Same Sex Marriage

[Lonewolf76]

Hi All,
I am at a point in my life where I have extra time to give back to the community and help make a difference. I have numerous friends who are discriminated against because they are gay and being Bisexual myself and currently in a relationship with a man - I came to the realization that this affects Bisexuals as well as I would face the exact same discrimination if I chose to marry him. I would like to invest my free time in being an activist to get a federal proposition going in Washington to legalize same sex marriages in all fifty states and stop the discrimination. Here's my dilemma - I have never been politically active before and wouldn't know where to begin to give assistance to push things forward. Does anyone out there have experience with activism or suggestions of who I would talk to. I am a writer and very good with pen and paper and a pretty good public speaker - I would love to give those talents to a good cause and make a difference. Can anybody help??? Thanks! LW

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

You have a very good heart and mind Wolfie, and I think you'd do well in this arena. ;)

My suggestion would be to go to your towns Mayor or someone in a political circle, and talk to him/her about how to go about this kind of a thing, and see what they'd suggest. If you live in a small town like I did, talking to the mayor wouldnt be a difficult thing. Ask them how to begin and see what you can do from there. ;}
Uhmm just dont ask anyone ta kiss EEgore as part of your campaign and you'll be fine. :eek: (I can see Rissa shivering from clear over here.) LMAO

Go for it Darlin, and I have every confidance that you'll do well. :}
Kisses,
Cat

[rissababynta]

You have a very good heart and mind Wolfie, and I think you'd do well in this arena. ;)

My suggestion would be to go to your towns Mayor or someone in a political circle, and talk to him/her about how to go about this kind of a thing, and see what they'd suggest. If you live in a small town like I did, talking to the mayor wouldnt be a difficult thing. Ask them how to begin and see what you can do from there. ;}
Uhmm just dont ask anyone ta kiss EEgore as part of your campaign and you'll be fine. :eek: (I can see Rissa shivering from clear over here.) LMAO

Go for it Darlin, and I have every confidance that you'll do well. :}
Kisses,
Cat

*twitches*

[12voltman59]

I would suggest starting with your local GLBT center or organizations----they are already no doubt working on this and can "plug you in" with those already working in this area.

Good for you---I feel like I need to get involved in this area too---as I have often said before---this issue needs to be "fought" from the perspective of allowing "gay" people the right to same-sex "marriage" is a fundamental human and civil rights issue and to also use facts and reason to counter all of the stupid myths the fundies say about "gay marriage" such as "My God--if you allow gays to marry--that will mean that people can marry their dogs or cats or a dead body!!"

Of course--it is hard to fight idiocy with reason since I am afraid to say---so many people are pretty fracking stupid and far too often tend to accept the mindless drivel that gets put out there by this crowd.

I wish you the best in this!!

[Lonewolf76]

Thanks all! I loved the comments. Cat - you are such a sweetheart - thanks for the inspiration and RELAX Rissa - EEEEEgie doesn't travel well - he'll be staying with his mama chasing off solicitors - so stop shivering. I also just realized I passed 200 posts in 3 months - guess I'm a thread slut as well! LMAO.. Hugs all ==== LW

[Holmes]

Hey remeber it was alittle less than 40 years ago that the same arguments were used for inter racial dating.Arguments like then they will want to marry children, pets, etc. And btw ithere are laws on the books that prohibt you from marrying your horse if it's not 2 years old so the marrying your pet argument is null and void since it appears to be allowed under certain conditions. Face it Britney Spears, Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Lopez andevery reality show that offers to find your next fiance is a bigger threat to the sancity of marriage. 48 hour marriages? Star Trek Star Wars marriage? WTF where is the sancity in that . Enough from me I say let 2 men or 2 women get hitched the lawyers will make money hand over fist if the stats hold true and it will pump the economy . So kiss up everyone and enjoy

[GreenEyedLady(GEL)]

Wolf ,

Feel free to start in Michigan ! :female:+:female: = marriage

Good luck ;-)

[evilpanda]

Good luck with your grass roots efforts. when the prop 8 decision was passed, my reaction was to grab my camera and record all the protests while i joined in with my friends from Star Trek. i haven't done anything with the footage yet, but i will.

we can always take comfort and encouragement in the fact that we are clearly now on the right side of history. as the evangelical movement begins its death rattle and the older generation with their antiquated views on human sexuality dies off, we will be the genie that can never be put back in its bottle.

AIDS didn't destroy us, 9/11 didn't convert us, Bush didn't defeat us. There is nothing left in the Right Wing's arsenal that will slow progress and their brand of prejudice will be as obsolete as blackface.
:soapbox:

[bityme]

Hi All,
I would like to invest my free time in being an activist to get a federal proposition going in Washington to legalize same sex marriages in all fifty states and stop the discrimination. LW

Unfortunately, at the federal level, there is not a method of changing the law, or the constitution, through a proposition process. It requires either a constitutional convention or a proposal by Congress. Only the states have various proposition processes.

Start at your state level.

[jem_is_bi]

Wolf ,

Feel free to start in Michigan ! :female:+:female: = marriage

Good luck ;-)

Wrong sex symbols for me!
Otherwise I agree.
In Michigan, I am not happy that I cannot get the same benefits for my partner as married people. That makes me mad.
However, I do not need marriage. Rather, my partner and I need legal recognition instead of moral indignation crap.
BUT, I definitely would not want to put it to a vote in this anti-gay/bisexual state for fear of worse anti-gay/bisexual backlash legislation. We lost legal rights in Michigan on a referendum vote because of what happened in Massachusetts. Further, I do not have any hope for improvement until the majority of heterosexuals do not feel their family threatened by us as neighbors nor morally offended by our sexual activity.

However, I have no good idea on how to get the majority of heterosexuals to appreciate us as no different than them (even my own family).

[Lonewolf76]

Good luck with your grass roots efforts. when the prop 8 decision was passed, my reaction was to grab my camera and record all the protests while i joined in with my friends from Star Trek. i haven't done anything with the footage yet, but i will.

we can always take comfort and encouragement in the fact that we are clearly now on the right side of history. as the evangelical movement begins its death rattle and the older generation with their antiquated views on human sexuality dies off, we will be the genie that can never be put back in its bottle.

AIDS didn't destroy us, 9/11 didn't convert us, Bush didn't defeat us. There is nothing left in the Right Wing's arsenal that will slow progress and their brand of prejudice will be as obsolete as blackface.
:soapbox:

Evilpanda - Thanks for that post - it's uplifting. I feel EXACTLY that way. It may be David -versus- Goliath - but - we all know how that one turned out!! I know that I'll have a lot to learn in the process of things - but that's progress and growth. I know that its the RIGHT thing to do and sometimes small grass root movements can turn into a Tsunami of change! Thanks for your well written words! LW

[evilpanda]

Evilpanda - Thanks for that post - it's uplifting. I feel EXACTLY that way. It may be David -versus- Goliath - but - we all know how that one turned out!! I know that I'll have a lot to learn in the process of things - but that's progress and growth. I know that its the RIGHT thing to do and sometimes small grass root movements can turn into a Tsunami of change! Thanks for your well written words! LW

you're welcome. it's an important issue to me.

[mistymockingbird]

A friend of mine and I started a grassroots campaign, Postcards to the President (http://www.postcardstothepresident.com), working toward the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. The idea is to spend 2009 flooding the white house with postcards urging for the repeal of DOMA. We're only a few months into our movement but have already sent more than 2000 postcards to the white house and have events happening or being planned in 17 states.

Is this the best way to change legislation? Probably not. What we are doing though is creating a voice. And that is what matters. I get emails every day from all over this country telling me how important this work is and that's what keeps me doing it. I've even received emails from Canada and S. Africa. It's pretty amazing.

We're always on the lookout for help with our cause. We've just started the process of applying for 501(c)(3) status with longer term goals centered around LGBT equality. Check out our website and drop me a line if you're interested in lending a hand.

[Long Duck Dong]

ok..... first things first..... you are not fighting for legalised gay marriage.... you are fighting for non labelled marriage rights for all

thats the key... if you come at it from a side angle group.... then you are coming at it from a biased point of view

in nz, during the fight for the civil union bill... a number of churchs put aside their religion / biblical views and stated that they were supporting the rights of ALL nz'ers to have the rights to marriage, / civil union, as all people deserved the right to be married, regardless of gender / sexual orientation

they stood true to the teachings of the bible, which is that we all are gods children, it is for god alone to judge us all.....and no I am not a christian...

if you fight from a lgbt point of stance.... you are fighting for lgbt people..... but if you stand up and say we are fighting for the equal rights of all people to have the right to marriage,... you limit the opposition to their biased views and they will reveal their own biased by saying that they oppose gay marriage cos of their view.... and that is dangerous for them.... as they are saying that they do not speak for the country, but by their own personal biased and dislike of people that they represent as members of the state governing body

[goldenfinger]

Maybe you can do some research on how things have gone across the pond, same sex marriages is legal in many EU countries, maybe some data from there can help you.I can tell you about Denmark,,,homosexuality legalized 1933,,,porno 1969, love that year,,same sex marriage legalized 1989.The church has very little power,if any at all.
Just an idea. Good luck.

[evilpanda]

it's embarrassing that the united states under bush did not support the united nations initiative for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality. we openly sided with the 'islamofascist' countries on that one. south africa (you know, the country that used to have apartheid) got marriage equality before america, for which americans should be ashamed.

the church/republican party: building a bridge to the 11th century.

[FalconAngel]

it's embarrassing that the united states under bush did not support the united nations initiative for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality. we openly sided with the 'islamofascist' countries on that one. south africa (you know, the country that used to have apartheid) got marriage equality before america, for which americans should be ashamed.

the church/republican party: building a bridge to the 11th century.

You give them way too much credit. They build bridges to the 8th century.

The big issue is that they fail to recognize that marriage, in this country can be either religious, civil, or both.

Most people do either civil or both.

I wrote a treatise on this subject in another forum (different site) and repeatedly had to point out that, being a secular, not Christian, nation that we have no obligation for our laws to toe the line of church doctrine.

Our own 14th amendment makes no distinction of race, religion, gender, sexuality or nation of origin when it states in section 1 that;

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

These are fundamental rights that were established when this nation was founded.

If these fundamentalist (we put the mental in fundamental) Christians want to live a certain way, then they should, but they violate everyone's constitutional rights when they force their views and way of life on others.

They think that Gay marriage will force the "Gay lifestyle" on them, but then, there were a lot of folks that used a near identical argument when they legalized blacks getting married (late 1800's) and then again when they legalized inter-racial marriage (late 1950's).

And you are right; it does not speak well of a nation that decries liberty, but still denies it to others when a nation that had apartheid embraces that which this free nation denies to it's own people.

[Lonewolf76]

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! I really appreciate all of the input.

EvilPanda! - I am with you brother - I hear you loud and clear. Mistymockingbird - I will definitely be contacting you to help. Long Duck - thank you for your insight and wisdom - you are right on with that approach!
Goldenfinger - I will indeed be researching EU countries laws and approach - If it worked there - it may with tweaking work here. One doesn't know if one doesn't look. And last - but certainly not least - Falconangel - as always - I love your insight - Your words sound like they could be the basis for a fine public speech at a rally. I may plagarize!!! LOL Thanks to all - you are super!
LW

[goldenfinger]

Try Google same sex marriage in the EU
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_European_Union
There is plenty of links.
Good luck.

[Lonewolf76]

Try Google same sex marriage in the EU
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_European_Union
There is plenty of links.
Good luck.

Many thanks & Blessings upon you - Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

[FalconAngel]

- Falconangel - as always - I love your insight - Your words sound like they could be the basis for a fine public speech at a rally. I may plagarize!!! LOL Thanks to all - you are super!
LW

If you need a speach written, I am there for you. And you are welcome to plagarize what I have written here. Most of it is in the Constitution and it's amendments, so I kind of plagarized them myself.:bigrin:

[AshMash]

it would be awesome if you really accomplished this!! :) you have support.. n e thing you need or that i can do.. let me know!

<3

[PaulWaul]

it would be awesome if you really accomplished this!! :) you have support.. n e thing you need or that i can do.. let me know!

<3

Me too, I'll help in any way that I can.

[FalconAngel]

Here's a little video that I found on Utube that may help lighten the load.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy-PBEFxZPE&feature=related

Enjoy the sarcasm as they drive the knife into the heart of the "Defense of Marriage" lie.

[goldenfinger]

http://atheism.about.com/od/gaymarriage/a/MarriageDefinit.htm
http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/ATLAS_EN/html/history_of_marriage_in_western.html

[FalconAngel]

Great links, Golden. Very informative.