And Then There Were Twelve

Today Minnesota became the 12th state in the union

to approve same sex unions. With those twelve states and  Washington D.C. there are now 56 million people living in states with marriage equality.

I am pleased.  I am hopeful. But 12 is not enough.  Look, I live in Texas and I am old enough that I really don't see Texas approving same sex unions in my life time.  I want to be wrong but the south in general and Texas in particular is stuck in another era.

The only hope I have for marriage equality in Texas in my lifetime is that DOMA gets repealed.  DOMA is unconstitutional on its face. DOMA is after all a clear violation of the constitutional mandate that requires recognition of contracts between states.  Hell I can drive my car in all 50 states because I have it registered and licensed in Texas but my husband and I aren't legal in our home state even though we are legal in another state.  That is bogus!

I am hoping the the Supreme Court will overthrow DOMA but if they don't I have a plan.  First we have all kinds of legal documents to cover us in almost any circumstances.  Second I want to get married in as many states as possible.  I would just love for someone to challenge me or my husband on the legality of our relationship and we can slide a stack of marriage certificates across the table.  Our relationship is recognized in 12 states - why wouldn't it be recognized here.

I get it that you can find passages in the Bible that condemn homosexuality.  I won't get into the ancient societal biases.  I won't get into the fact that Jesus was far more about love than condemning anyone for who they loved.  I get that some have an issue with homosexuality.  But they base it on religious values.  This country was founded on the need to protect people from religious values.    

As a LBG (late breaking gay) I got to say that this needs to be fixed!  Good grief I am over 60 - how am I going to harm society by going to bed with the man that I love?

I am pleased to no end by 12 states recognizing that gay marriage is totally legal.  But it needs to be fixed on a national basis.  

Politics

Last night my husband took me to a mixer for a local candidate for state rep.

My husband is a lot more political than I am. We share the same political views but I have just never been very active. I generally know the candidates and try to be informed but he is an encyclopedia of knowledge on politics from Nixon to now. I admire that but it is hard to catch up sometimes.

But last night I saw politics in a new light. We had been invited to attend this meeting by our neighbors. Straight neighbors. And while we were there we visited with several of our straight neighbors about the candidate and about our kids. It was all very "normal." We just happened to be the gay couple in the crowd.

Now I am 6'3" and my husband is 5'11" so we don't exactly disappear into the crowd. So when the candidate came around glad handing I think she pretty much had me/us figured out. When she asked what issues I had concerns about I asked what her position was on the defense of marriage act. Her response was enthusiastic and positive. She said she was Roman Catholic but that she felt it was a basic right for people to be able to marry whomever they wanted to marry.

Of course this particular candidate may or may not win this election. Besides that, if she won she wouldn't really be able to do much about DOMA as a state rep. That is not the point of my comments. The point is that one of the things that gays need to do is get directly involved in the political process. It will change things.

One of the things that made last night important is that this all took place in a very hetro suburb. It is my observation that LBGs (late breaking gays) are more likely to stay out in the suburbs than to move to the gay ghetto. Because of this the LBGs (late breaking gays) have a better chance of making a difference in the mind of their neighbors and politicians by their very presence and by their involvement. It is a better edge than the 20 somethings in the gay ghetto.

A lot of the LBGs (late breaking gays) are well educated and have been successful in their careers. Many of them are doctors and lawyers and entrepreneurs. To a politician they could be a powerful ally. I think the potential to change the way the world and politicians see gays may be greatly improved by the LBGs (late breaking gays). All we need to do is be unafraid in our communities and yes, even active in politics.

So last night we brought a sign home.

We put it on the corner of our corner lot.

Then we went in and had great "post political meeting sex."

I kind of like this political activist thing.