Interviews with folks about marriage are coming to Every Day Gay. Soon!
In the meantime, kudos to Louis Van Amstel on "Dancing with the Stars." I have to admit that I'm not a follower of the show, but my mother (who is) informed me that Louis provided a moving commentary about what it feels like to be excluded from the rights and experience of legal marriage.
Hats off to him and to others who begin these brave conversations with their friends, family, or national audiences.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
New Name, New Twists
My 'Sweetie' (see lizard picture in the "blog followers" listed) has suggested some new lives for the blog. In keeping with the theme of newness, there is also a new title for the blog. The new title has multiple meanings. If you schmush together the Every and the Day, you get Everyday, implying that we are far more common than we may seem. But, if you consider the Every and the Day separately, you realize that we are, without exception, each and every day: still gay.
Beyond the title, the blog will hopefully now have new voices from time to time. 'Sweetie' proposed that I "take this show on the road" of sorts and interview various people- both gay and straight- about the rights of marriage. I'm planning to start conducting interviews soon (watch out loved ones, here I come!) and posting them here.
More soon. Love to all, Karma
Beyond the title, the blog will hopefully now have new voices from time to time. 'Sweetie' proposed that I "take this show on the road" of sorts and interview various people- both gay and straight- about the rights of marriage. I'm planning to start conducting interviews soon (watch out loved ones, here I come!) and posting them here.
More soon. Love to all, Karma
Thursday, April 8, 2010
DO try this at home (please)
We're always being told not to "try this at home." So let's do something we can try at home?!
Please join me in asking your friends, relatives, loved ones, etc. if they know what rights they get when they get married. Please feel free to post your responses here.
Also, please share the responses of these same friends, relatives, loved ones when you inform them that they receive approximately 1,100 rights from the federal government (including Social Security) and approximately 300-600 rights from each state at the time of their marriage. Are they surprised?
Perhaps ask them to spread the word by trying the same experiment with more friends and loved ones? I like the "Give a Damn" and other campaigns to extend full rights to LGBT folks, but I wish that these campaigns had more "meat" to them in terms of letting straight and gay folks know exactly what's at stake in the fight for marriage equality.
Please join me in asking your friends, relatives, loved ones, etc. if they know what rights they get when they get married. Please feel free to post your responses here.
Also, please share the responses of these same friends, relatives, loved ones when you inform them that they receive approximately 1,100 rights from the federal government (including Social Security) and approximately 300-600 rights from each state at the time of their marriage. Are they surprised?
Perhaps ask them to spread the word by trying the same experiment with more friends and loved ones? I like the "Give a Damn" and other campaigns to extend full rights to LGBT folks, but I wish that these campaigns had more "meat" to them in terms of letting straight and gay folks know exactly what's at stake in the fight for marriage equality.
"Give a Damn" Campaign
The new, star-studded "Give a Damn" campaign has debuted. You can look here:
http://www.wegiveadamn.org/issues/
for a list of the campaigns issues related to the rights of LGBT folks.
http://www.wegiveadamn.org/issues/
for a list of the campaigns issues related to the rights of LGBT folks.
Homophobia in Uganda and Jamaica
While the U.S. has a very long way to go to bring parity in rights for gay folks, there is an international perspective to consider.
If you have not already read about the bill in Uganda, you could do so here (the U.S. Congress has voted to condemn this anti-homosexuality legislation): http://wthrockmorton.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/anti-homosexuality-bill-2009.pdf
Also, consider watching the episode of Logo's "Coming Out Stories" (available on Netflix) entitled "Son of the Islands" about attitudes and practices towards homosexuals in Jamaica.
If you have not already read about the bill in Uganda, you could do so here (the U.S. Congress has voted to condemn this anti-homosexuality legislation): http://wthrockmorton.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/anti-homosexuality-bill-2009.pdf
Also, consider watching the episode of Logo's "Coming Out Stories" (available on Netflix) entitled "Son of the Islands" about attitudes and practices towards homosexuals in Jamaica.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
"The Crazy Marriage Lady" is taking a day off to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). In most (38 of them!) states, individuals can be terminated from their jobs simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered. ENDA would seek to eliminate- across all states- employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Please consider supporting this legislation by contacting your Representative at:
https://secure3.convio.net/hrc/site/Advocacy?cmd=d...isplay&page=UserAction&id=777
Thank you!
Please consider supporting this legislation by contacting your Representative at:
https://secure3.convio.net/hrc/site/Advocacy?cmd=d...isplay&page=UserAction&id=777
Thank you!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Not "For Now," but "For Always" and "For Everyone"
I was watching the KCRG TV-9 (Cedar Rapids, IA, ABC affiliate) news Wednesday morning. The newscaster announced noteworthy legislation from the 2009-2010 Iowa Assembly as well as "what did not happen" during this session. She stated that "no change was made to marriage for same sex couples." "For now." There was a significant pause in the sentence such that "for now" literally became its own sentence.
I boiled for a bit before realizing that vigilance is called for on the state level at the same time action is called for at the national level.
I also realized, after my students so eloquently stated that "everyone should have to take an LGBT Studies class so that they understand what's at stake with marriage," that my true interest these days is stating what I feel is the truth about marriage. I am beginning to feel that becoming the "Crazy Marriage Lady" (it's really just a minor modification on my way to already becoming the "Crazy Cat Lady") is what's called for professionally and personally.
Here's the deal, I understand that research indicates that folks lead with the "heart" and not the "head" on this issue, but I cannot overlook the hundreds of times since I've been teaching that the "head" has prevailed as well. [And, as a professor at an open-door, community college in the middle of Iowa, you could argue that I teach to pretty much your "typicaly American."] Almost without exception as I discuss these issues, students are both incredulous and enraged when they are educated about the marriage rights denied same sex couples. Students feel that "people just aren't educated and that they should be if they're going to hold such strong opinions." I agree.
In class, we address the fact that 0 rights come from the church. In fact, marriage rights for same sex couples should NOT threaten or change anyone's beliefs. As is presently the case for heterosexual couples, religious bodies can always decide NOT to perform these ceremonies. No law would require religious participation.
However, we are fighting for EXACTLY THE SAME rights of marriage at the state and federal levels. Consistently, my students guess that they receive about 10 or so rights of marriage. They are shocked to learn that there are 1,100 rights from the federal government (including Social Security) and 300-600 rights from the state in which they live. Because all of these rights at the state and federal levels are written as rights of "marriage," it is important that same sex couples also be "married" as opposed to being given "civil unions" (they just do not carry the same weight across states and employers, etc.).
Right now, the "Respect for Marriage Act" would seek to extend federal rights to same sex couples as would possible Supreme Court decisions (for cases in Massachusetts and California). Please consider stating your support to as many folks and legislators as possible for these court cases and this legislation.
I boiled for a bit before realizing that vigilance is called for on the state level at the same time action is called for at the national level.
I also realized, after my students so eloquently stated that "everyone should have to take an LGBT Studies class so that they understand what's at stake with marriage," that my true interest these days is stating what I feel is the truth about marriage. I am beginning to feel that becoming the "Crazy Marriage Lady" (it's really just a minor modification on my way to already becoming the "Crazy Cat Lady") is what's called for professionally and personally.
Here's the deal, I understand that research indicates that folks lead with the "heart" and not the "head" on this issue, but I cannot overlook the hundreds of times since I've been teaching that the "head" has prevailed as well. [And, as a professor at an open-door, community college in the middle of Iowa, you could argue that I teach to pretty much your "typicaly American."] Almost without exception as I discuss these issues, students are both incredulous and enraged when they are educated about the marriage rights denied same sex couples. Students feel that "people just aren't educated and that they should be if they're going to hold such strong opinions." I agree.
In class, we address the fact that 0 rights come from the church. In fact, marriage rights for same sex couples should NOT threaten or change anyone's beliefs. As is presently the case for heterosexual couples, religious bodies can always decide NOT to perform these ceremonies. No law would require religious participation.
However, we are fighting for EXACTLY THE SAME rights of marriage at the state and federal levels. Consistently, my students guess that they receive about 10 or so rights of marriage. They are shocked to learn that there are 1,100 rights from the federal government (including Social Security) and 300-600 rights from the state in which they live. Because all of these rights at the state and federal levels are written as rights of "marriage," it is important that same sex couples also be "married" as opposed to being given "civil unions" (they just do not carry the same weight across states and employers, etc.).
Right now, the "Respect for Marriage Act" would seek to extend federal rights to same sex couples as would possible Supreme Court decisions (for cases in Massachusetts and California). Please consider stating your support to as many folks and legislators as possible for these court cases and this legislation.
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