I’m guilty of this myself.
For those of you not in Washington state, let me bring you up to speed: Recently, our governor passed an “Everything but Marriage” bill. It gave registered gay and lesbian couples the same rights as married couples, and was literally everything but the word marriage. Awesome, good for us, we rock.
Before the governor could finished her signature, anti-gay marriage protesters were already gathering their own signatures towards a referendum against the bill. They needed some 120,000 signatures in order for it to be effective. Considering how quickly and easily “Everything but Marriage” passed through the house, and the fact that the majority of WA voters (77%) believe that same-sex couples should get the same rights as hetero ones, we laughed, thinking there wasn’t a chance they could get that much support in 90 days.
They got 10,000+ more than they needed. FML.
I don’t know about you, but this is getting annoying. I’m not much of a political activist, but that’s going to have to change. This 2 steps forward, 3 steps back dance that keeps happening (see: Prop 8 ) is getting exhausting, and I really have no one to blame but myself. Having been constantly surrounded by open-minded, educated, compassionate people, I always thought this sort of thing would just happen. But the fact that these bigots are getting enough support from 137,000 other like-minded bigots is just ridiculous. It’s actually fucking infuriating.
SO I’m taking a pledge right here on this website, this canvas, this public space of mine: no more watching on the sidelines. Surely, I can use whatever talents and skills that I have for a greater good. Hundreds and thousands and millions of “fans” aren’t going to do a whole lot if most of them don’t make a personal, extroverted effort. (The mostly-online organized march a week after Prop Eight is not being forgotten. That was a great effort, and more things like that need to happen.) We need face-to-face contact, letters, stories, anything to show that this isn’t an option, but a necessity.
Have your faith, your beliefs, your morals, your fears. Let me have my rights.
Anyone care to join me?
One small problem. Alot of gay people, especially older ones, don’t WANT to get involved. They just want to live their lives wihtout any drama. My Mother and her partner are perfect examples. They have been discriminated in their respective workplaces, but wont do anything aobut it so they dont draw attention to themselves. I personally am a big fan of standing up for yourself, but just living your life and doing your best to end stereotypes through action, other than just bitching about the current state of things. Not saying I won’t be active in spurring the gay culture to change the minds of those who opose equality. If ya find anything on my side of the states, or wanna start anything you know my facebook
Where can I sign?
You’re completely right. This whole ‘dance of marriage’ is getting comepletely out of hand. If people really believe that this is what is bringing our society down, then they really need to look at the person in the mirror and ask what is really important to them; interfering with someone else’s life, or figuring out that it won’t affect them in anyway.
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