T O P I C R E V I E W
Heather
Member # 3
posted 10-15-2008 11:53 AM
As I mentioned in the blog the other day when writing about a handful of ballot measures in the US coming up, Prop 8 is a ballot measure in California, for anyone voting there next month (there's also one in Arizona and one in Florida) or who knows anyone voting there next month which seeks to ban gay marriage. Here are some PSAs from some pretty awesome folks on the topic:From Ellen DeGeneres: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/10/prop_8_psa.php (this made me sniffle)From Margaret Cho: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/margaret-cho/vote-no-on-prop-8_b_134482.html And here's' some extra information for you on Prop 8: http://www.noonprop8.com/about
BiGoddess
Member # 23917
posted 10-15-2008 11:33 PM
I found these and some other PSAs the other day, and I'm showing them to my GSA tomorrow. We're also going to a No on Prop 8 rally on Saturday, and I'm going to be putting up signs. You do what you can, yeah?
Heather
Member # 3
posted 10-17-2008 12:08 PM
I'm so glad that you do! (FYI, we have tried to email you a couple of times about modding here, if you're interested. I wouldn't normally mention this in a public post, but users will often change their emails without updating them in their registrations here, so I just want to make sure that we have the right email and that if it is something you have interest in doing, you know we'd be interested in you doing it.)
Heather
Member # 3
posted 10-29-2008 09:23 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/28/tim-gunn-films-psa-for-ab_n_138689.html ...and that's Tim Gunn and Dianne Feinstein on the proposition. (I have to confess that since my move a couple years ago, when a television was brought into our shared space, I am a total Project Runway junkie-head. It is my very guilty pleasure, and I love, love, love Tim Gunn. I want to take him home with me and never let him go.)
Bun Bun
Member # 37353
posted 10-30-2008 12:02 AM
I'm not in the states, so I'm obviously not voting, but I love those ads! It's great too see celebrities putting the message out there because (sometimes unfortunately) that's who people listen to! (Heather, I adore Tim Gunn and Project Runway too!! Whenever my brother mentions his friend Andre, I do my "Andre? What happened to Andre?!" Tim Gunn impression. )
patrickvienna
Member # 29269
posted 11-05-2008 08:07 PM
Gah. Need I say any more? What exactly is the route of appeal against the Prop 8 vote?
Heather
Member # 3
posted 11-05-2008 08:51 PM
Well, don't ax it JUST yet: it still hasn't yet been finally called. However, marriage bans in a couple other states have. Beyond simply still speaking out, I think ultimately what probably needs to happen at this point is for someone to simply get and win a legal case through, federally, which shows up the unconstitutionality of any of these bans (or perhaps of marriage for anyone being part of law altogether), making it impossible for these bans to keep coming up at all. But that's a personal opinion. If you poke around, you'll see a bunch of different ideas about this.
patrickvienna
Member # 29269
posted 11-06-2008 10:51 AM
"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal." Yeah, a federal ruling is what I figured too (I think the Bush administration had decided to leave it to the states for their time in office? Is it possible for the President to make a decree concerning this? Seems like Obama might just if it's in his power. [ 11-06-2008, 10:52 AM: Message edited by: patrickvienna ]
orca
Member # 33665
posted 11-06-2008 11:18 AM
quote: Is it possible for the President to make a decree concerning this? That's a lot more difficult than you think. The President does not have endless amounts of power, certainly not as much as they would have you believe in their campaign promises. This is also an issue of state vs. federal government, something that's been debated about since the country first formed. That's something that was brought up a while back when gay marriage was first discussed, and it was decided that the issue was best left to the states to decide for themselves. The reasoning behind it is many-faceted, including the fact that the federal government does not have the power to regulate marriage in the constitution, and the fact that approval ratings could go down if the federal government made a decision on it, no matter what the decision was, and approval ratings are everything. It certainly could be brought up in court, but you'd have to be careful how you brought it up. Meaning, you'd have to make sure that it was actually an issue that needed to be resolved by the federal government, and that it directly violated the constitution. That's sometimes more tricky than one might believe. Plenty of big cases get turned down because they were just worded poorly, or the lawyers hadn't thought it through carefully enough to consider all the possible arguments against it. So, would it be possible? Yes, but you'd have to make sure you had lawyers that knew what they were doing, ones that had experience in front of the Supreme Court before.
PenguinBoy
Member # 28394
posted 11-08-2008 12:12 PM
[wrong thread] [ 11-08-2008, 12:13 PM: Message edited by: PenguinBoy ]
Heather
Member # 3
posted 11-11-2008 01:10 PM
Just FYI, I got an email from the gay and Lesbian Task Force this morning expressly about what we can do now. Here's the text of it for those interested: quote: I know that right now, many of you are still shocked, saddened, and extremely angry about the passage of Proposition 8 in California — and let me tell you, so are we. Losses on similar constitutional amendments in Arizona and Florida, and an adoption ban in Arkansas, are equally devastating. But we're picking ourselves back up here at the Task Force, and we're continuing the fight. And today I want to ask you to turn the anger you may feel at this moment into positive action. Start by signing your name to our Anger into Action Declaration right now. This declaration is about showing wide public support for the fundamental rights of LGBT people. The latest marriage amendments and adoption ban passed by our fellow citizens are built on lies and deception, and we can't stand for it. But we also refuse to fight lies with lies, or hate with hate. We will not give into our anger, and we will not unfairly lay blame for Prop. 8 passing. Instead, we are committed to channeling our energies into bringing about more positive change. I've said it before, and I will say it again: We will not rest, we will not pause in our fight for equality. Click here to join me in signing the Anger into Action Declaration today . After you've signed, be sure to share with your friends and family, post to your Facebook page, and get the word out. Let us have one strong, undeterred voice declaring: "We will continue the fight for full equality, and we will turn our anger into action starting NOW." Over the last week, we've been hearing from people all over the country who are doing whatever they can to keep No on Prop. 8 alive and stand in solidarity with our movement. After you sign the declaration, think about what you can be doing in your own life to keep the visibility high and voice your support for full equality. Here are a few examples of what people all around the country are doing to keep up the fight. • Cathy and Ellen, married in California after the May 2008 Supreme Court ruling, are attending a rally and march tonight, protesting discrimination being written into our state constitutions. • Madeline in New York is keeping her "No on 8" button up on her Facebook profile, in solidarity with her Californian friends and family. • A straight ally wrote us a moving e-mail, letting us know he and his wife just donated $100 in honor of their six-month-old son — in hopes that, regardless of his sexual orientation, their child would grow up with the opportunity to share his life with the partner of his choice. • Brian is writing a letter to the editor of his local newspaper in Florida, sharing his views on how discrimination persists, even in light of the progress his state saw in the presidential election. There is no action too small, and every action — symbolic or more tangible — makes a difference. I am so proud, despite our losses, of our efforts this election season and continue to be moved by the outpouring of support from our community and our allies. We've called on you, our most loyal supporters, time and time again — to give, to knock on doors, to make phone calls, and to do everything you could to make sure that LGBT people are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to equality, and thank you for taking action by adding your name to our Anger into Action Declaration today. Sincerely, Rea Carey, Executive Director National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund I also read a wonderful letter from Melissa Etheridge the other day , who is very bravely announcing that she will now become a tax resister per her state taxes in California: quote: Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now. Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books. Okay, cool I don't mean to get too personal here but there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We're gay! I am sure there will be a little box on the tax forms now single, married, divorced, gay, check here if you are gay, yeah, that's not so bad. Of course all of the waiters and hairdressers and UPS workers and gym teachers and such, they won't have to pay their taxes either. Gay people are born everyday. You will never legislate that away. Oh and too bad California, I know you were looking forward to the revenue from all of those extra marriages. I guess you will have to find some other way to get out of the budget trouble you are in. …Really? When did it become okay to legislate morality? I try to envision someone reading that legislation "eliminates the right" and then clicking yes. What goes through their mind? Was it the frightening commercial where the little girl comes home and says, "Hi mom, we learned about gays in class today" and then the mother gets that awful worried look and the scary music plays? Do they not know anyone who is gay? If they do, can they look them in the face and say "I believe you do not deserve the same rights as me"? Do they think that their children will never encounter a gay person? Do they think they will never have to explain the 20% of us who are gay and living and working side by side with all the citizens of California? I got news for them, someday your child is going to come home and ask you what a gay person is. Gay people are born everyday. You will never legislate that away. I know when I grew up gay was a bad word. Homo, lezzie, ******, dyke. Ignorance and fear ruled the day. There were so many "thems" back then. The blacks, the poor ... you know, "them". Then there was the immigrants. "Them.” Now the them is me. I tell myself to take a breath, okay take another one, one of the thems made it to the top. Obama has been elected president. This crazy fearful insanity will end soon. This great state and this great country of ours will finally come to the understanding that there is no "them". We are one. We are united. What you do to someone else you do to yourself. That "judge not, lest ye yourself be judged" are truthful words and not Christian rhetoric. Today the gay citizenry of this state will pick themselves up and dust themselves off and do what we have been doing for years. We will get back into it. We love this state, we love this country and we are not going to leave it. Even though we could be married in Mass. or Conn, Canada, Holland, Spain and a handful of other countries, this is our home. This is where we work and play and raise our families. We will not rest until we have the full rights of any other citizen. It is that simple, no fearful vote will ever stop us, that is not the American way. Come to think of it, I should get a federal tax break too...