Continue to Be Hopeful

Yes, election day was bittersweet in that gay rights saw significant setbacks in several states. But,,,I remain hopeful as I see the gay community rallying for our rights around the country. In fact, tomorrow is a National Day of Protest for gay people around the Nation. Find out what's happening in your location by going to www.jointheimpact.com.

But let's talk about the whole "marriage" thing. Its a thorny issue, with much emotion on either side of it (much of it tied to that one simple little word: marriage). I offer a fairly simple solution though. Why not just separate legal "unions", from religious marriages? Back in my former life, when I married a man, we had to get a marriage certificate and then we got married in a church by a preacher. Why can't everyone (gay or straight) who wants to have a legally binding union, be required to get a marriage certificate which consummates a legal civil union. Then, those who want to be married "in the eyes of God", would go to a clergy person to be "married". Whether or not gay people could get married in a particular church would be up to the people of that church but, any such marriages would not provide any legal rights. Those legal rights would already have been conferred by the civil union.

I'm sure there are a million reasons why this won't work, or isn't acceptable to one group or another. Just seems like a simple solution to me.

Keep Up the Fight, Linda

Yeah!!!!

Well, the people have spoken, and we opted for "hope". President-elect Obama has much to learn and no doubt will soon realize why some things haven't yet been fixed...because they are dang hard to fix. But,,,at least Caribou Barbie has been banished back to the northern tundra!! I am hopeful now that very smart, savvy and talented people like Hillary Clinton and John McCain will work together with Obama to begin to get our country back on track.

What didn't work out so well, was the votes on the gay marriage issue. Arizona, Florida and California all passed amendments to their constitution to ban gay marriage. The backlash in California is the largest and very appropriate. This is a civil rights issue and we need to ensure we are heard. It is time for us to stand together, stand for what is right, and stand up and be counted. Our voices cannot be silenced, we will not just return to the closet. We are law-abiding Americans fighting for our country, paying taxes, and raising children. We want what every other American wants, a safe life for ourselves and our family, freedom to think what we want and strive to better ourselves, and the ability to pursue happiness. It may take us longer than we think, but we will get there.