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If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Why don't we make this easy and agree that equal rights belong to all Americans, and then legislate and litigate accordingly? Fair enough?
It really comes down to this: If, based on your religious beliefs, you demonize people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and you deny people the right to have sex and marry, then you are against freedom and equality for those people. You are practicing bigotry.
Sport is meant to be our national forum for tolerance and equality. Treating gay people differently implies that being gay is abnormal! Does anyone still believe that the Earth is flat? Or that the Mets have a shot at the playoffs in 2013?
It doesn't have to be like this. Jesus Christ never spoke a word of condemnation against homosexuals. Churches don't have any need to condemn LGBT people, or fight against our equal treatment in our country.
This week these cases are about all of us, every single LGBT person in America. The outcome -- our equality, our freedom to choose whom to marry -- isn't in serious doubt. In the end, the power, courage and commitment of our community will not fail.
Much as the civil rights and women's liberation movements served as a call-to-action for young adults of the '60s and '70s, debating issues like marriage equality and gender identity will become defining moments in our children's lifetime.
For the evangelical establishment to win back young people they'll have to do what liberals have done for decades: pick and choose their way through the Bible and decide it "says" what people want to hear.
What is clear is that we are far from done with discussing these issues at the Supreme Court. The past two days' hearings made it clear in many ways that follow on litigation will come to sort out other questions for the Court to decide.
Incrementalism is always hard to argue. That's one of the lessons both this particular issue and my years spent blogging on politics has taught me. Gay marriage has become such an issue for me. Marriage is a fundamental human right, and it should be seen as an "unalienable" right.
If our legal system is founded upon the concept of freedom, equality, and protection, with the only deviations being for the reason of legitimate public purpose, what is the public purpose of banning same-sex marriages? Outside of individual opinion, I see none.
I wholeheartedly stand with gay Americans in this movement. I hope the Supreme Court rules in favor of gay marriage and that financial equality for gay families can be achieved. I support unequivocally the sexual and reproductive rights of all people. But when will it be our turn?
It is always risky to predict what the Supreme Court will do in a case based on the oral argument. Justices ask questions of the lawyers for a variety of reasons and the questions do not always reveal what the justices are actually thinking. Some questions, for example, are genuinely designed to help a justice think through the logic of the advocate's argument, whereas others are intended to demonstrate weaknesses in the advocate's position in an effort to "educate" other justices. Knowing exactly what is motivating any particular question is a tricky business and prognosticators often misjudge what's really going on. Having offered this caveat, let me now offer my own predictions about Perry and Windsor.
"But do you really want to be known for promoting gay marriage?" a friend asked me when I spoke my mind on the subject. I suppose I'd like to be known for being honest and for supporting freedom and equality for everyone.
As oral arguments over California Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act begin before the Supreme Court, I can't help feeling that marriage equality will soon follow indecency and rock and roll into the halls of blasé consensus.
For decades the word "gay" was almost never heard in formal meetings at the UN. Today, after a series of recent diplomatic breakthroughs, awareness of the gravity and extent of homophobic violence and discrimination -- and the need to tackle it -- is widespread and growing.
Yesterday and today the Supreme Court is hearing arguments that address a common question: Should all Americans have the freedom to marry the person they love? The children being raised by LGBT parents are in an excellent position to answer that question, and they are speaking out.
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