I suck at debating about politics. I suck at writing about politics, too. I freely admit this. I tend to get red-faced and people tell me that I’m yelling whenever the subject of politics comes up. When I write on the subject I tend to write irrational things. My synapses don’t connect well enough for me to convey my words and they end up sounding half-baked and idiotic.
That being said, what the fuck is wrong with you people in North Carolina?
For those that don’t follow the news, yesterday the fine citizens of North Carolina voted an amendment to their constitution banning same sex marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships. In laymen’s terms, it is now illegal to marry someone of the same sex in North Carolina but it is still perfectly legal to marry your first cousin, as long as it’s not your gay first cousin. This new amendment passed by around 70%. The hopes of thousands of loving gay couples across the state are now dashed and they can not affirm their loving commitment to one another because a bunch of bigots voted on their equality. One has to remember that until 1971, North Carolina had a law on the books banning interracial marriage.
I’m really disappointed by this turn of events in the fight for equality but there’s a part of me that isn’t surprised. This is where the irrational words come to mind. I want to write things like “and their BBQ sucks!” and “I can’t wait to see what the hurricanes do to the god fearing citizens down there.” But other than childish outbursts of emotion, these words really serve no purpose, though I must admit that I am happy that I wrote them down. I am still a kid at heart, I guess.
I guess it just bothers me that this thing is still such a hot topic, still up for debate and that people still have their head shoved so far up a collective ass that they feel they need to spread such hate through legislation. That is what they’re doing, you know. They’re legislating hate. They are trying to redefine love to a very small definition. These folks don’t have the ability to think for themselves, so they cherry pick a few verses out of a very old book, spin them to their liking and then decree that everyone must follow this watered down formula. I think one of the greatest gifts from God is free will. It’s a shame that so few choose to use it.
I know that one of the happiest moments in my life was walking into the banquet room on October 13, 2011 and seeing all the love and support from our families and friends as Earl and I prepared to take a marital vows. That was love, right there, in that moment. It was love between Earl and me, it was love from our family and friends. I’ve mentioned a few times that I didn’t think that getting legally married would make a difference in my life, after all, Earl and I had been together for over 15 years at the time, but the truth of the matter is, it means a great deal to me to introduce Earl as my husband. When Earl was in Urgent Care a few months ago, I couldn’t get in to see him until I told the desk attendant that we were married. I can’t fathom being denied access to my soul mate when he is in need, simply because someone decided that we can’t be married. For this, I am grateful that we live in the Empire State. If someone were to take this right away from us, we would look to relocate elsewhere.
I said that I’m not good at debating and I’m not good at writing about politics. I know that when I woke up this morning and saw the vote results, I wanted to stay in bed and pull the covers over my head. Though it has absolutely no bearing on my marriage, it affects thousands of couples just like us. And that makes me very sad. It makes me fearful for the direction of our society. It makes me realise that there are many that a desperately trying to go backwards in time, to a place that never really existed.
The growing fight to move forward continues.
