Oh, I vote every chance I get and twice on Sundays. I don't let living in Texas stop me. Texas can change and I reserve the right to bitch loudly that comes with casting my vote.
Hear, Hear!!! It's all about earning the right to bitch! Also, even backwards-ass, baccy-chewin', nose-pickin', bum-scratchin', fascist-votin' states like Texas have hope. When 70% of people between the ages of 18-34, regardless of political or religious affiliation, believe in gay marriage, then you know this fuckery isn't long for the books. I am deeply pessimistic about politics in this country, but this is one issue on which I insist on being an optimist!! And Tennessee can go suck an egg. (Might do'em some good!)
OT, but because it's slow, I personally have a somewhat idiosyncratic view about the whole marriage thing: Of course, as the debate is phrased now, I'm fervently in favor of gay marriage. But that actually doesn't quite capture my true political opinion. I actually think there should be no
state-defined "marriage" but only perfectly equal "civil unions" for all, that carry all the legal privileges of what we now call "marriage." If the wing-nuts want to stomp up and down insisting that their monkey-denyin' church doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, then fine, let 'em. They're also welcome to pack their bags for the rapture tomorrow if they like. If a reactionary bigot wants to marry his reactionary girlfriend, let them go sign the civil union paperwork that guarantees them certain legal rights, and the have their own little fascist ceremony in their "church" and keep my vote and my tax-money out of it. Frankly, the government's current definition of my own marriage is offensive to me--they clearly do not mean the same thing by marriage that I do, so that even though I am technically allowed to "marry," that particular "privilege" is meaningless to me. (I suspect that even were they to extend the definition to same sex couples I would still
mean something different by the term than "they" do.) The legal benefits, however, I appreciate.
I understand that the state has a vested interest in encouraging permanent partnership--studies show this promotes stability and home-ownership and happy children, etc, etc, all things the state wants to encourage. So I recognize that the state should be able to grant certain benefits for permanent partnerships--and they can, for everyone, with civil unions. What they are doing mixing this concept in with anything other than the legal stuff and trying to define what "marriage" means, however, I don't understand. That's just weird to me. That's a confusion of spheres--they don't get to define my spiritual language. It's non of their business. Do they come in and define what "friendship" is? Or "love"? No, of course not.
Similarly, the state has an interest in deciding when a person is legally "of age," for the purposes of voting, or joining the military, or drinking, etc. I'm all in favor of their defining that legal term. But that doesn't mean I want them coming in and saying, okay, confirmation at 15 is okay, but bar-mitzvahs are a tad early for their taste, and Native American naming challenges or ceremonies are just way out of order. What the fuck right does the government have to do that? (And by the way, I'm a big-government kind of gal when it comes to progressive economic policy and the like--I just don't want them ruling on my social values, because then what's to stop them from telling me, for example, that I can't marry a chick?)
I think it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that its citizens have completely fair and equal civil rights and legal protections. But telling me what my marriage means to me (e.g. that it is a special, limited right that I get and others don't, because I'm a special snow-flake and, you know, the sex has to involve one of each kind of part)--that's just kinky and intrusive. GTFO my bedroom, and my mind, govt.
Sorry, long rant which many might disagree with, but I just went off on a tangent reading all your thoughtful comments on the current state of gay rights. Again, to be absolutely clear, of course I'm on team same-sex marriage.
And by the way it's an honor to spend my final hours with you lovely people.
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