A blog that I read is promoting a Write to Marry campaign as part of a defeat of Proposal 8 in California, Proposal 102 in Arizona, and Proposal 2 in Florida. I live in Michigan, (which has already lost that battle) and may not have a lot of direct influence on those three states. Even so, here is my part of the effort. You can find out more here. I'd love to hear the stories of my niece CinnaZimt who lives in California.
I've been volunteering at the Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit for a couple months now. Ruth Ellis lived to be 102 and always used her home as a safe haven for gays and lesbians at a time when being out had dire consequences. The Center provides that safe haven for today's youth, giving them a place to be themselves. We offer 2 meals a day, group discussion sessions, laundry facilities, and a warehouse to help them furnish a new apartment. They are exuberant, as young people are, and looking for a way to get their start in the world.
I helped lead a discussion session on the disparity between what many black churches in Detroit say about gays and what the Bible really says. I used a resource available from Soulforce) http://www.soulforce.org. Of course, being in their early 20s and younger, they asked questions I wasn't quite ready for, such as are there gays in the Bible? Yes, but not obviously. One must read between the lines.
That discussion group featured something else. One of the girls to my left introduced herself and then introduced the other as her fiancée. I don't want to be the one to tell them their love isn't recognized by the state of Michigan or by the federal government.
The issue of marriage hits much closer to home than teens in a drop-in center. For a good number of years the family thought my sister was simply good friends with her housemate. It was only 5 years ago that Laney told us that Anners (their names for each other) are much more than that, they are actually partners, complete with matching rings. Alas, this has been a hellish year for them when Laney had a stroke and she was not covered under Anners' health insurance because Anners works for the city. Laney had to cash out her IRA and become a ward of the state. They've talked about getting married (Windsor is close), but decided it wasn't worth the hassle if Michigan won't recognize it. But not being married hurts.
I don't have any good stories. I'm in the Bay Area, most of my friends are lgbtq, I don't run into people who are supporting Prop 8, and it feels like everyone is volutneering for some voting effort.
ReplyDeleteMany of us involved in the GOTV effort, calling people, etc. to make sure people actually have their voices heard. But I'm feeling spread a little thin because there are so many big issues on the ballot this year, and I have multiple papers due on election day.
In addition to anti-Prop 8 I've worked on the campaigns for Prop 2 (animal rights) and Proposition K (decriminalizing sex work) and I would like to find the time to work on several other propositions...This is an absolutely huge election.
And I haven't even mentioned the GOTV effort for Obama, for which many people are going to Nevada, phoning out of state undecideds, etc. There is just so much going on...
Actually, I'm not even voting Obama this election. A friend in VA wanted to vote for McKinney, so we agreed on a compromise. She's voting for Obama in her swingier state and I'll put the vote for McKinney in where Obama's safe.
What else do you want to know from out here?