Oh, the suspense! Is all this waiting for a Prop 8 decision killing you, too?
We have been on the edges of our seats all week. All month, really. Well, actually, since arguments back in March. Technically, we’ve been on edge ever since the Prop 8 case started in 2009. And also since the prior case, In re: Marriages, started in 2004. And since the first marriage ban passed in California in 2000. And since Evan Wolfson first wrote about marriage in the early 80s. And since Faygele Ben Miriam was denied a marriage license in 1971. And since the Codex Theodosianus banned marriage equality in the Roman Empire in the 5th century.
The point, is, we’ve been waiting a long time for this moment.
But once the decision comes, AFER has a huge team in place, ready to spring into action as soon as that ruling arrives. On the day of the decision, they’ll be rapidly updating AFER.org in real time, with a live video feed of major events, a plain-English FAQ, information about the next steps, and how you can take action.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Take that, Codex Theodosianus.
tomron
Day Of Decision
I am the surviving widower of an almost 3 year California marriage, but more important, of an almost 58 year wonderful relationship with my late husband.
Just 3 months after Tom’s death, Senator Diane Feinstein introduced her “Respect For Marriage Act”, and I was invited to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During that historic hearing, my testimony was well received, but unfortunately by only the 11 democratic senators on the committee, while the republican senators did not deem attendance worth the time and effort we pay them for.
Was my effort worth it? On that score, the jury’s still out. But now I, and the nation await two decisions from a different source – by the Supreme Court, which could make that question moot. The Day of Decision (dubbed that by the LBGT community) is upon us. How will I feel on the Day of Decision? It largely depends on what those decisions will be.
Although I am now a widower, and have no intention of ever again marrying, I do have strong feelings and hopes regarding the nullification of Proposition 8. After all, Tom and I were always involved in civil rights advocacy, whether or not we “had a horse in the race”. So part of my testimony spoke to the fact that our marriage felt “tainted” when Proposition 8 was passed, even though the 18,000+/- marriages performed were allowed to stand.
I shall certainly feel vindicated and elated, should the S C O T U S judge broadly, and rule that civil marriage is a fundamental right for all in the United States, and that denying it to a specific class of people is un-constitutional. Should they rule narrowly, with the ruling having effect only on California, I’ll be happy for Californians, but I doubt I’ll be able to summon much enthusiasm beyond that. How could I cheer for a ruling that continues to uphold a terrible injustice in those states in which same sex marriage is still not allowed? I am after all, indelibly American first, and second, Californian as long as I choose to be!
The reason for my senate testimony was to speak of the difficulties DOMA imposed upon me as an individual. All Americans in the same legal classification should have the same constitutionally granted federal rights and responsibilities – Period and end of discussion! So how, as a legally married widower, could I have been denied the same right to chose the higher of my or my late spouse’s social security benefits. That’s a choice available to any other legally married widower so why not me? I guess because I chose to love and care for someone for 58 years who didn’t fit the narrow picture of
“traditional” marriage. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!
So, this 80 year old gay American will feel a great sense of relief and joy for the country and its’ LGBT community in general when DOMA is abolished and put into the trash heap into which it should have been in the first place. Aside from being a kind of posthumous honor to Tom’s memory and our long time devotion, it will be a long overdue apology to the LGBT community, and one step closer to full equality under the law FOR ALL!
As for me in particular, I shall immediately apply to the Social Security Administration for a reversal of their denial of my request for Tom’s social security payments. The loss of that income was devastating to my economic well being, since his was double mine. Reverting to that would certainly improve my currently precariously fragile economy, and make my remaining years, a whole lot easier.
How many more thousands of woeful stories stemming from the current DOMA injustice will also be vindicated?
jeff4justice
Here’s a way to kill time while waiting: Antigay Yes On Prop 8 Donors Pranked: http://youtu.be/SLs69yjQ1bg Please share