Archive for June, 2009
What the heck happened to change?!?
I cannot state strongly enough how damaging this brief is to us. Obama didn’t just argue a technicality about the case, he argued that DOMA is reasonable. That DOMA is constitutional. That DOMA wasn’t motivated by any anti-gay animus. He argued why our Supreme Court victories in Roemer and Lawrence shouldn’t be interpreted to give us rights in any other area (which hurts us in countless other cases and battles). He argued that DOMA doesn’t discriminate against us because it also discriminates about straight unmarried couples (ignoring the fact that they can get married and we can’t).
And now, Obama suggests that some detainees in Guantanamo should be kept indefinitely. No charges, no trial. As Amnesty International puts it:
Indefinite detention without charge violates US and international law, international human rights standards, and the core principles of justice, liberty, equality and fairness on which the US legal system is founded.
Is he already this tired of being President that he’s doing whatever he can to avoid reelection?!? We are watching, Mr. Obama! Actions speak louder than words, especially for politicians!
Stonewall and Pride
The brilliance of the strategy is its ability to refocus public opinion, put conservative opponents on the defensive, shift public perception of the barriers to LGBT equality and broaden the scope of action to include the needs of people living in nonconjugal households, be they straight, gay or other. [my emphasis]
Furthermore, the broader struggle in Utah – required by a Super DOMA, which not only defines marriage as between one man and one woman but also restricts “marriage like” entities – has brought to the forefront
a simple but often overlooked fact: many basic rights and protections for LGBT citizens, including some on the CGI list [Common Ground Initiative, a platform that fights for a list of rights beyond marriage], are not guaranteed by marriage. Housing and employment discrimination, for example, could continue against married or cohabiting couples as well as single people. That point is very well taken in the current political climate, when marriage equality often stands in for all civil equality.
Getting around the Super DOMA forces activists to look at all relationships, not just marriage-like couples. The end result is that they are fighting for equality for all and really mean all, including the uncoupled.
This also has another beautiful side-effect:
Such proposals begin to make the diversity of households and interdependent relationships visible and highlight the limits of a marriage-focused gay rights agenda that prioritizes the needs of the conventionally coupled.
The work in Utah embraces the spirit of Stonewall and moves it ahead by fighting for all family constellations, including alternative ones. The critique of the exclusive focus on same-sex marriage seems to be getting louder (see also here and here and here). The time is ripe to build coalitions around marriage inequality and follow the Utah model to fight for rights for all people. It is time to call for full civil equality for all and really mean all!
Hat tip and big thank you to Nancy Polikoff for making me aware of Duggan’s great article!
Week 5: June 23 – Walk Safe
Today, I split my walk because I had an appointment at the RunSafe clinic on Divisadero and Sutter, a bit more than half-way home (and after the three major hills). Even though I don’t run, they were happy to work with me to ensure that I walk safely, i.e., work on those postural habits that eventually cause injuries. Continue reading this post » » »
Week 4: June 16 – Gay Liberation History
I listened to an interview with Tommi Avicolli Mecca and Paola Bacchetta as they remember the radical activism of the 1960s and 1970s. Continue reading this post » » »
The Challenge of Sex
In our society, getting sex in perspective is no small achievement. On the one hand, since childhood many of us have been subjected to repressive teachings that result in guilt and embarrassment where sex or almost anything to do with the body is concerned. In or out of marriage, few of us are able to overcome this unfortunate upbringing completely. On the other hand, we now live in a sex-obsessed culture that hard-sells sex in movies, TV, and magazines, on billboards and at the corner newsstand. (161)



