment, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you live in a state populated by people who can let this happen to supposedly "protect marriage", while many of them are out getting divorces and what not.

I honestly think that if this happened in Connecticut and one of us lost our health benefits because of this, I think we would start looking for another place to live. Losing your health benefit coverage is no small deal. You can talk to me all day long about how you want to protect marriage from the likes of me, but when you start taking that to the level of cutting people off from health coverage... well, it becomes quite personal.

I say leave the state. They've made their point. For the people who want to stay and put up the fight for change, my hat is off to you. I just hope that you are young and in good health, because with the cost of medical care these days, you are playing a dangerous game.

In a larger sense, this is a black eye on the state of Michigan. I'm sure that the state will lose people because of this, and those who are considering jobs at one of the universities or state agencies there will think twice before agreeing to have no access to medical benefits for their partners.

I suppose everything equals out in the end.

I usually take a two mile walk around Founders Plaza, in East Hartford where I work. I do this around noon. But today, when I got to work around 7 a.m., the air was so fresh and clean, that I decided to put on my head phones, grab my camera, and take my walk then (I also took one at noon). These are just a few of the things I came across.

The first is simply the path I took this morning, followed by a flowering dogwood tree, and some leaves.

I love Spring!

Now I know I've changed a great deal. I received what I would call a rather hate-filled comment last night from, you guessed it, a religious conservative. It was from an older entry. It's not new. Every once in awhile I will get them. What is new is that I no longer engage them. I read the comment, and let her go on and on about what a pervert I am, etc.... and I then hit the delete button. That's what has changed.

A couple of years ago, I would have posted the comment, then responded to the comment. But I've learned a few things. One, she's not open to hearing about what I have to say. She's made up her mind. Two, it's no longer worth the effort for me to acknowledge or react to her comment. What was really interesting is that I read it without emotional reaction. Sometimes, you have to compare yourself to a couple of years back to realize the change in yourself. At any rate, I'm happy with the change. If anything, I feel sorry for people who are so filled with anger (I used to be one of them) that they miss life. You can spend your whole life fighting and fighting and fighting, and be left looking back on your life and all the energy you spent fighting. I'm not saying there aren't things worth fighting for, but you have to balance it.

For ever bit of energy you put into something, something else in your life will not receive that energy. So I pick my battles. I've spent my fair share marching for one cause or another and doing my due diligence in making the world a better place. It's time for others to take up the cause. As Cher would say, "I'm BUZY!".

And right now, on this rather dreary day on Saturday (misting outside), I'm sitting in my lazy chair upstairs listening to my iPod on my new Bose speakers that I bought this morning. They sound like a concert hall. And downstairs, I have some whole wheat sourdough bread rising in the oven. With a little luck, the whole house will soon smell of freshly baked bread. I love that smell.

I started playing violin again. God, it's awful. My cats always go downstairs when I practice my scales. I can't blame them. I sound almost like a beginner. I wonder if I should just stop. It feels so foreign to me. I'm trying to be patient.

I was going to go back to Idaho for a visit the first week in July. I would be there over the 4th, but that's not working out so well. Everyone has plans of course. It's just that, on July 4, 1968, my nephews passed away. So, this Fourth of July marks the 40th anniversary of their death. I wanted to be there. But it won't work out. I'll probably go in late June, or mid July.

Guess that's it for now. I'm off to work on scales.