Straight But Not Narrow
By a margin of 57% to 43%, Virginia voters approved the Marshall/Newman Amendment, which not only defines marriage as something that may only exist between one man and one woman, but also forbids the state to legally recognize ANY marriage-like relationship that is not actually marriage.
There were about a million good reasons to vote against this amendment, all of which were heavily promoted by The Commonwealth Coalition.
- We already have a law on the books banning both same-sex marriage and same-sex civil unions, so a constitutional amendment is unnecessary.
- The amendment goes too far in that it applies equally to straight and gay couples. (hey, there's a unique concept)
- The amendment discriminates against unmarried couples, both gay and straight.
- The amendment is an invasion of privacy that represents an unecessary government intrusion into our personal lives.
- The amendment would make it considerably more difficult for unmarried victims of domestic violence to seek legal recourse against their abusers.
- Opposition to same-sex marriage is primarily religious, and Virginia has recognized the wall of separation between church and state since we passed Jefferson's Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom in 1786.
- The amendment is bad for business. Passage of this amendment is likely to spark litigation against companies whose benefit plans offer coverage to life partners, and will drive highly-qualified professionals out of the state.
And that's all well and good, but here's why I voted against the Marshall/Newman amendment:
Gay people should be allowed to get married.
That's it. End of story. (I've covered this territory before.)
And so, as a straight Virginian, I'd like to apologize to the gay community of Virginia. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that 57% of Virginia voters are so fucking bigoted they rejected every reasonable argument above simply because the idea of gay sex kinda creeps them out, and I'm sorry that 57% of the voting public is too fucking stupid to read past the first sentence of the proposed amendment and vote no.
3 comments:
I've given up trying to figure out the logic of people opposed to gay marriage. Like you say, it all comes down to bigotry, plain and simple. I'd like to add my apology and extend it to the entire gay population. I honestly think attitudes will change in the near future, so hang tight!
Damn. I'm sorry too.
I understand that there is a pretty sizable gay population in Richmond, and that many gays in the south have moved there in order to find a safe community.
I guess they overestimated the people of the fine state of VA.
Not that we're any more enlightened in CA.
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