So as I first post after my semester has ended I couldn’t be happier to talk about Washington D.C. and their passage of a measure today to allow same-sex marriage!
According to several sources including the New York Times the City Council passed the measure by an 11-2 margin.
There is still at least one obstacle in the bills way though, the US Congress. By law anything passed by the DC city also has to be reviewed and passed my Congress. But considering the Dems hold the majority and most measures from DC put up are approved come this time next month DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will be adding DC to the list of marriage friendly cities!!
So my semester is drawing to a close and with it my requirement to keep this blog going. However even though the requirement is over I will still try to keep the site current. I do have to admit that when the semester ends I will probably be trending away from more professional posts, I struggled during this year to keep my journalistic integrity since this was a school project. There were many times (Maine voters denying marriage to all and NYC senators ignoring the majority to vote against equality) that I would have enjoyed going off on a rant that would most likely have included many curse words but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that on a school project.
So now that school is over expect a more unfiltered response to the ongoing denial of basic human rights for every American citizen!
Now as a fair-well to the school year and a hello to the more unfiltered side of my opinions on the issue I give you my ‘greatest hits’ a couple of posts I think you should check out!
This video, staring Wanda Sykes was part of a Gay News of the Week post I did early on in my blogs life but the message of the video is one that I think more people should understand.
My trip to DC for the Marriage Equality rally was an interesting one that didn’t turn out quite like I planned (broken camera and all black photos) but luckily CSPAN had amazing coverage of the march that I was able to share!
My post about the 10-year-old boy from Arkansas who refuses to say the pledge at his school everyday because the words of the pledge don’t match the laws of the United States of America. I was blown away by this boy when I first heard the story and am still amazed today! I think he is a perfect example of the younger generation being the key to this equality fight.
Finally one of my last posts of the class the video I shot and made of the Marriage Equality rally in Trenton, NJ! I’m very proud of the footage as well as the video I was able to assemble and I really think the message come through well, that it isn’t about being different it’s about wanting the right guaranteed to us by our Constitution!
On December 5 Garden State Equality in conjunction with student organizations from Rowan University and The College of New Jersey held a rally in Trenton, NJ for the Marriage Equality bill that was being proposed in the state Senate. Even though it was raining and the temperatures were at near freezing numbers the turn out was great. Speakers ranged from pastors and rabbi’s who support equality to professors and couples who aren’t allowed to marry based on the current laws. Bellow is a video I created telling the story of the day as well as first hand accounts from LGBT people who are affected everyday by this injustice.
It’s been a really long time! Almost 3 weeks in fact but a lot has happened since my last post, some of it bad and some just ok.
The bad news first.
On December 2nd the New York State Senate voted 24 to 38 against allowing gay marriage in the state.
The move was protested as soon as it happened with various images and rallys in New York City.
At one rally protesters held up a giant piece of yellow fabric symbolizing crime scene tape.
Other created the famous I ♥ NY shirts with the hearts bleeding.
Gay marriage in NY is supported by the people 58% according to poll conducted last year.
Now to the ok news.
The New Jersey state senate committee voted 7-6 to allow a same-sex marriage bill to reach the Senate floor for a vote, however the supporters of the bill such as senator Joe Roberts decided to postpone the vote because they felt they didn’t have enough support.
For those unfamiliar with the marriage equality fight in NJ here is a brief overview.
Before the November elections for governor the state Senate agreed to pass a same-sex bill weather democrat Jon Corzine retained his job or not. His opponent Chris Christie isn’t on record as being anti-equality so the senate planned to pass the law before he took office should he be elected.
The voters in NJ did elect the republican Christie, who will take office in January. After everything was said and done the senate started to go back on their promise for the same-sex marriage bill.
Now the bill is stalled for who knows how long, the dems in the Senate only have till Christie takes office or anything they put though will be vetoed by the incoming governor.
One of the biggest arguments against marriage equality is that marriage has always been the same and doesn’t change. An argument like most that doesn’t take into account facts or history. In fact Marriage is something that is constantly being changed an amended. Whether its same-sex marriage or interracial marriage, the laws on marriage itself are very. Using the timeline site Dipty I’ve created a way to see a few of the key changes to marriage laws over the years without opening a bunch of books. Hope you enjoy!
The Rep. State Senator for Oklahoma, Steve Russell, is introducing legislation that would exempt the state from having to abide by the laws set forth by the new Hate Crimes Bill.
This week I saw something extraordinary and reassuring on CNN. A 10-year-old boy who lives in a very conservative state, Arkansas, stood up for gay-rights! 10-year-old Will Phillips says that he won’t say the Pledge of Allegiance till everyone in America has the same rights like the Pledge suggests we do.
When I first saw this I didn’t really know what to expect but this kid seems very smart, he even skipped a grade, and seems to know what he believes in and wants to stand up for that no matter what. With the things kids tease each other about in school today it’s a brave thing for a boy his age to do something like this knowing the taunts he is going to receive. I think that it just goes to show that as the younger generations gets older, probably from my generation on, we don’t see things the same way that generations before us did. And as we get older and start being the ones who get to decided how our country is run the chances of equal rights for all get better. If everyone could just show support and bravery like Will I think we would truly live in a more free society.
A group of students on the University of Cincinnati thinks so. A week after the defeat in Maine some students feel that the time for silence is past. Holding signs and sporting duct tape over their mouths these students asked the question, “Are you Listening”
Silence has it’s place, from the teachings of Dr. King in the 1960’s to the current trend in civil rights protest silent has been effective to an extent. But when does it become obsolete? When do we need to stop being silent and start making people listen to us? How many elections does the LGBT community need to lose before they start taking back to the religious-right who have plenty to say about their feelings on gay marriage.
With an incoming Republican Governor who has already said he doesn’t it if New Jersey wants to change their same-sex marriage laws they only have two months.
