Einigheit und Recht und Freiheit
You know it's stuff like this that just makes me want to move.
I got a report that there's a referendum up for vote in Maine that, unlike so many of the referendums before, would grant discrimination protections to gay people. It's been attempted before, but now polls show it actually might pass this time.
Let me not dance around this issue: In Maine, gay people have no protection against discrimination, and same sex couples have none of the equal rights as their heterosexual counterparts. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. This referendum would at least be an olive branch by progressive people who think that gay people should be treated like their fellow human beings.
So is the right just sitting down? Their response? They're scaring people into believing "this is just one step towards gay marriage." As if giving people the same rights is the absolute worst thing in the world you can do. It has absolutely nothing to do with marriage, not even granting any equal rights to same sex couples, and yet they want the smokescreen to make you think it is. They will even lie to get their way.
Mind you, right now in Maine, gay people have NO protections, NO equal rights. Try and give them anything? The right attempts to scare the holy hell out of the people, even willing to lie in order to do it.
Here in California, there's an enormous threat looming as well. A few different groups have different versions of a proposed constitutions that would essentially all do the exact same thing. 1) They want to define in the constitution of the state of California that marriage is one man and one woman. And 2) it will rescind all protections for domestic partners.
Now part of me wants it to go to the people, because it is so far reaching, it very well could fail, but only after an awful terrible fight, of Californian against Californian, and they brought on the hate. If it were to fail, it would be a resounding defeat, not only against such a horrible attack on gay people, but the Right constantly quotes the results of Proposition 22, a referendum in 2000 that defined in law (but not in the constitution) that marriage should be defined as only between a man and a woman. Mind you a lot has happened in those five years, and if this new, much further-reaching referendum would fail, it would give us a chance to say that the people rejected that argument, and lead the path to full equality for all committed couples.
But I ask you, what does that say about our country when I want to be treated with respect, given the same rights, privileges and responsibilies as anyone else, that I have to move to Germany. Germany. Not exactly a country with a history of tolerance, and yet they are infinitely more progressive than the U. S. of A. in terms of equality.
One has said that while the fight for marriage equality has pushed back the fight in other states in the US, it has actually helped in other countries, where fair-minded leaders across the world have seen for themselves that same sex couples actually need to be protected from the ravenous hatred of the far right. Countries like the Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada and Spain get the headlines for same sex marriage, but many other countries have granted many, if not all, of the protections, including France, Austria, England, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Greenland, Hungary, Croatia, Luxemborg, New Zealand, Israel, South Africa (another country not known for tolerance), some states in the Pope's backyard of Italy, with law passed but not yet in effect in Switzerland, and of course, "meine Lieblings", Germany.
But not a single right in the United States.
Mind you, the title of this post is the first words of the German National Anthem, and it means "Unity, Justice and Freedom".
When it comes to justice and freedom, it certainly sounds more convincing auf Deutsch.
I got a report that there's a referendum up for vote in Maine that, unlike so many of the referendums before, would grant discrimination protections to gay people. It's been attempted before, but now polls show it actually might pass this time.
Let me not dance around this issue: In Maine, gay people have no protection against discrimination, and same sex couples have none of the equal rights as their heterosexual counterparts. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. This referendum would at least be an olive branch by progressive people who think that gay people should be treated like their fellow human beings.
So is the right just sitting down? Their response? They're scaring people into believing "this is just one step towards gay marriage." As if giving people the same rights is the absolute worst thing in the world you can do. It has absolutely nothing to do with marriage, not even granting any equal rights to same sex couples, and yet they want the smokescreen to make you think it is. They will even lie to get their way.
Mind you, right now in Maine, gay people have NO protections, NO equal rights. Try and give them anything? The right attempts to scare the holy hell out of the people, even willing to lie in order to do it.
Here in California, there's an enormous threat looming as well. A few different groups have different versions of a proposed constitutions that would essentially all do the exact same thing. 1) They want to define in the constitution of the state of California that marriage is one man and one woman. And 2) it will rescind all protections for domestic partners.
Now part of me wants it to go to the people, because it is so far reaching, it very well could fail, but only after an awful terrible fight, of Californian against Californian, and they brought on the hate. If it were to fail, it would be a resounding defeat, not only against such a horrible attack on gay people, but the Right constantly quotes the results of Proposition 22, a referendum in 2000 that defined in law (but not in the constitution) that marriage should be defined as only between a man and a woman. Mind you a lot has happened in those five years, and if this new, much further-reaching referendum would fail, it would give us a chance to say that the people rejected that argument, and lead the path to full equality for all committed couples.
But I ask you, what does that say about our country when I want to be treated with respect, given the same rights, privileges and responsibilies as anyone else, that I have to move to Germany. Germany. Not exactly a country with a history of tolerance, and yet they are infinitely more progressive than the U. S. of A. in terms of equality.
One has said that while the fight for marriage equality has pushed back the fight in other states in the US, it has actually helped in other countries, where fair-minded leaders across the world have seen for themselves that same sex couples actually need to be protected from the ravenous hatred of the far right. Countries like the Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada and Spain get the headlines for same sex marriage, but many other countries have granted many, if not all, of the protections, including France, Austria, England, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Greenland, Hungary, Croatia, Luxemborg, New Zealand, Israel, South Africa (another country not known for tolerance), some states in the Pope's backyard of Italy, with law passed but not yet in effect in Switzerland, and of course, "meine Lieblings", Germany.
But not a single right in the United States.
Mind you, the title of this post is the first words of the German National Anthem, and it means "Unity, Justice and Freedom".
When it comes to justice and freedom, it certainly sounds more convincing auf Deutsch.
posted by Joe Carlin at 9:41 PM
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