Nicely written. Too bad so

David — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:23:21 +0000

In reply to Gay Rights Now!!! (right after we solve all the world's other problems)

Nicely written. Too bad so many either take this position literally instead of the satire it is or choose discrimination as a way to rally the religious bigots.

Rest easy. It was parody.

Nebton — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:42:45 +0000

In reply to I very much hope that the

Rest easy. It was parody.

I very much hope that the

Philip Chandler — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:35:10 +0000

In reply to Kicking the civil rights can

I very much hope that the above essay was intended to be a parody, and not a heartfelt statement relative to the expansion of civil rights to include gay Americans. One thing that I have learned, as an activist seeking equality for gay Americans, is that we never win any battles by shuffling out feet, cap in hand, and mumbling about our need for legal and social protection. We only win the struggle for equality by being somewhat aggressive in our approach -- even if that irritates some people and turns them off completely. It was by approaching state supreme courts in three states and by forcing the issue that we won the right to marry in those three states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Iowa). It was by aggressively petitioning the state legislatures of Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire that we won the right to marry in those additional three states (in fact, we had to override the Republican governor's veto in Vermont in order to win this right in that state).

We are now fighting a pitched battle against the forces of evil (and I do not use that term lightly), represented by the likes of Maggie Gallagher and her "National Organization for Marriage" (which is nothing more than a propaganda-spewing web site devoted to snatching marriage rights away from gay Americans). Being polite and waiting for other problems to be solved before we approach our government with our own requests gets us absolutely nowhere.

The First Amendment to the US Constitution reads as follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." [emphasis added]. The provisions of this Amendment have been made binding on the states (as have almost all of the other provisions of the Bill of Rights) through incorporation by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to petition the government for redress of grievances is a fundamental right, and I fail to see the wisdom or virtue of postponing our petition for equality merely because the nation is also dealing with other issues. The logical extension of this line of thinking would lead us to never winning any rights at all -- there will always be problems that some lawmakers will consider to be more important than issues such as extending full marriage equality to gay couples.

So I, for one, reject the notion that we should wait, patiently, until America is “ready” to entertain our petition for equality – whether it be with respect to marriage equality, the passage of measures such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), or the repeal of the obscene “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that is currently being used to drum highly decorated and competent members of the armed forces out of their respective branches of the military.

I understand that some issues draw upon the national attention span to a greater extent than do the issues which are so important to gay men and lesbians – but this does not mean that we should sit on our hands until the “time is ripe” for us to petition our government (at the state and federal levels) for redress of grievances. Some issues – for example, the right to marry – are of such fundamental importance to the lives of gay Americans that the only time at which these issues can be resolved is now – today,

PHILIP CHANDLER

Kicking the civil rights can

DF — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:15:34 +0000

In reply to Gay Rights Now!!! (right after we solve all the world's other problems)

Kicking the civil rights can down the road is a tradition as old as the republic itself.

dagblog - Comments for "Gay Rights Now!!! (right after we solve all the world's other problems)"

Nicely written. Too bad so

Rest easy. It was parody.

I very much hope that the

Kicking the civil rights can