First, thank you so much to everyone for your responses to my last post. It was great to hear what everyone's gone through and I got some great suggestions. I'll definitely be talking more to Vee and Jay about a Bloglines account :) I'm having some problems posting links, although I think that it's more my laptop right now then Blogger. However, I read this article this morning, and it shocked me, but didnt shock me.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081219/ap_on_re_us/un_gay_rights
Please take a moment to read it, or any related article. I'm sure at this point in political time, there will be several articles out there on it. I'll be reading more a bit later. At first I was shocked that the US, such a 'progressive' nation as it were, refused to sign this. Then, as I read on, I thought, "Oh, ok, that's smart, make sure all of your legal ducks are in a row before you sign it". Then, I finished reading it and figured something out. They dont want to give Gays and Lesbians blanket civil rights in our country. Right now, each state has the right to decide these things on their own. If the US publicly decried worldwide discrimination against us, they would in essence, be forcing many states hands. They would definitely be forcing someone's hand at the Federal level.
While I'm bothered to the point of considering another country for the moment, it really says a lot. In the first moment, it spoke to me about all of the things that the last election said to us. Living in California, my shock level is sensitive right now. The US. We're supposed to be a forward moving everyone has rights nation, and we refuse to sign.
California. Supposedly one of the most progressive, liberal states in the country, and they want to take away my right to marry. In 2008.
Florida. They dont want us to have any rights. They dont want us to marry. They dont want us to adopt children. We're good enough to care for them, but dont let us form an official Family. I wont even mention the other states. Is our country moving backwards?
I know that a good number of people dont like the comparison of the African American civil rights movement to the Gay and Lesbian Rights movement. But arent civil rights, just that, Civil Rights? Basic human rights being denied to a group of people. A group of people. I also know many people however, who feel it's a group of people being denied in exactly the same manner. Does that mean that we're 40 or 50 yrs out of having safety and security for our Family's? Because this cant be 2008 can it?
Not only have we been slapped in the face over the last couple of months by states that some of us live in, but now, we're being told by the country we live in, one thing. You may live in a state where you have rights, but we still dont think that you have the right to travel freely amidst your own country with those rights. Neither will you live your life authentically while defending us. However, you are still free to give your life for us should you choose to do so.
A quick note on that. I was out and gay while I was in the Marine Corps, and my unit loved me because of my work ethic and who I was. They really could have given a crap less about who I was in a relationship with.
So, this is my initial rant and reaction to this issue. Has anyone else read about this or seen anything different? I hope that everyone's well and ready for Christmas/Hanukah or just the Holiday season in general :)
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