Hey, Look Us Over

We’re not different anymore.  SCOTUS said we could get married and with that we became just people, citizens who were just like all citizens.  We were always citizens, but somehow second class and, by damn, we’d better be happy with that.

Now understand the Supreme Court decision giving us the right to legalize our relationships was long in coming, but the changes are immediate and can be seen all over the country.

We now can see TV commercials featuring same-sex couples - they do their laundry, buy furniture, go on vacations.  We have always done those things, but now we are recognized as being consumers and companies want our dollars. They figured out that our dollars are just as green as everyone else’s and they would like us to give them a few.

We do still have the professional haters among us, the ones who make a living hating most anyone who is different than they are. They could not live without hate. The KKK is the most widely known in this country. Without hatred, they would not exist.

Lots of times they are politicians who whip their audiences into a frenzy of hate. Many times they are preachers who can do the very same thing with a congregation.  Their audiences are getting smaller and no one is really listening anymore. 

Mike Huckabee comes to mind as a professional hater. He’s a former governor of Arkansas and now wants to be president of the US.  (Can you hear the snorts from this household?)  He is hanging around with that woman in Kentucky who has whipped herself into some sort of histrionic frenzy because her job description demands she issue marriage licenses and she refuses to do so. 

He’s also waging war against rainbow colored potato chips. Really? Yup. 

Most people would get fired if they refused to do their jobs, but this clerk gets Mike Huckabee, and now, she says, the Pope, to help her get lots of publicity and be on her side, so she gets her 15 minutes of fame. She is riding it to the bitter end. So is Huckabee. The Pope is so busy denying it, he can’t get out of his own way. ‘Course, he refuses to issue same-sex marriage licenses as well, so draw your own conclusions.

And the people in this state, the homo-haters, and we got plenty of ‘em, have turned their hatred toward some amorphous set of values they have embraced, and away from specific folks.  

We can get married and no eyebrows are raised. Our green dollars are accepted everywhere, people say hello on the street and wave when we pass in our car. 

We got a marriage license with good wishes attached, although I think the head clerk beat a hasty retreat to Walmart rather than sign a license.  We were prepared to wait when we were told she had to go to Walmart (at 10am on a workday?), but a quick phone call deputized an assistant clerk who signed our license with a smile and took our $60.00.  Cash, please, no checks or credit cards.

Oh, and we really don’t have the power to cause hurricanes or earthquakes or other natural disasters.  Imagine if we did. Watch out world!

It's a Wedding!

There's gonna be a wedding today here at our house. And we are thrilled. 

Donna

Betcha didn’t know that Donna has been ordained as a minister and therefore is officially capable of officially marrying people.  Because of that, two friends of many years are traveling from Texas to Mountain View so Donna can officiate at their wedding. 

Together over 40 years, our friends are marrying finally because (remember) we are now real citizens with real equal rights under the Constitution of the United States.

The weather has finally gotten a bit cooler, so we will have the wedding outside near the pond.  I have built several ponds specifically for weddings in the past and told owners that they must be careful because nervous young brides and bridesmaids can have a bit of a need to use the bathroom the minute they hear the waterfall. And that can’t happen as they are lined up to meet the bride. 

The waterfall with water lilites

I rather doubt that will happen with our seasoned and comfortable couple tonight.  

They are writing vows now. I will be the photographer during the ceremony.  I’m excited. With their permission, I shall post photos soon.

And We Did it!

Stone County Arkansas, one of the most conservative counties in one of the most conservative states gave us a marriage license without one tiny bit of hassle. Wished us the best and sent us on our way. We were the first in Stone County. Oh, they did apologize for not having the new forms, but assured us that the old ones are just as legal.

I'm on the left.

I anticipated problems and there were none. Thanks Stone County and Arkansas.

A few county clerks in the state have resigned their jobs. I can't imagine why they should be concerned about my life. I don't care about theirs. But they so chose and that is their right.

What a Day!

I knew that SCOTUS was going to deliver their decision this month, but was running errands yesterday morning when the decision was made public. When I got home and booted up the computer, I was gobsmacked. For the first time in my life I was a full, first class citizen of this country with all the rights that the rest of you take for granted. My long time partner and I could get legally married.  I didn't think I would feel different, but did I ever.

Will this stop the reviling, the profanities, the open and out loud hatred stop? I doubt it.  Haters will continue to hate, but we were the last people that it was OK to hate out loud. That probably won't stop because people need somebody to hate and if they don't have a group of people to hate, they will find one.  Even our own government said it was OK to beat us up, to kill us and walk free, to hurl profanities in the streets when we walked by.  We were denied services, fired from jobs and often not hired at all. During it all, we carried on, were successful people, often trend setters and in the public eye.

I saw acceptance starting to happen in the past ten years or so and states started to allow marriage.  It was seen as such a perversion that people threatened to leave the country or burn themselves up. Seemed a bit strange and I saw no smoke in the sky yesterday.  I would sincerely hope that no one set themselves on fire and they don't have many other countries to emigrate to, but if they see fit to do that, I would never stand in their way.

So as of yesterday, my partner and I can marry.  What a feeling it will be to check that little box on forms, to get our legal affairs in order and not have to form a corporation just for inheritance rights. We can file taxes as a couple, can visit each other if hospitalized and claim Social Security as spouses do.

Wonder how long it will take before marriage will just be called marriage and the words 'gay marriage' will fade from this country's vocabulary.

Sure we will still be reviled by some of you, but here we are. We're here, we're queer and we are now equal!

Celebrate with us.