http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/community/tag_rss/civil+rights First Thing First: Call To Action!! GAYS & LESBIANS! UN-ENLIST NOW! GET OUT OF THE MILITARY NOW! Know what you are fighting for, you’re not fighting against terrorism, you’re fighting for the pursuit of Power & Greed by Government and Corporations alike. Get out of the War, the Marines and all the rest of them. We need you here fighting for our own rights!! You're fighting 2 protect corrupt government who enforce killing gays. Do not die for the murder of gays. This is the last fuckin’ straw we need to all get together, the usa and canada policies are to support these countries that kill us!! BOYCOTT THE FUCKIN WARS!!! CAMPAIGN & PROTEST NOW! It’s nice to hear “it get’s better for some” but for all “it get’s worse” if we don't fight for our rights and just let the corrupt; dictators, religious & the Greedy Capitalists go on the way they’re going. BY ALLOWING THE KILLING OF GAYS, There for encouraging it. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/arishmarycouragecanada/C2L2 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/arishmarycouragecanada/C2L2/commentary#comments Sun, 05 Dec 2010 13:50:50 PST http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/arishmarycouragecanada/C2L2 ArishmaryCourageCanada http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/b23c7c28499426f30b_vvoxmvq3v.jpg ArishmaryCourageCanada 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2L2/ Here's the article I am referencing. "Gay Marriage, Democracy, and the Courts" by Robert George in the Wall Street Journal Opinion section Monday Aug 3, 2009. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204619004574322084279548434.html The argument in this article is logically inconsistent and ethically flawed. For example it tries to make a case that gay marriage is NOT a civil rights issue. *That* is ludicrous! First let’s make sure everyone reading this has a brief history lesson on how prejudice becomes law here in CA. Chief Justice Ronald George, who wrote the majority opinion in last year’s decision that granted marriage rights to same-sex couples in California says the following, “Our government is based on the principle not just of majority rule, but equally so on the limit that majorities must always respect minority rights,” he said. “That balance between majority rule and minority rights is recognized as the genius, as the defining hallmark of our democratic system.” The lawyer defending Prop 8 in court was Kenneth Starr – remember him??? “Starr argues that Prop 8 should remain part of the constitution because the democratic system provides for popular sovereignty, even if the decision of the people is unwise!” When George asked whether an amendment taking away domestic partnership rights or the right to free speech would be valid by this reasoning, Starr said such an amendment would be permissible “as long as it is in fact clear to the people what they’re voting on.” (Excerpts from ‘Justices grill attorneys on Prop 8’, By Chris Johnson, Washington Blade | Mar 5 2009, 6:03 PM) Eloquence does not equate to sound logic! The principle Justice George uses in the case of marriage equality *IS* the SAME principle used by the US Supreme Court in Loving vs. Virgina! The article’s author suggests that Loving, a federal case that undid bigoted state laws against interracial marriage is somehow different from the ruling in place prior to Ca Prop 8. He says, "Everyone agreed that interracial marriages were marriages. Racists just wanted to ban them as part of the evil regime of white supremacy that the equal protection clause was designed to destroy." I guarantee more than Clan members were "unsettled" by Loving back in 1967! Yet Loving now is widely supported even it wasn’t back in the day. The rule of law can lead the people towards equality if applied in an equitable manner. If not, it acts to institutionalize prejudice! 1st "everyone" did not agree at the time of Loving and racism sadly still exists in many places today in 2009 despite the courts acting to protect civil rights for over 40 years! In 1958 the Virgina Circuit Court grand jury said the following, “Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." If it wasn’t for the “principle” of balancing majority rule with minority rights interracial marriages and segregation might still be upheld in some states. That is NOT okay nor is it consistent with the thread of the Constitution as we see it today. The constitution is after all an evolving document as intended by its authors who put in place the seperate branches of power! 2nd George makes that claim that what distinguished marriage historically is the ability to produce offspring but then goes on to point out that non consummation is the grounds for annulment not infertility. *If* marriage is about baby making then infertility *should* be the leading reason for annulment! George says, “But as a comprehensive sharing of life—an emotional and biological union—marriage has value in itself and not merely as a means to procreation.” Believe me gay folk know a lot about “biological unions!” And that is really the problem isn’t it, people being uncomfortable with the idea of sodomy. If you aren’t into it- don’t do it! But let’s not make stupid laws and waste ALL this money over what other people do or don’t do in their private lives! http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/jenniferromeo/C2r4 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/jenniferromeo/C2r4/commentary#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:47:34 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/jenniferromeo/C2r4 Jennifer Romeo http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/d5392ef7f59e1d6baa_y3pmv2y0v.jpg Jennifer Romeo 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2r4/ Let me preface this by saying that I'm a straight male who was born in Texas and raised in Indiana. While normally I wouldn't define myself by my sexuality or my residency I think it has to be done to give credence to the plan that I hope to outline. Overturning Prop 8 won't be easy, we are kidding ourselves if we think we can simply walk to the polls in 2010 and have enough voters to overturn it. This is uncharted territory not just for California, or just the United States but it is uncharted for the entire free world. The world is watching. Here are my proposed steps: 1. Let the lawyers do their job. This nation is ripe with intelligent lawyers who see the injustice behind Prop 8. We need to rally and unite them under a common belief and clear goals. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/ALogicalCase/C2xX http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/ALogicalCase/C2xX/commentary#comments Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:55:25 PST http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/ALogicalCase/C2xX Unknown user Unknown user 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2xX/ Regarding "Are you outraged by Rick Warren?" , I am outraged that some people do not believe that all people should have the same rights. I strongly support gay rights and the right of gays to marry. I'm also outraged that some people have little tolerance for engaging others in a dialog and want to shut out those who do not hold the same beliefs. I believe in diplomacy. We must bring different sides together to engage in discussion and reach a peaceful resolution. Thus I believe Obama is right to have Rick Warren at his inauguration and to stick with this decision even though it outrages some. I still believe that Obama is going to be more centrist than many give him credit for. He needs to be a unifier to accomplish what the US and our world needs accomplished. We need a leader who can build trust among those who may disagree, not one who will force others to see it their way or the highway. Obama knows what he is doing. Having Rick Warren give the inaugural invocation is a difficult yet good choice. It is time for us to move on and build bridges, not isolate each other and build more walls. The time will come, hopefully sooner than later, when all will recognize that gays have a natural right to marry.  That day will come sooner if more engage in dialog so that each recognizes others as humans too, instead of hate speech which brands one group or the other as this or that thus exchanging dialog for shouting matches where neither side can listen to the other. Sincerely, Tim Oey http://timoey.blogspot.com http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/timoey/C2xV http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/timoey/C2xV/commentary#comments Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:08:47 PST http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/timoey/C2xV Tim Oey http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/e8611685a60db465e0_s2dvmv9z8.jpg Tim Oey 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2xV/ I have been with my partner for 22 years now. We are raising a son, who is now two. It was extremely important and meaningful to us, as well as to our family and friends, that we honor our long term relationship - and our son - by getting married. The night before our wedding, my family and friends all gathered at El Coyote restaurant to celebrate. We had a wonderful time at El Coyote that night and, collectively, spent hundreds of dollars. Now I've learned that Marjorie Christofferson, the owner of El Coyote was a contributor to the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign. I feel violated. Like I ordered a margarita and a taco, but was instead served the dissolution of my marriage and the loss of my family's civil rights. Oh wait - that is what happened. I am horrified to realize I'd funded my own discrimination. Needless to say, this was a terrible shock, and I can never step foot in that restaurant again. To me, it's akin to asking a black family to frequent the soul food restaurant owned by a Klansman, or a Jew to dine at the Kosher Deli run by a Nazi war criminal. People who are not gay may construe these comparisons as overheated. Those who are gay, growing up terrified to even hold the hand of the person they love, will not. Since the gay and lesbian community has been disrespected and marginalized for so many generations now, no one realizes the full scope of the shocking, violent, often murderous discrimination that continues, to this day, to be levied against our people. Even the gay community itself doesn't fully realize it. We've been so busy creating our own little safe havens, protecting ourselves from the hatred and bigotry that we know is out there, that we've neglected to come together as a people - outside of the occasional White Party, of course, or the latest farewell tour from Cher. But it's serious now, and I think people have suddenly realized it. The bubbles have been burst, the safe havens ransacked. When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I looked into the eyes of my two year old son, just waking up in his crib, and my heart broke. I couldn't imagine how I could possibly explain to him the five million people who just voted against his family, against his Daddy and his Papa, against the wedding where he so admirably carried his parents' rings down the aisle. I could feel the hatred seeping in through the windows of our home, the slime dripping off the walls. I felt victimized. I even considered taking my ring off. But then the love, support and strength started to trickle in, bubbling up through the phone calls and the emails, and a new determination started to harden in my stomach. The day ended at the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vincente, with my husband by my side and my son in my arms, surrounded by a chorus of thousands, chanting for restoration of our community's equal rights. My shattered marriage was pieced back together by that strong, bracing chorus, and a new day was born for our community. With that new day comes new strength - and new responsibility. Personally, I think the "blacklists" that are being sent around, outing contributors to Prop 8, are a bit much. I think it's time to educate, not attack, and we all know where the education needs to take place. I can't step back into El Coyote for very personal reasons, but I'm not going to picket outside the office of some Mormon orthodontist in Orange County for his $500 contribution. But I do hope Marjorie Christofferson - and that orthodontist, while we're at it - does learn the lesson. She needs to know that we, as a people, are not the monolithic evil her Mormon church has convinced her we are, but rather the individual human beings that have comprised her staff, her friends, her community and customers - those same people that have kept her restaurant in business for years now, bought her house and sent her children to school. Her church asks her to separate the "sin" from the "sinner," because they know this makes it easier to discriminate. She has been convinced that she's supporting the opposition of sin, and not discriminating against her friends and customers. She is wrong, and the Mormon church that brainwashes her into believing this is wrong as well. More importantly, however, I've come to believe that we need to defend the Mormons' right to be wrong. Yes, you heard me. The Mormons should be able to say and do whatever they want within the four walls of their own church. But that's where it must end. Their specific religious beliefs should have never been allowed to come within shouting distance of the state's constitution. I was married to my husband in a Lutheran church by a loving, intelligent, devout pastor, who sanctioned our marriage with all his heart and soul. He believes that God was present in that church, at our wedding. And so do I. Nobody - and I mean nobody - should be allowed to mess with that. That is my church - our church - and everyone else needs to stay out of it. That, my friends, is what's known as religious freedom. Remember that old chestnut? The whole basis of this country's founding? Is this ringing any bells? My Lutheran church does not believe the way Mormons believe, and Mormons don't believe the way Lutherans believe. Or Episcopalians. Or progressive Jews. Mormons don't want gay marriage? Great! Then we won't get married in your temple. You can no longer protest gay marriage on religious grounds. You can only protest gay marriage on your religious grounds. You leave our church alone, and we'll leave yours. This has all gone dangerously beyond what is already a violation of church/state separation. Now that over 18,000 same-sex couples have been married in the state of California, many of us in churches who welcome and celebrate our love, this has become a matter of religious freedom, pure and simple. Leave my marriage alone. And, while you're at it, leave my church alone too. http://realgaytruth.blogspot.com/ http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/josephporter/CLHV http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/josephporter/CLHV/commentary#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:47:05 PST http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/josephporter/CLHV Unknown user Unknown user 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLHV/ Last week I had the honor to speak at a No on Proposition 8 event in West Hollywood.  Thirty people joined together share their passion for equal rights, donate their money and learn how they can help defeat the discriminatory measure to eliminate the right of marriage for gays and lesbians in California.  This was the third such event I had attended in 2 weeks, but this one was different. This event was to raise money to support Republicans Against 8 , a PAC created to mobilize republicans to vote no on proposition 8. In the weeks preceding the event, I invited dozens friends and acquaintances to attend, but only one joined.  Friends know I am a proud democrat and I was repeatedly asked why I was involved with an event supporting republicans.  Many used the conversation as an opportunity to put down our LGBT brothers and sisters who are affiliated with the GOP. At first I wasn't bothered by their reactions or shunning of our Republican counterparts because it has become so commonplace, but as the conversation repeated itself again and again I found myself increasingly agitated. For years, organizations like The National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce and Equality California have demonstrated that community organizing is the backbone of the LGBT rights movement.  However, to win we need to organize the masses, leaving no ally on the side lines.  So, my friends, how can you be so quick to leave anyone behind who agrees with us on defending the right of same-sex couples to marry?  Are we really willing to alienate our Republican LGBT brothers and sisters at the detriment of our civil rights movement?  Republicans across the State of California, gay and straight alike, are willing and ready to vote No on Proposition 8.  LGBT Republicans through Log Cabin Republicans and Republicans Against 8 were at the California Republican Convention working to educate fellow Republicans why voting No on Prop 8 is important.  And, LGBT republicans want and deserve all the same rights and privileges as LGBT Democrats, Independents, Green Party members, etc., and we can't afford to leave them out of our civil rights fight. All across California, openly LGBT Republicans are fighting for equal rights as they change hearts and minds by educating members of their party.  They are helping to defeat Prop 8 and ensure a win for equality in CA. This is about people .  This is about legal equality .  This is NOT about party politics . Embrace ALL of our allies and brace for the celebration of victory in defeating Proposition 8 on November 4th. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/darrelltucci/CLLq http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/darrelltucci/CLLq/commentary#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:53:48 PDT http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/darrelltucci/CLLq DevoPro http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/profile_picture/ed7ea701393ec9c9a5_jovgmvkr6.jpg DevoPro 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/CLLq/ If you don't follow the daily happenings in Sacramento, you can easily be confused about four ballot initiatives slated for the February 5th Presidential Primary Elections. In four separate propositions, voters will be asked to approve state gaming compacts with four individual tribes looking to expand their casino fortunes. If approved, worker rights will continue to be non-existent at the Las Vegas-styled resorts. http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/elliottpetty/BpX http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/elliottpetty/BpX/commentary#comments Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:46:52 PST http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/post/elliottpetty/BpX Elliott D. Petty Elliott D. Petty 0 http://couragecampaign.org/page/community/comment_rss/BpX/