Political Activism at Work...
Oct. 23rd, 2004 11:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI thought I'd share a little good news, after reading ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
superplin entry on the sexuality.
A while back - when the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages was first proposed, I joined others online and wrote my Congressmen and Women, as well as Senators - stating my opposition on this measure.
A week or so later I received a letter from my Congress Woman, informing me that she agreed with my stance and was working hard to protect the rights of gays and lesbians in our country. First off, I'm as straight as you can get. Sexuality is a personal and private thing to me, which I rarely talk about here for that reason. Who you choose to love is your business. Who you choose to marry is yours. Anyone who decides to dictate this - is blatantly and fundamentally wrong. It's not a gray issue. They are wrong. By the way did you know that the first people to have their rights stripped from them, and be put to death in Nazi Germany were homosexuals? And the reason given was pretty much the same one organized religions give now. Think about that one for a moment.
At any rate, that correspondence originally took place way back in February I think. On October 3, I received an update from my Congress Woman, informing me that the ban, otherwise known as HJ Res 106 was defeated by a vote of 227-186, well short of the two-thirds majority necessary to adopt the measure. With the letter, she enclosed a copy of the short statement she made in opposition to the bill which I've reproduced in part below...
Her letter and this statement gave me hope. Just like the under-dog, cursed Red Sox winning this week oddly gave me hope. I think things are changing.
Mr. Speaker: Today we are voting on a consititutional amendment to ban gay marriages. And there are many reasons to oppose this bill:
That it is a diversion from the urgent issues facing our nation. That today's vote is a cheap election-year tactic of the Republican leadership to rally its right-wing base. That we should respect state rights and the principles of federalism - which Republicans continue to conveniently ignore to suit their political purposes.
Mr. Speaker, each of these concerns is a compelling reason to oppose this measure. But I want to make this perfectly clear - this bill should be defeated because it is wrong, it is discriminatory, and it is unamerican.
Our democracy was founded on the fundamental priniciples of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Not the right to a full life depending on with whom you wish to build a family. Not liberty for all - unless the religious right disapproves. Not the pursuit of happiness - as long as it doesn't cost Members of Congress some political capital.
Mr. Speaker, how can we export democracy across the globe, when we are abandoning its fundamental principles here at home?
Writing discrimination into our constitution will do nothing to protect marriage. But it will taint this sacred document and sacrifice state rights based on certain ideological beliefs - which are changing and becoming more tolerant with each passing day.
America is at its strongest when the rights and well-being of all families are protected. Lesbian and Gay Americans deserve the same opportunities, benefits, and responsibilities as all America families - including the right to marry.
I urge my colleagues oppose this misguided, mean-spirited bill, and yeild back the balance of my time.
Ignore my words above, she says it better in some ways than I did.
superplin entry on the sexuality.A while back - when the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages was first proposed, I joined others online and wrote my Congressmen and Women, as well as Senators - stating my opposition on this measure.
A week or so later I received a letter from my Congress Woman, informing me that she agreed with my stance and was working hard to protect the rights of gays and lesbians in our country. First off, I'm as straight as you can get. Sexuality is a personal and private thing to me, which I rarely talk about here for that reason. Who you choose to love is your business. Who you choose to marry is yours. Anyone who decides to dictate this - is blatantly and fundamentally wrong. It's not a gray issue. They are wrong. By the way did you know that the first people to have their rights stripped from them, and be put to death in Nazi Germany were homosexuals? And the reason given was pretty much the same one organized religions give now. Think about that one for a moment.
At any rate, that correspondence originally took place way back in February I think. On October 3, I received an update from my Congress Woman, informing me that the ban, otherwise known as HJ Res 106 was defeated by a vote of 227-186, well short of the two-thirds majority necessary to adopt the measure. With the letter, she enclosed a copy of the short statement she made in opposition to the bill which I've reproduced in part below...
Her letter and this statement gave me hope. Just like the under-dog, cursed Red Sox winning this week oddly gave me hope. I think things are changing.
Mr. Speaker: Today we are voting on a consititutional amendment to ban gay marriages. And there are many reasons to oppose this bill:
That it is a diversion from the urgent issues facing our nation. That today's vote is a cheap election-year tactic of the Republican leadership to rally its right-wing base. That we should respect state rights and the principles of federalism - which Republicans continue to conveniently ignore to suit their political purposes.
Mr. Speaker, each of these concerns is a compelling reason to oppose this measure. But I want to make this perfectly clear - this bill should be defeated because it is wrong, it is discriminatory, and it is unamerican.
Our democracy was founded on the fundamental priniciples of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Not the right to a full life depending on with whom you wish to build a family. Not liberty for all - unless the religious right disapproves. Not the pursuit of happiness - as long as it doesn't cost Members of Congress some political capital.
Mr. Speaker, how can we export democracy across the globe, when we are abandoning its fundamental principles here at home?
Writing discrimination into our constitution will do nothing to protect marriage. But it will taint this sacred document and sacrifice state rights based on certain ideological beliefs - which are changing and becoming more tolerant with each passing day.
America is at its strongest when the rights and well-being of all families are protected. Lesbian and Gay Americans deserve the same opportunities, benefits, and responsibilities as all America families - including the right to marry.
I urge my colleagues oppose this misguided, mean-spirited bill, and yeild back the balance of my time.
Ignore my words above, she says it better in some ways than I did.