General: April 2007 Archives

Edwards is making a push for gay support in the competitive Democratic presidential primary. In February, he came out in support of legislation that would end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prevents people who are openly gay from serving in the military. (source)

That’s nice. As for marriage equality....

Question: You oppose gay marriage?

EDWARDS: I do. But I believe that this is an issue that ought to be decided in the states. I think the federal government should honor whatever decision is made by the states. I would not support the Defense of Marriage Act today, if there were a vote today.

Question: You would not vote for it?

EDWARDS: I would not. I would not for a very simple reason. There’s a part of it that I agree with, and there’s a part of it I disagree with. The Defense of Marriage Act specifically said that the federal government is not required to recognize gay marriage even if a state chooses to do so. I disagree with that. I think states should be allowed to make that decision. And the federal government shouldn’t do it. The part I agree with is the states should not be required to recognize marriages from other states. That’s already in the law, by the way, without DOMA. The law today does not require one state to recognize the marriage of another state. - Source: Democratic 2004 primary debate at USC Feb 26, 2004

As a gay man, I’m so sick and tired of these wimpy politicians wanting it both ways. They throw us a bread crumb to solicit our help in putting their hypocritical asses into office, and then turn around (in a different speech of course) and say that they are against the protections for our families. Today, would they dare to that for interracial marriages? Of course not, because that is now accepted. Backbone is what I’m looking for here.

On another recent occasion, Edwards was once again asked if he was for marriage equality for gay couples. He summed it up perfectly by simply saying, “That’s a reach for me.”

Well, I can live with that Mr. Edwards (and I do, everyday). So I’m sure you will understand that it is a “reach for me” to support you. And to be fair to his fellow hypocrites, neither Hillary or Obama supports equality either. And each of them fall under the same category as Edwards.

Despite this, Edwards has a lot of support from many in the gay community, as does Hillary and Obama.

Skip Paul, Corporate Executive Darren Star, TV Producer
Julie Johnson, Human Rights Campaign Public Policy Committee Co-Chair
Eric Stern, Former National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director; Former Democratic National Committee LGBT Outreach Director
David Mixner, Former Bill Clinton for President Adviser; LGBT activist, fundraiser, author www.davidmixner.com
Dennis Erdman, TV Producer/ Director
Mary Snider, Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors Executive Committee Member
David Tseng, Kerry-Edwards 2004 National LGBT Advisory Committee Co-Chair; Former Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National Executive Director
David Mariner, Former Out for Howard Dean Co-Chair; Founder, www.outfordemocracy.org
James Duff, TV Producer
Ramon Gardenhire, National Stonewall Democrats Black Caucus Co-Chair; Former DNC LGBT Deputy Outreach Director
Scott Benson, Majority Leader Minneapolis City Council
Shane Larson, AFL-CIO Pride @ Work National Executive Board Member; Association of Flight Attendants (AFA)-Communications Workers of America (CWA) Government Affairs Director
Scott Wiener, Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors Member; San Francisco Democratic Party Chair* (for identification purposes only)
Jeff Gardner, Garden State Equality Vice Chair; New Jersey for Democracy Co-Chair
Lynne Wiggins, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) National Leadership Council Member; Former Human Rights Campaign Board of Governors Member
Ken Keechl, Broward County Commissioner; Former Dolphin Democrats President
Linda Elliott, Human Rights Committee Board of Directors Member
Dave Garrity, Former Democratic National Committee Member
Mark Periello, Former Human Rights Campaign staff member; Democratic strategist
Ron Ginsburg, LGBT Community Activist; business owner
Randall Kelly, LGBT Community Activist; attorney
Stephanie Kornegay, LGBT Community Activist; business owner
Robert D. Horvath, Mautner Project Board of Directors Member
Patrick J. Lyden, LGBT Community Activist; Homeland Security Advisor

Source

You get the idea. I guess I just keep wondering, when are we going to stop accepting our place in society as second best and demand equality from the people who want our support?

This is in response to yesterday’s post entitled Morning Thought. I was going to respond to a comment left on the item, but then realized that it was turning into a full entry in itself.

On the comment left by Dave (and thank you Dave for the comment! :) ), he said, “Until God is taken out of the argument about basic human rights, there will always be a place for hatred and irrational persecution in the name of God.”

Dave, you are absolutely right. I was only trying to address the issue of “tolerance” versus “acceptance”. I’m tired of being “tolerated”, and I really don’t have time of day for people who “tolerate” me. If they see me on an absolutely equal footing with them, then they have “accepted” me.

On the religion issue, there will always be people around who use religion and God as an excuse to hate certain minorities. There’s really nothing I or anyone else can do about that. 9/11 was carried out, after all, for religious reasons.

I’ve come to a place in my life where I no longer care what people like this think. I do care about the actions that come out of the message that they send espousing hate in the name of God (gay bashings). But I see these crimes being prosecuted more and more with more appropriate sentences.

I realize that so many issues facing our community are driven by religion...

...we are denied equality in the name of religion
...people commit horrible crimes against us in the name of religion. In some places in the world, that means DEATH.

Yet, I try to believe in a right (in this country at least) for people to practice their religion. Some of us believe in God, and some do not. And what so many Americans still fail to understand is the fact that just because they have a right to believe in their God, does not give them the right to make the lives of people like me more difficult because of those laws.

This is extremely clear to me when I go to a hearing at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. This year, we are, for the first time since civil unions were passed in Connecticut two years ago, trying to pass a bill that would allow gay couples to get married. And all through the hearings were speeches about God, religion, and the Bible. People were even quoting scripture at the hearings.

Now, I understand that these were open and public hearings, but one fact seems to elude people. We are talking about civil marriage here - NOT religious marriage. It is even part of the civil union bill that no religion would be required to perform a “gay wedding”. Therefore, all this religious talk in a civil discourse over equality under the law is absolute nonsense. It has no place in the argument. This application of religion when weighing the merits of a public bill violates the very nature and spirit of the separation of church and state.

Yet, no one sees that. It’s not as if people talking at the hearings are ignorant to this fact. They are after all, speaking directly to the legislators that we elect to represent us. And yet, my legislator would not even meet with me. He’s not interested in a) hearing what a gay man has to say and b) not interested in meeting a gay man.

So, I suppose, using his terminology, he can “go to Hell.”

As long as we allow religion into state and federal politics, these things will happen. And they’ve been happening for many years from the time that we introduced “under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance to placing monuments of the Ten Commandments into public parks. In a public school, speaking to school children, “under God” has no place being in the Pledge of Allegiance. The same goes for all the Ten Commandment monuments adorning our public parks. Take them out!

Keep your God and your religion where it belongs: IN A CHURCH!