Protest the passage of Prop 8

[susanmcgee48176]

> DD
> (Who thinks it is beyond ridiculous that those who were married 
> before said proposition passed can remain so legally-in all states 
> where same sex marriage was lawful..but no new marriages can occur. 
> Ludicrous)
>


But in fact, we don't know that yet. There were 18,000 couples 
married in California before election day, and we don't know that our 
marriages will be valid. That's for the court to decide. The 
Governor, the Attorney General and 40 California State Senators have 
asked the court to ensure that our marriages remain valid, but who 
knows....

I say "ours", because my beloved partner and I were married on 
October 25th in the Women's Federation Grove on the Redwoods on the 
Eel River. Besides the officiator, only our two children were in 
attendance. It was a very moving and sacred ceremony.

Most of the protests about Proposition 8 were very peaceful. Here in 
Humboldt County, citizens voted 60% against (i.e. against eliminating 
our right to marry). 

We've had two protests...one was 300 people last week who came out in 
driving wind, pouring rain and 45 degree temperaturs....this week, 
Mother Nature smiled, and provided 60 degrees, and sunny, and we saw 
500 people (only a handful of overlaps)... For two little cities with 
a population of 45,000 total, that's extraordinary turnout. Of 
course, there were many, many straight allies there.

We have a tradition of tolerance and live and let live here...one of 
the conservative radio announcers (Old Glory Radio) has become a 
supporter, and he was struck by the smiles and embraces and happiness 
of the crowd....we are dedicated to respectful discourse in our 
campaigns here...when the yard signs were being destroyed, our 
Coalition called for EVERYONE to stop destroying yard signs, while 
the other side just condemned THEIR signs being torn down...

We ARE angry at the lies that were told...

Another one of the lies funded by Mormon Money was that gay marriage 
would be taught in Kindergarten. In fact, California law provides for 
local control of school content, determined by parents, teachers, and 
administrators, and an opt-out alternative for ANY parent who objects 
to ANY content. Some kids opt out of Halloween and/or Harry Potter 
celebrations, for example. Our opponents used photos of school 
children who attended a lesbian teacher's marriage (organized by the 
parents, and two children did not attend) as evidence of what would 
happen...and they used the photos on their web site WITHOUT THE 
PARENT'S PERMISSION. The parents were horrified and sent registered 
letters to the website, to no avail. There is now a bill pending in 
the Senate that would make use of children's photos without parental 
permission illegal. I wish to state that *I* am not repeating 
anecdotal information; I have data to back up every single statement 
in this post.

So, anyway, sooner or later, we will win our full civil rights. These 
reverses are the last vestiges of the 19th century politics we've 
endured in the U.S. Most striking were the age demographics, with the 
18 - 24 year olds voting to keep marriage rights 65 - 35, and those 
over 65 voting to get rid of them 56%...

My parents were married to each other, and loved one another for 45 
years..and I now believe are together after their death. That is what 
I have always wanted. My spouse and I have been together 15 years, 
and will be together until death do us part.

I am a very happy person, despite our political reverses. I have a 
wonderful, beautiful, incredible SPOUSE, and two happy, healthy, 
bright, polite and lovable children. 

Love to all, Susan