May 31st, 2009
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
A new documentary about closeted gay politicians put the issue of “outing” on the front burner. The LA Times’ James Rainey accelerated this by talking about his 1993 outing of City Council Candidate Jackie Goldberg against the desire of her then-partner and then 8-year-old son.
Journalists generally follow a protocol of not revealing somebody’s sexual orientation without their explicit permission, since outing somebody is just too potentially damaging to them and their families.
It is nice that journalists respect this privacy, but why doesn’t our government? As long as we have two – or three – different legal statuses describing relationships in this state, it is impossible for me to be “in the closet.” My car license outs me. Filing taxes outs me. My kids’ vaccination forms out me. As long as our State forms use the terms “married” and “domestic partner” – or “husband/wife” as on EDD forms DE1 (Registration Form for Commercial Employers) and DE1-HW (Registration Form for Employers of Household Workers) STILL do – I am automatically outed whenever I fill out a government form.
The only solution is to have one set of laws describing relationships in this state. I don’t care if it is “married” or “domestic partners” but a house divided cannot stand.
Governor, I wish you would apologize for vetoing AB 43, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act that would have legalized gay marriage through the legislature. I wish you would stand with fair-minded Californians against the government meddling in personal decisions. I wish you would make the GOP get rid of Michael Steele so Republicans can be electable again.
Sincerely,
Posted in domestic apartheid, EDD form DE1, letters | No Comments »
May 30th, 2009
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
What should we do in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling on Prop 8?
You may recall that this amendment to our Constitution says that same-sex couples cannot get married in California. It does not say heterosexual couples cannot get domestic partnered in California.
The Constitution says that all people must be subject to the same laws. I think there is only one fair way to handle this: stop all marriages in California. Existing marriages will be converted to Domestic Partnerships for same-sex and opposite couples alike.
Then instead of having three laws for people, we will only have one. Government will be smaller and save money. Michael Steele will not have to worry about small businesses spending money on benefits to married people. Randy Thomasson would not have to worry about churches performing marriages.
If you really believed in equality and freedom, you would stop inequality and apartheid.
Sincerely,
Posted in Constitution, fairness, Golden Rule, scorched earth | No Comments »
May 29th, 2009
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
After Tuesday’s press conference I had a coffee with one of the national reporters who covered the event, off camera and off record.
Covering this has been challenging for him because he has seen how hurtful Prop 8 is, and how thoughtless the Opponents of Equality are. While he is trained to be fair and balanced, he has started to see the denial of freedom as a media stunt, rather than the truth.
Basically, I met somebody who regrets spreading the lies and selfish policies of the Opponents of Equality, another victim of the war against the gays.
Governor, I wish you would apologize for vetoing AB 43, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act that would have legalized gay marriage through the legislature. I wish you would apologize for letting Gavin Newsome and Antonio Villaraigosa stand alone at rally after rally opposing Prop 8. I wish you would make the GOP get rid of Michael Steele and Rush Limbaugh so Republicans can be electable again.
I wish you were on the side of Faith, Family and Freedom, instead of quietly waiting out your term.
Sincerely,
Posted in better things, change of heart, letters, truth | No Comments »
May 28th, 2009
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision about the validity of Proposition 8 made my blood boil. Instead of having just one set of laws governing Californians, we now have three: one for heterosexual marriage, another for gay marriages performed during the Fall of 2008, and a third for Domestic Partnerships.
I hate Prop 8 and you should too – because it makes Government bigger and more intrusive into our daily lives, at great expense when we can ill afford it.
Governor, I wish you would apologize for vetoing AB 43, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act that would have legalized gay marriage through the legislature. I wish you would apologize for letting Gavin Newsome and Antonio Villaraigosa stand alone at rally after rally opposing Prop 8. I wish you would make the GOP get rid of Michael Steele and Rush Limbaugh so Republicans can be electable again.
I wish you were on the side of Faith, Family and Freedom, instead of quietly waiting out your term.
Sincerely,
Posted in apartheid, domestic apartheid, domestic partnership, letters, marriage vs. civil unions | No Comments »
May 27th, 2009
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
My husband, kids and I went to the Repeal Prop 8 rally in West Hollywood last night. The entire West Hollywood City Government was there, the pastor from my Church gave a rousing invocation, Drew Barrymore and George Takei spoke from their hearts, Daniel Choi challenged the military by saying “I am gay” and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa promised in English and Spanish that Los Angeles would be fighting along with us to get rid of this bad proposition.
Why weren’t you there?
Sincerely,
Posted in annulled, better things, celebrities, letters, protests | No Comments »
May 26th, 2009
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
This morning I attended the Prop 8 news conference down here in Los Angeles.
It was held in a part of town I had never been in before, Leimert Park, a predominantly African-American neighborhood just blocks from the Crenshaw Christian Center where Pastor Fred Price Jr. held all of his “yes on 8” rallies.
Our press conference opened with a blessing by two ministers and a rabbi. They spoke so long that they were at the podium to made the announcement that the Supreme Court had upheld Proposition 8, and that a slim majority of voters was all that was necessary to take away their religious freedom to perform marriages.
Governor, I wish you would apologize for vetoing AB 43, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act that would have legalized gay marriage through the legislature. I wish you would apologize for letting Gavin Newsome and Antonio Villaraigosa stand alone at rally after rally opposing Prop 8. I wish you would make the GOP get rid of Michael Steele and Rush Limbaugh so Republicans can be electable again.
In short, I wish you were on the side of Faith, Family and Freedom, instead of quietly waiting out your term.
Sincerely,
Posted in freedom, letters, the family | No Comments »
May 25th, 2009
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
Happy Memorial Day, Governor. I hope you get a chance to go to the park with your family.
It’s funny – we go to the same schools and parks as our neighbors, we vote in the same elections, we go to the same churches, and at the ball games, we stand in the same lines for hot dogs. Yet when it is time to get married, same-sex couples have to stand in one line, while opposite couples have to stand in a different line.
That doesn’t seem very American to me.
Sincerely,
Posted in apartheid, domestic apartheid, domestic partnership, Homer Simpson, separate but equal | No Comments »
May 24th, 2009
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
On Tuesday, the California Supreme Court will rule on the validity of Proposition 8.
In 130 years, our Constitution was thought of as something that gives everybody access to a level playing field. Proposition 8 tests that assumption, and I am very scared that we will see a crack in our foundation.
If the Constitution can be used as a weapon against a few at the whim of the many, instead of protecting every one of us, it protects no one.
Sincerely,
Posted in Constitution, letters | No Comments »
