Continuing The Progress Made

Now that Iowa and Vermont have joined Connecticut and Massachusetts in allowing gay marriage, we need to continue to support the idea that equality, love, and respect comes in all different shapes, forms and discriminates against no one. Proposition 8 was a referendum added to the California ballot during the November presidential election which overturned same sex marriages in the state of California. Nate Silver, a blogger and creator of the site fivethrityeight.com which represents the number of electoral votes needed to win the presidency became famous during the election for having the most accurate exit polling during the 2008 election between John McCain, and Barack Obama, calling the election even more accurately than mainstream media outlets, wrote a blog about the historic Iowa ruling. In this blog post on his website he took into account the history of things like this happening and how often a state referendum has happened. Something I found even more fascinating, was towards the bottom of the blog, he estimated when every state in the country would pass a similar law. In my personal opinion, and I would love to be see it happen in my lifetime, I am a little skeptical that gay marriage will be passed in all 50 states during my lifetime because of how divisive and issue it is today. To see people get so worked up about it when it is actually legal in only 4 states, and the religious right feeling like they are being backed into a corner makes me feel like 2009 is the start of something that will hopefully be finished by the next generation. I really hope we can keep the momentum going, and hand off a more caring and understanding world to the future generations.

Texas Christian University Takes An Extra Step in Compassion

Being in a new environment is never easy and having to acclimate yourself to new surroundings can test the nerves of anyone. When someone is gay it can be an even more difficult task to not only fit in, but also find people who accept you, or are just like you. Texas Christian University has taken the unusual, and wonderful step of providing separate housing for gay and lesbian students, along with students who support their rights.

The article goes on to quote Sam Wunderl , a TCU junior, who favors a gay-friendly housing and thinks this is "a big step forward" for TCU, and believes most students are fine with the idea.

Wunderl, who is straight says "I just think it's important for gays to feel included."

I know how difficult it can be to fit in and how uneasy a process it is to make friends, especially if you are a minority of the population. For gay and lesbian students to have a specific area of the student housing reserved for them is a very good idea, and way for students to bond with kids who are just like them and are going through the same exact things they are going through. It is already difficult to deal with having to move away from home, and transitioning into college life, so this makes things at least a little bit easier.

A Brighter and More Hopeful Future

So far 2009 has been looking very good for gay marriage proponents and their hope of having it same-sex marriage one day being legal in the entire country. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, more and more states are changing their minds on gay marriage, and with today's decision in Vermont to allow same sex marriage, four states in the United States of America recognize gay marriage. It was not an easy battle, with lawyers and activists from both sides of the issue fighting one another, but the decision to allow gay marriage was passed into law today after the House voted to override a veto by the Republican Governor. Even though everyone in the state of Iowa and surrounding areas may not be completely 100 percent behind gay marriage, it seems like a tide is turning in the debate over gay marriage, and that is a wonderful thing to witness. This blog post highlights a wide variety of the differing views people have on the decision to legalize gay marriage. There are plenty of battles to be won, and battles that will probably be lost in the future, but it is amazing to see changes like this slowly happening. It is definitely going to be interesting to see what happens in California when the Supreme Court decides the Prop 8 decision. If this is repealed, and Prop 8 is not allowed, I think this will be one of the biggest victories of the year because this was a referendum that overturned an opinion that was deemed legal, which was that marriage between people of the same sex is just as acceptable as a heterosexual couple. I really hope the progress made in Iowa and Vermont is continued, and that 2009 continues to show we have progressed as a nation, and not regressed.

Iowa Legalizes Gay Marriage

The Iowa Supreme Court today ruled in favor of legalizing gay marriage, joining only Connecticut and Massachusetts in recognizing same-sex marriages.

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective," the Supreme Court wrote in their opinion on the case. A Des Moines attorney who represented a gay and lesbian couples said "this is a great day for civil rights in Iowa."

I am very happy about this decision and hope for similar rulings in the future. I believe that if a state like Iowa can legalize gay marriage, so can New York, and eventually the entire country can see how wrong it is to deprive someone the right to be happy and be with the person they love. It is a slow battle, but it seems to be picking up momentum and the tide is turning. It makes me very happy to think that during my lifetime we might see a real change in the way we treat other human beings.

Local Fight Against Don't Ask, Don't Tell

The very contentious and heated debate over Don't Ask, Don't Tell and whether or not gay and lesbians should be allowed to serve in the military has always drawn heated debate from both sides of the issue. I could never understand why people who bravely and heroically chose to put their life on the line would be treated like second class citizens and not allowed to serve honorably with their fellow men and women. I think this blog post, by a fellow student illustrates very nicely the insanity that goes on in the military, and how silly it is to force gay and lesbian recruits to stay closeted.

While I was checking out the local Westchester paper I came across a very interesting and local story which I wanted to blog about. The first sentence really jumped out to me because of the amount of disappointment and anguish it made me feel inside.

Twice while she was a cadet at West Point, Becky Kanis was investigated for being a lesbian. She was asked point-blank if she was, she said, "and I lied." I really feel awful that she had to be investigated for being a lesbian and that she felt she needed to hide what she was, although I do not blame her since West Point had to investigate her sexuality, like it was such a huge deal. I think it is fantastic that she wants to fight the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and use her own experiences as a learning tool. Hopefully she can help future recruits who had to deal with what she and a couple other had to with little support. My hope for the future is that we will never have to deal with this at all, and can be much more accepting to everyone, no matter what their sexual preference, or religion.

Political Double Speak

It really annoys me when politicians, or someone in general is willing to sacrifice their own personal beliefs to get ahead. Meg Whitman, who was the former CEO of eBay before stepping down was a staunch supporter of Mitt Romney before he bowed out of the Republican Primary and then supported John McCain. In February she announced she would run for Governor of California, against a crowded group of Republicans. Her rhetoric, which was echoed by the McCain campaigned did not please me, and made me an even bigger supporter of Barack Obama. However, double speak like like this drives me up a wall, especially when it is something I am passionate about and an issue that I do not think a candidate should be allowed to have both ways. I think she should be called out on this and someone should demand where she stand on this issue. I feel this is especially true since she wants to be Governor of California and this is an important issue for the state. I really hope people hold her feet to the fire and call her out on this.

Barney Frank Vs Antonin Scalia

Earlier in the week Barney Frank, who is one of two openly gay members in the House of Representatives called Supreme Court Justice, and one of the more Conservative leaning members, Antonin Scalia a homophobe. At first Frank only justified his reasoning for doing so by saying that Scalia had always written dissenting views that attacked gay rights when he was in the minority, like in the case of Lawrence Vs Texas. Frank also stated that he was glad that certain gay rights issues had not come up when a majority was held by the Conservative because he knew he would not be able to count on them for support. Representative Frank decided to clarify his remarks and contributed to the Huffington Post, with some examples which included Scalia's dissenting opinion in the Lawrence Vs Texas case.

There is no denying how intelligent, well read, and well spoken, Justice Scalia is and how that translates to the opinions and decisions he is responsible for. However, I do not agree at all with his views or ideals and would consider myself to be on the complete opposite end of the political spectrum to him. I remember seeing him interviewed on 60 Minutes and vehemently disagreeing with his views. I think Representitive Frank is correct about Justice Frank being homophobic and not caring one bit about gay rights, but I do not think his view will change during his time on the Supreme Court so it is futile to attempt to have him "see the light." Hopefully, and this is a reason why I voted for Obama, there will be some openings on the Supreme Court and he can fill them with Progressive Justices, and not just for their views on gay rights, but other issues that relate to them.