I just watched the Lifetime Movie Mr. and Mrs. Loving

about the couple who were arrested in Virginia because they were in a mixed marriage. She was black, he, white, and it was illegal at the time for races to intermarry.

As the pro bono lawyer was arguing in front of the Supreme Court, (which, in 1967 struck down the law and reversed their convictions), I was struck by how far we have to come.

Richard Loving told the lawyer to tell the court "Tell them, I love my wife".

What about our gay and lesbian friends? Why is this law any different? It was struck down almost 40 years ago!! Forty years isn't that long ago.

I hope and pray that I will live long enough to see these ridiculous marriage amendment laws repealed as well. I pray that my friends in the gay and lesbian community can marry like I did.

Thanks for letting me rant.


edited for bad math.

And I think any pair of people should be able to form a "Civil Marriage" or "Civil Union" that grants the legal rights we currently grant to marriage.

Religious organizations hould be able to perform whichever types of weddings they prefer but those would not grant the legal rights we currently gran to marriage. Only the Civil Marriage or Civil Union would do that.

This process is followed in many countries, even Italy and Chile. Most people who want a religious wedding have it, but they first get married in a civil ceremony for the legal rights. Then they follow it with a religious ceremony if they want to.

I think that there should be no difference between a heterosexual marriage and a homosexual one.

Love is love.

the playing field becomes level. If you have to have a civil ceremony for legality sake, AND have a religious ceremony to make your god more comfortable, every one wins. Why, because they can stop 2 people from having a civil ceremony. The churches would have no say in the matter. Maybe the liberal Christians can help the matter by coining a new word for joined in the church.

zalinda

People refer to themselves as being married. Forms ask if you are married or single.

I don't recall any forms that I have had to fill out recently that ask if I am heterosexual or not.

The United States does not and has never recognized "religious" marriage as a distinct entity. Civil marriage is the one and only legally recognized form of marriage in this country; any religious ceremony or rite is irrelevant, thanks to the First Amendment.

The closest we can find is state law which authorizes clergy to act as a notary public of very limited scope, essentially witnessing the signature of the couple being married on legal, civil documents. Judges and ordinary notary publics in Florida have exactly the same authority.

Same-sex marriage WILL happen here. It will. To the Focus on the Family, Concerned Women of America and that ilk who would want to deny us this same, basic right...same-sex marriage WILL happen in the United States of America. There will be a day when gay and lesbian couples will be able to marry, with the same benefits as heterosexual married couples. And it will be commonplace. And we will wonder what all the fuss was about. And that's as it should be.

I'm not sure of the timetable. I think it will be a minimum of 10 years. Politically, we're still not there. I can think of 3 Democratic politicians or would be politicians who support same-sex marriage (Dennis Kuchinich, the Reverend Al Sharpton and Paul Hackett in Ohio). It goes without saying, of course, that there's no Republicans who are in favor. Well, I guess there's the Log Cabin Republicans, but they have as much chance of influencing the Republican Party as I do.

Yeah, I'm dismayed seeing what's going on right now. Idaho, Maryland are pushing to put an amendment banning same-sex marriage on the ballot in November. Here in Illinois, the bluest of blue states, there's a push to do the same (though I'm crossing my fingers that there won't be sufficient signatures to do so). The trend right now is for more states to do so....19 already have and more will. But...polls are reporting that the opposition to same-sex marriage is slowly, inexorably dropping. I am encouraged.

I'm encouraged because of good, heterosexual friends such as yourself. Because there's more of you than we realize. And that's the hopeful part of this.

So, thank you. And our hopes will be fulfilled in the end. Because love will ultimately triumph. :-)

Terry

to my beautiful Canadian wife in 2003. The world has not ended.
My Florida representative, Alcee Hastings, is for our rights. Also, he is one a few against the war from the get-go. Come to think of it, I need to rip him off (another ) letter!
BBL

:hi:

...in some places. 3 people, 3 races. According to one of my moron cousins I'm a "race traitor"!

Love is love, committment is committment, loving family is loving family, all the dobsons, falwells, robertsons and bushes in the worl don't change that. Hopefully, someday the GLBT community will be looked upon as equal in every way to the hetero community. This, we ae taught, is what America is about. This is what WE must strive for America to BE!

It blows my mind that my relationship would have been illegal, once upon a time. I know intimately about being considered a 'race traitor' by some. Ignorance is all that it is...

The day that idiot announced in a press conference he was committed to making gay unions illegal and stopping them was the day he confirmed all I suspected in my heart about him was true.

I remember the movie Mr. and Mrs. Loving. From the perspective of one that would have then been considered to be in violation of the law, I am ever hopeful that this divisiveness will end one day.

Frankly, it isn't anyone's business who people live, love and decide to grow old with.

that is posted in this forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=221x27090