A note about Real Life, for a change.
My real life physical pixels walked into the voting booth yesterday. It's an off year... no president, senators or representatives to vote for. But here in Maine, where I live, there was a Big Question on the ballot.
It was a "People's Veto". You see... earlier this year, the legislature in the state of Maine passed a bill making it legal for same sex couples to marry. The Governor of Maine signed the bill into law.
The law never went into effect. A group of out of state interests with deep pockets, coupled with religious groups within Maine, initiated a People's Veto, getting the question on the ballot for a public vote. Opening the issue up for a vote sounds good, in theory. It is what a democratic society is all about. In practice, it doesn't always reflect the feelings of the majority. Religious zealots, fear-mongerers, and apathy among young eligible voters served to doom this law from the start.
Those who know me in Second Life know that I am, at least, open-minded on issues of sex, gender, and sexuality. It is obvious by the role I play and how I explore these issues in Second Life. The truth is, I am about as open-minded as one can be. One's gender and sexual orientation are barely on the list of attributes of a person that I consider important when getting to know them, or to love them, in Second Life or in Real Life.
So it always annoys me when I encounter a closed mind.
Back to the Big Question. The Question, itself, was closed-minded, and designed to illicit a fear response on the part of the voter.
Question 1: People's Veto
An Act To End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom
"Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?"
Do you get it? A rejection of a law that rejects discrimination of same sex couples ends discrimination and affirms religious freedom. While it would be hard for anyone not entering the voting booth in Maine to not be aware of the issue and what a yes or a no vote meant, given the advertising going on for the last three months, the question is framed in a way as to mislead the voter.
By voting "Yes", you will "end discrimination in Civil Marriage". How is that, exactly, when a Yes vote revokes the law allowing same sex marriage in a civil ceremony? By voting "Yes", you will affirm religious freedom. Only, the law that ever so briefly allowed same sex marriage in Maine never had anything to do with religion or religious freedom. The laws separating church and state allowed a religious practitioner to reject a religious marriage in the church.
It wasn't just the question on the ballot that promoted fear. The advertising promised that if the law allowing same sex marriage was allowed to remain, that "they" would be "teaching gay marriage in the schools!"
First off, I see nothing wrong with teaching that. But even if I did, it's a crock. There is no curriculum in schools that "teach" heterosexual marriage in the schools. Why would there be a curriculum designed to "teach" gay marriage? Scare tactics were used, showing covers of children's books like "Heather Has Two Mommies" and using them to promote the fear that a curriculum would be designed around them. Hogwash.
Allowing people of the same sex to marry is about equal rights and equal protection under the law. It is not about special privilege. It is not about eroding religious freedom. And it certainly isn't about making our children gay by teaching them how to be gay in school.
In a big election year, Maine sees an impressive 75% or so turnout at the polls. Apathy among voters tends to keep them away on the off years. Apathy among 18-39 year olds is a greater problem than in older voters - and 18-39 year olds are far more in favor of gay marriage than older voters.
Maine could have been the first state to affirm the right to same sex marriage by popular vote.
Question 1 passed 53% - 47%.
I voted "No."
I am not an activist.
I could maybe have been more involved... but at least I voted.
And I removed the "Yes on 1" sign that someone placed in front of my house.
I'm sure Mainers will see this issue up for a vote, again. I hope they will wait until the next presidential election year, when more voices will be heard.
The Power is in the People, not the special interests groups. Let all the voices be heard, next time.
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For me, i am from the Netherlands, it's odd to see that the land of freedom still struggle with such issues. It shows how relative freedom is. The way how the question got formulated is amazingly weird.
ReplyDeleteI wish the people who are fighting for such, to me, common rights, the best of luck and who knows, maybe next time Shye places a sign in her garden by herself!
The problem is, people are too entrenched in their personal view point. It sadly remains a hot button issue, because people are still raised to think homosexuality is a weaker thing. When there is still the parody homosexual on sitcoms on tv, still the effeminate view of things, and still the view that one certain sex must be a certain thing. People will blindly vote based on religion or what they claim makes them feel good.
ReplyDeleteI wish as an American that same sex marriage was allowed and not just for my own self interests. I understand since I was raised in a strict religious family how close minded religious backgrounds can create. Sadly the extremes on both ends of it that flame others and insult others. Those that never try to see the other sides viewpoint is what has left America, as Alysa said struggling with the issue. While the "right" and "wrong" mentality remains we will remain a nation that ends up doing the wrong thing and denying freedom.
While this is another issue, but people will claim the reason they should not allow it, is the dangerous same sex couple raising children. As someone that was raised in a family that was massively dysfunctional that had a mom and dad, I find so many holes in that argument as well. Let equal people have equal rights, there can no longer be this whole some rights for some mentality.
I can only hope that in time this will be commonly allowed, like interracial marriage. Then those still acting unjustly against it will be held up to the light for their actions. For now I feel this will many times change, till being homosexual is no longer funny or odd in people's minds.
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