Some folks in MA and CA weren't paying attention

I know it's a lot nicer to drive away from your union or commitment ceremony with a sign on the car "JUST MARRIED" rather than "JUST COMMITTED". But you should be telling your church or peer group that you want to be referred to as married, not the government - at least not in these times of domination by the conservative movement. We should have been working for CIVIL UNIONS with all the rights and benefits of marriage, legal, social & financial, on the local level. Darn those activists in Massachusetts and California. I don't blame gays for other's hatred and ignorance but didn't anybody else see this backlash coming?

Have others read the article by John McJunkin of Austin? There is a link to it next to his picture on
about the second page of members. His view that the gay movement is shooting itself in the foot fighting for marriage instead of civil unions is something I've always thought. I knew the backlash would be powerful. For pete's sake! The religious right has been gaining political power for more than twenty years on one-issue politics. Now they've got another one. Now the media carries regular announcements that vast numbers of people don't want us to have eqial rights. And the right-wing is using hatred for us as a recruitment tool.


I do want to fight any anti-gay amendments to state and federal constitutions, but more important to me is to be part of planning a strategy to increase our civil rights by working for the recognition of civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Things are so bad right now politically in the US, maybe part of the strategy should be to pull back efforts to get "marriage" recognized and just play defense for a while - blocking the anti-gay amendments and educating people about who gay people really are and what exactly we really want. Don't forget that a lot of straight people still see us as the drag queen or man/boy love activists the TV cameras have always liked to focus on at Gay Pride Marches.

As the writer mentioned above has said, we should leave "marriage" to religious organizations and demand our government treat us equally in civil affairs.

Perhaps we should be looking for allies among folks who are also noticing and feeling threatened by the political and economic characteristics of Facism developing in our country. The increasing power and control of corporations and financial institutions, the ultra nationalists calling dissenters unpatriotic and in foreign affairs seeing governments that disagree with the US government as enemies, all the video cameras and surveilance devices set up at drive-thru banks and on city streets "for our own safety", the fear mongering used to manipulate us to give up rights (Patriot Act), the militarization of police forces, the blurring of the division of church and state and the actual movement for a theocracy (Pat Robertson) etc. etc.


I was an activist back in the days of the Gay Liberation meetings at the firehouse in Greenwich Village in New York City and the first Gay Activist Alliance groups on college campuses. I see our rights and our status in society, the gains that have been made, unravelling as pro-gay marriage activists battle it out at loggerheads with the religious right. Brothers and sisters, you're wasting your time! Especially here in Texas! Fight against these anti-gay amendments, yes! But stop pushing for legal "marriage". If you ever want to see the day, we should drop it from the vocabulary until civil unions are in place. For me, I'd be forever happy just to have govt. sanction civil unions with the same rights as marriages. It's a legal issue. Spiritual groups and family/friendship groups can call their ceremonies anything they please. I'm not alone. A lot of gay people don't even use the terms marriage, husband and wife or do so only tongue in cheek. It was never our desire to mimic our parents. We not only came out as homosexuals and bisexuals but we also felt we were coming out of being boxed in by gender roles and stereotypes, labels and preconceived notions of behavior of couples. Many gays build family with people who are not their lovers. In the 70's, we felt it necessary to be careful of our vocabulary as certain terms were really loaded. Same thing with the women's liberation movement. I feel as good about the terms Lover/partner/life partner as I do Ms. (instead of Mrs. and Miss) and firefighter (as opposed to fireman) Still works for me. I'd even rather be called "companion" than wife or husband. And by the way, most of us feminists and lesbians back then as now are left of center politically, which brings me to gay people who identify with the current administration and religious establishments.


Those who call themselves Log Cabin Republicans should get the wood out of their heads and find common ground with more democratic, progressive and compassionate political organizations. I'm sorry, but to be conservative and/or a member of a right-wing party or fundamentalist Christian church in this country, in these times, at best is a sign of low self- esteem. As they pour their money into the Republican Party or church that doesn't respect our dignity instead of something useful like gay-friendly retirement villages, I actually feel sorry for them. I also feel like they're stabbing people like me in the back. Politically progressive people on the Left brought you the gay movement and the women's movement. And for that matter, the eight hour day! Shame on you gay Republicans.

OK. Can we all just talk about what we really need and want as gays/lesbians and figure out a way to achieve that? Realistically?

Janine
Austin