Trying to keep hope alive
I’m trying, but it’s a hard day in the domain of queer rights. I told Q this evening that the judges in CA decided to keep gay marriage illegal. The look of sadness and anger on his face was heartbreaking. Tears were close to the surface. This boy understands. Not only does he understand what the ruling means, but he understands the implications for queer couples and families, for families like his. He told us that anyone should be able to marry who they want. And he was emphatic. And ultimately, I think it’s that simple. But that simplicity is hidden under an ugly tangle of hate, misunderstanding, history, and injustice. And it’s untangling that mess that still needs to happen.
Yes, I want the mess untangled so that other queer folks can get married — tomorrow, next month, next year. But more importantly, I want it untangled so that Q and his peers, when they grow up, see a wide horizon of possibilities. So that they know they lived through change and that change brought with it rights and choices — to marry who they want, to live how they want, to have whatever identity they choose.
Q chooses what identity he steps into on a daily basis. And he makes empowered choices. Little stands in the way of those choices, it seems. And I want him to walk into a future where little stands in the way of anyone’s choices, particularly when it comes to love and partnership and committing one’s love to another.
Q's anti-Prop 8 sign
I am so sorry that this situatuion has happened in this way. I send you and your family my support from the deep south. I hope this ugliness ends someday, for your children and my own. Stay strong and brave, raw and radiant. This is not the world that I hoped it would be, every human being should have equal civil rights to freedom and the pursuit of happiness. I pray that it will end and people will find the courage to let go of the pettiness and embrace differance, its what makes this world beauty-Full. it’s a sad day for human rights, everywhere.
It’s not the end.
“Strength and Happiness”
When the issue of racial equality was decided in court, a precedent was set for weighing any ruling on equal rights. Everyone should have the right to enjoy equality under the protection of the law, regardless of gender or orientation.
The Irish made an excellent PSA about a man walking around “asking for Sinead’s Hand in Marriage”; it’s still on YouTube, it’s beautiful and to the point. How would the hetrosexual community feel if they had to endure this kind of treatment?
We did not choose to be gay, we were born the way we are. The problem is this; we’re not ashamed of who we are. We accept ourselves and that scares the others. Maybe they aren’t as secure in their identity as they want us to believe.