This is an issue that I've thought a lot about in the last year. I have lots of gay friends and I am also one of those people who is pretty much anti-marriage in a lot of ways. I don't like the idea of being "owned," or of having the state certify my right to co-exist with another human being, or interfere in my personal sex life with intrusive legislation. It's no one's business but the two people involved. As long as it by mutual consent, it is no one's business what they do to and with each other. Period.I also have many times felt my heart tug with sadness when my gay friends that are so clearly in love with each other, have no right to even hold hands in public without fear of bigotry and intolerance being directed at them. We heterosexuals don't even think about this, it is so much our right to do so. And yet, there are so many people right among us who can't even do this simple act of belongingness with each other.
I also went through that horrible period of time when so many of my friends died of AIDS and what made it even worse was that very often their life partners were not allowed to be with them because they weren't "legal" family members. This is so wrong, so heartbreaking, so cruel. For no other reason then this, I feel gay people should be allowed to marry with all the benefits and legal protections any other person in this country has to right to do.
For those of you who think this would require a separate amendment or new legislation, you are wrong. All it would require is removing the word "gay" from the discussion and make it marriage between two people as the law already stands. The definition of between "man and woman" is not the law. It is a religious tenet that should only apply to people who are members of that particular sect or cult. Personal religious beliefs are just that...personal. They should never be universally forced on people. That is quite simply UN-American.
I'm old enough to remember what it was like having all my accomplishments preceded by the word "female." It made me more sensitive to such adjectives. I fought for my right to be a poet and not a female poet, a web designer and not a female web designer, a human being and not a female human being. It always felt as if I was being demeaned to have my accomplishments adjectivized.
I also see this as just another Karl Rove hate tactic to divide people just in time for the election. If nothing else, that evil bastard has proven that the way to win is to divide us against each other. Those who jump on the anti-gay marriage crap he is spewing only feed the fires of his politics of mean. Don't fall for it again. We are better than that.
I wanted to make a design that took all this into account and yet wasn't mean or angry or hostile and I came up with the one at the top of the page. If you would like to buy it on t-shirts, mousepads, coffee mugs, and lots of other things, then do visit my store. My designs mostly focus on Peace, Pets, Pagans, and Politics. I really believe that art can change the world and that the first changes often are found on t-shirts. Come be part of this change. Enter the world of Ursine Logic
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