FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kylie McGrath
Phone: (813) 930-9841
Email: info@RainbowLaw.com
The State of OUR Unions
By Carrie & Elisia Ross-Stone
Tampa, Florida -- January 26, 2004
On January 20, 2004 George W. Bush presented his State of the Union Address to America. In this article we wish to reflect upon the legal status of same-sex relationships, OUR "unions" as it were, to analyze our successes from the previous year and look forward to the challenges we face over the next 11 months.
The good news from 2003 is that we made a good deal of progress toward equality and fairness.
Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas law that banned most intimate acts between same-sex couples. Lawrence v. Texas, may be the single most significant case the LGBT community will ever see and will be as uplifting for gay and lesbian equality as Brown v. The Board of Education was to the Black civil rights movement.
California legislators passed several laws that strengthen Domestic Partnership rights, making it indistinguishable from the Civil Union rights granted to same-sex couples in Vermont.
And of course, the Supreme Court in Massachusetts held that depriving civil marriage rights to same-sex partners is a violation of the equal protections guaranteed in their state's constitution.
Finally, across our northern border, Canada granted equal marriage rights to same-sex partners which prompted a flood of couples to head to Niagara Falls to finally see their names on a legal marriage certificate.
The bad news is that the progress we have made has resulted in a severe backlash from our opposition.
In this presidential election year, the issue of equal civil marriage rights is being hotly debated all across America -- in virtually every newspaper, state and federal legislatures, courts and around the kitchen table. Almost daily we are bombarded with frantic and dire warnings about the consequences of permitting equal civil marriage rights to same-sex couples -- most of it based on Biblical passages. Ammunition in the way of negative stereotyping, lies and half-truths about lesbian and gay "lifestyles" are recounted on the Internet, in churches, and in the media.
All of this is being done in an effort to instill public fear about the consequences of sharing equal civil marriage rights with the LGBT community. The reason for this backlash may never be known. For a few it may be fear and hatred but for most it is simply ignorance about the truth.
In his State of the Union address, Bush announced a 1.5 billion-dollar plan to "promote stable and healthy marriages in the US." The scuttlebutt is that he is using this plan to appease his conservative base who want an explicit endorsement from Bush for an anti-gay Marriage Amendment to the Constitution. In his speech, Bush stopped short of an endorsement but warned judges that he would push for an amendment if they continue to apply the judicial process to grant equal marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Apparently Bush hopes his fence-sitting position on the equal civil marriage rights issue will prevent him from taking an absolute stand that may harm his chances for re-election.
Rather than voicing outrage at Bush's proposal to strengthen marriage, why don't we, the LGBT community, embrace his plan and turn its purpose -- to prevent same-sex marriage -- on its head. If it is true that marriage creates strength and stability for American families, then we can argue that America will be better off when we expand that advantage to every citizen.
Most Americans have a keen sense of fairness and do not like to see minority groups treated as second-class citizens. And many that oppose equal civil marriage rights do so because they do not realize that they are being fed lies about the gay "lifestyle" and "agenda."
In 2004, each of us has a choice to make. We can settle for second-class American citizenship and do nothing while our opposition creates even greater hurdles to our equality, or, we can use the equal marriage debate as an opportunity to educate our friends, family and co-workers. We all have people in our lives who love us and who want us to be successful, healthy and happy. In order to create a strong and powerful force for equality we need to bring those people into our struggle.
How do we do this? Simply by talking about the details of our every-day lives. Talk to your friends and family about how you spend your time. Last weekend, did you party and have deviant sexual orgies (as you are often accused of doing) or did you and your partner go to Home Depot to buy paint for the living room? Soon it will become obvious that our lives, our dreams, and our lifestyles are not all that different. Your circle of friends and family will understand that your only "agenda" is to be treated equally and with respect. The truth will ultimately debunk the myths -- making it our most powerful weapon.
Teach your friends and family about the separation of church and state -- although individual religious groups have a right to embrace or to denounce same-sex marriage, you and your family need and deserve the rights and benefits bestowed by legal civil marriage.
Our opposition is using the words "gay marriage" to instill fear and anxiety. We need to remind our loved ones that there is a huge difference between Civil Marriage rights and a Religious Wedding Ceremony.
A Civil Marriage is a legal relationship between two individuals that bestows automatic state and federal rights, responsibilities and benefits. At this time, civil marriage rights in America are only granted to heterosexual couples.
A Religious Wedding Ceremony is a recognition and celebration of marriage between a couple, their religious institution (church, temple or synagogue), their families and friends. This form of marriage is available to both heterosexual couples and same-sex couples, however, for same-sex couples, the ceremony does not trigger a legally married status and the accompanying state and federal rights and benefits.
After you have educated and created allies within your own circle, encourage them to vote for politicians who support equal civil marriage rights. Once our elected officials realize they must vote in favor of equality or lose their jobs, well, I think we all know how that will play out.
In his powerful 1968 speech in Memphis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told his audience "to give [themselves] to this struggle [for equality] until the end… we go up together or we go down together. " His message is as true for gay and lesbians today as it was to the African American community during their civil rights struggle.
For gays and lesbians in 2004, there is no JUSTICE, there is JUST US. Only by working together will we make equality happen.
