I have a message for all those religious groups that are pouring money into California to try and make a constitutional amendment to limit access to legal contracts -- and that is what marriage is, a legal contract first and foremost -- we're not going away. They are funding discrimination in the name of Jesus.
I am a suburban lesbian mom. I live in Massachusetts. Last I checked, the end of the world has not occurred. No plagues, no locusts, no hell fire and damnation. I am married to a woman I have spent the last 18 years of my life with. We have three kids. We pay taxes and support our community. Recognizing us with the same dignity and respect as everyone else has not changed the divorce rate amongst heterosexuals.
Nor has it lead to teaching sexuality in kindergarten.
Society has not crumbled. I know the right wing would like you to think it has but last I looked, it's all pretty much the same.
The irony about this is how I teach my kids tolerance for the people who would dissolve my marriage. Who would throw me into conversion therapies to make me "right." I tell them it's okay for other people to have a different opinion.
It's just not okay to take away someone else's rights because of those opinions.
We all need to learn a little more tolerance. We all need to stop for a moment and ask ourselves, deep down -- how will this truly change my life?
California is no different that Massachusetts. The world will not end. It's not Armageddon. And when people tried to take our rights away -- we fought back. We're fighting back in California. James Dobson and his crew can pound the airwaves with hateful messages, they can liken us to pedophiles, they can say that it'll lead to people marrying donkeys or their brothers or mothers. They can put small children's faces on the TV with their innocent eyes and say somehow our loving, committed relationships will lead to their demise.
I don't quite understand that but maybe that's because I'm raising three kids and I have seen no lack of morality in them. Except maybe when they finish the orange juice and put the empty carton back in the refrigerator.
The reality is, if we lose in California? We will continue to fight. We'll go to the courts, we'll draft legislation, and we'll keep fighting until we have equality. We'll raise money, they'll raise money. Millions wasted over something that doesn't cost a dime.
If you are tired of the argument, tired of the ridiculous warning that the world will end, please reach into your weary wallets and give one more time. Let's finish this so California can go on to tackle bigger issues like education, health Care, and the budget crisis.
It's not Armageddon. No one is going to take away anyone's right to preach the evils of homosexuality. No one is going to marry his or her dog. Four years we've had equality in Massachusetts.
Nothing has changed. My partner is my wife now. We have legal rights. People who hate me still hate me. They still get to preach every Sunday about how evil I am.
The only people who have anything to lose? Are all the families, like mine, across California and all of our straight allies who want their kids to grow up in a country that believes in equality -- fairness.