Nov 6, 2008
Cage Results
Mine, became smaller. (proposition 8)
Nov 5, 2008
What to do?
What to do now?
Really I just want to ask everyone I come in contact with how they voted on prop 8.
And if they voted yes- I want to say FUCK YOU!!
Don't you get it? Don't you get how it feels to be marginalized? Don't you get how you've just told me that my love, my life, is wrong? Don't you get that there is a separation of church and state? If your particular brand of religion is against gay marriage- so be it. Stay out of the constitution.
How do I look at the playground aide, the brownie troop leader, the mom who gave us a meal after Käri had surgery who says "they're okay, but not the rest of those gay people?
I'm sure it's displaced anger. Anger at myself for not doing more, saying more, being more outspoken to everyone, anger at 52% of Californians.
It's a strange place to be. I wish I could speak more eloquently about it all- this will have to do.
For now.
We have received several e-mails and phone calls commiserating, expressing their sorrow at 8's passing and overall expressing their support for us and our family. Awfully nice.
Nov 4, 2008
4 times
Apparently, I am more anxious about this election than I thought.
The first was talking to a friend this morning who is voting for McCain- I can respect that, but then when talking further she avoided Prop 8 discussion other than to say "it's a huge discussion at my house".
I don't understand how this friend can support me and my family and yet, more than likely, vote yes on 8.
The second was listening to NPR replaying Obama talking about his grandmother.
The third listening to voters speak on NPR after they had finished voting.
And the fourth was after I completed voting and my little girls were so good sitting at the table coloring and eating cookies- thinking about their future, wondering about the outcome of this election and recognizing how much our country needs change.
Will it happen?
My oldest, Leo, told me he really wants Prop 8 to lose because he wants us to be happy, he doesn't want us to have to separate, "because won't it be against the law, for you to stay together if 8 passes?"
Nov 3, 2008
Yes on 8, no more...
And let's not forget I had an accomplice or five... The extra grown up grabbed some signs, as well and the other four, well, it was an opportunity for learning. They looked for the color yellow and counted- "Two mama, two"
My civic duty... Complete.
Nov 1, 2008
Going to the Chapel
It wasn't exactly a chapel, but a hall in a little corner of redwoods in Camp Meeker. How I love this place. Summers were spent here in our family cabin when I was a pre-teen and then teen. So many great memories of family and later friends at Meldave (our cabin's name). I'd hike around the roads and trails, ocassionally forging my own, and tromp through the creek. Some days we'd pack up and head to the beach in Monte Rio or sometimes Guerneville. Bring a lunch and hang out all day reading Evergreen or the 'Attic' series. I explored St. Dorothy's when it wasn't occupied and once went snipe hunting late at night. Many rounds of moanin' rummy and learning to play Pedro- watching my aunts and uncles laugh, cocktails in hand. Sleeping on the screened in porch, a little scared at the night noises surrounding the cabin. Always cold at night ,snuggled in a sleeping bag, and the days warm and hot. Perfect weather!
Today we returned for my sister's wedding. She married her partner of fifteen years. They were giddy, nervous, and excited. My other sister lives in Camp Meeker and was eloquoent in her officiating the ceremony. A lovely and lively party that we left before it was over. Dancing, singing, drinking, talking and laughing.
Relatives, friends, kids... Many years of history and memories in that room. Many came from Colorado, Utah, Los Angeles, and from all over the Bay Area. So many good feelings and warmth.
I was surprised, a bit, at some of my relatives who actually attended, and my father who agreed to walk my sister down the aisle- how far he has come to do this for her, with her.
A fun time, a good time, a legal time.
Oct 20, 2008
Anti-Miscegenation, Marriage, and Proposition 8
I copied a lot of information from Wiki- These are all regarding Anti-Miscegenation, not gay marriage or any reaction to DOMA.
"Miscegenation (Latin miscere "to mix" + genus "kind") is the mixing of different racial groups, that is, marrying, cohabiting, having sexual relations and having children with a partner from outside of one's racially or ethnically defined group."
"In 1958, the political theorist Hannah Arendt, an emigre from Nazi Germany, wrote in an essay in response to the Little Rock Crisis, the Civil Rights struggle for the racial integration of public schools which took place in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, that anti-miscegenation laws were an even deeper injustice than the racial segregation of public schools. The free choice of a spouse, she argued in Reflections on Little Rock, was "an elementary human right": "Even political rights, like the right to vote, and nearly all other rights enumerated in the Constitution, are secondary to the inalienable human rights to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence; and to this category the right to home and marriage unquestionably belongs."
I love what this woman had to say.
"In 1967, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Loving v. Virginia that anti-miscegenation laws are unconstitutional. With this ruling, these laws were no longer in effect in the remaining 16 states that at the time still enforced them."
41 years ago- 16 states still enforced laws regarding whites marrying non whites- 41 years ago...
"...it took South Carolina until 1998 and Alabama until 2000 to officially amend their states' constitutions to remove language prohibiting miscegenation. In the respective referendums, 62% of voters in South Carolina and 59% of voters in Alabama voted to remove these laws."
Only 62% and 59%? Holy hell.
"On June 12, 2007, Mildred Loving issued a rare public statement prepared for delivery on the 40th anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia decision of the US Supreme Court, which commented on same-sex marriage.[8] The concluding paragraphs of her statement read as follows:"
“ Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don't think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the "wrong kind of person" for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people's religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people's civil rights. I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about.
”
Oh, and just for the record, I'm voting No on 8. You should too.
I recently had this to say over here.
"I would agree that the thought of ripping the YES on 8 signs out of my neighbors lawns did cross my mind. For me, it didn't come from a place of hate. It came from a place of fear and discouragement.
I didn't and wouldn't tear the signs out. I believe in the right of free speech and equality for all, and all opinions, even ones I don't agree with.
Thus the reason I will vote No on 8- without hesitation."

