From the backseat

As I mentioned earlier, my oldest son and I were talking politics on the way in to school today. Included in that discussion was the fact that I know of people who are not voting for Obama purely based on the fact that he is black.

Abe- "Mama, when I grow up are other grown ups going to boss me around?"

Me- 'Well, if you work somewhere, you'll probably have a boss that will tell you what to do..."

Abe- "No, I mean because my skin is dark. Will people boss me around because I have dark skin?"

Me- Swallow- "No Abe, like slaves is that what you mean? No, that doesn't happen anymore, everyone respects everyone else no matter what they look like"

Abe- "Oh, right 'cuz Abraham Lincoln fixed it and his name is the same as mine"

Me- "Right..."

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Anti-Miscegenation, Marriage, and Proposition 8

In an effort to educate myself on Prop 8, I was reading up on the 14th Amendment and Anti-Miscegenation laws. There is a lot to read out there... These were some pieces that I found interesting.

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 With this ruling, these laws were no longer in effect in the remaining 16 states that at the time still enforced them."

Midred and Richard Loving

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.

”

Tomorrow, to celebrate 20 years together, we're getting married, again (the first was deemed against the law- thanks for trying Mayor Newsom).




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."

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