Today I finally awoke from my Obama-induced happy state to do some reading about what went down in the US regarding gay rights and the election. It ain't pretty. Check out this article from today's NY Times for more bleak information:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06marriage.html?hp
It's ironic how during this time of great strides in the civil rights movement, there can be so much hate and prejudice against a group of people trying to fight for the same rights that heterosexual Americans enjoy. It makes me so angry that proposition 8 passed in California! I find myself thinking about all those couples who happily got married thinking that now was their chance to experience the same rite of passage that heteros have been experiencing for centuries. Now their dreams are shattered. And overwhelmingly it was black and hispanic voters who voted in favor of Prop 8. The same folks who also have been fighting for their rights want to keep others from being treated equally. I don't understand it.
There are many occasions in Brazil when I find myself comparing things here to how we do them in the US. Usually my comparison is in favor of the US way. But when it comes to marriage, I think that Brazil has the best idea for a system, a system that would solve all of these ridiculous problems about how gay marriage is against many religion's doctrines. Here's how they do it here...
When you get married, you have 2 options. You can get married in a civil ceremony, which means you are legally married and have the rights of a married couple. Or you can get married in the church, which means you are married in the eyes of God. If you choose to marry in a church and want it legally recognized, you have to marry again at the courthouse to have the marriage legally recognized. Of course gay folks don't have the legal right to marry here, but I think the idea is a brilliant one if everyone was included.
Why can't we do that in the US? Then the churches could decide if they want to allow gay marriage or not, and everyone could enjoy the same rights! Simple huh?
Until we get the same rights as others, we have to keep our flag flying at half mast, as a reminder that we are people too, not second class citizens.
4 comments:
Truly a disappointing decision, and as you noted, a confusing one at that!
i agree. why bother with state sanctioned "marriage"? i think we should go civil unions for all. am i missing something??
miss you!
Here's some good news that I thought I'd pass along: "Oregon Town Elects Nation's First Openly Transgender Mayor." Wow!
you missed a 3rd option: you dont have to get married at all and still have all the rights of a married couple. All you have to do is prove, in any way, that you´ve been in a stable relationship for more than 2 yrs. No need for a civil contract. Anyhow, along with labour and child support laws, this is one of the few things good about Brazil. Lucky you, you have the US to go to to get away from this mess over here!
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