Marriage? Not So Fast

Yesterday, the Governor of the U.S. state where my partner and I live signed legislation that was passed by our state's General Assembly to make it legal for same-sex couples to marry in a civil procedure, such as by a Justice of the Peace or by a Judge in a county courthouse.

When will my partner and I marry?

Woah... wait a minute.... The negative noodles of nabobbery and hatefulness have a delay tactic in place. An amendment to the legislation that had to be included in order to gain passage makes the law take effect on January 1, 2013, provided the law makes it past a referendum process.

You see, the nabobs of negativity (so aptly named by a former state Governor) inserted an amendment in the legislation that makes the law take effect in January. That's because they recognize that another law in the state allows "citizens to petition for redress through referendum" which is a long way of saying that negative nabobs will now be circulating a petition to put this law on the ballot for approval during the general election on November 6.

This frosts me -- what right does anyone have to put the rights of minorities to a public vote? If they did that, for example when the law was changed to give women and Blacks the right to vote, then probably to this day, neither women nor anyone not of a minority could vote. This is why we have representative government, not government-by-the-whole.

Some of the primary leaders of this referendum petition in our state are Black. It makes me perturbed and angry that one minority group can be so directly and loudly opposed to providing fundamental rights for another minority group.

Really, just how will MY marriage destroy yours or decimate the sanctity of your religious institution?

Marriage is NOT a sacrament. It is a civil matter. The new law that passed in our state was very clear to allow any religious institution or clergy member the option of not participating in same-sex marriages.

That's fine -- I don't want to be married in a church -- especially in any church where it's two-faced hypocritical members say, "we love you, but we don't approve of civil recognition of a marriage to the man you love." (Followed often by much worse, hateful language.)

Well, we are closer than we ever have been. I envision months of patient persuasion among those of us who support civil marriage among same-sex couples. If you can't vote against the referendum, at least don't vote for it.

Life is short: keep the faith focused on what's right and what's fair.