So - it's been an exciting couple of weeks on the same sex marriage front here.
From a feeling of almost hopelessness about marriage equality coming to New York - and there being a chance Prop 8 will be overturned in California - there now seems to be a glimmer of light on both fronts.
The recent groundswell of support for the idea of same sex civil marriage - both legislatively and publicly - in the states surrounding us, plus brave plucky little Iowa, seems to be creating a subtle yet seismic shift.
My heart goes out to Iowa and its GLBT community. I'm from the Midwest myself and my parents still live in Nebraska. I've experienced the narrowness of view and tolerance in those states firsthand. These brave Iowans are truly taking a stand in a hostile environment - unlike New England, where everyone here seems to be playing "hey - wait for me!!!"
Fortunately, I also think the religious right and the hyper-hysterical "pro-family" zealots and defenders of marriage are experiencing a huge amount of blowback from their untethered fear mongering over the past couple of decades.
We've transitioned from 8 years of living based on fear to a new, calmer and more rational existence. The hysterics and overblown tactics of these intolerant asshats seem so much more bizarre and desperate when viewed through this current lense.
The skies have not fallen over Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut or Massachusetts. Civilization has not ground to a halt. This is good news for New Hampshire, Maine, New York and Minnesota - who may all be next in line.
Twenty five years ago - I never would have dreamed of seeing this happen in America. That I may live to see equality on a national level in my lifetime is simply mind-blowing.
I am hopeful. And cautiously optimistic. And happy. Very, very happy.
2 comments:
It'd be a great day to see this happen all over the country. A great day indeed.
Too slow for words - I can't conceive of the depth of feeling that would allow this to still be such a contentious issue in 2009. Your politics up there is so disparate - our left leaning major party and right leaning major party are so freakin' close to the middle of the spectrum that most of their policy is aligned (especially social issues).
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