More information:
Info on Saturday's nation-wide protests
Say No on 2 site
Jacksonville's Protest Facebook page
Undo Amendment 2 site
You may know that I have been designated the "Family Edition" contributor, and I absolutely believe this to be a family issue. Here at Jaxscene we try not to get too political - yes, I know we photographed both Barack Obama rallies but not John McCain or Sarah Palin's - so by that I mean we don't put our opinions out there. Tom and I decided this was a very important issue to us and I wish I had said more about it before November 4. We are not gay but we're an unmarried couple, and it looks like the passage of Amendment 2 could have a negative effect on us in the future. More importantly than that though, I think it's absolutely disgraceful that a majority of voters would choose to deny marriage to anyone period. In my opinion, the passage of both Prop 8 & Amendment 2 reflects a discriminatory society that we're now living in. And that makes me pretty sad.
Special (and very eloquent) comment by Keith Olberman on MSNBC:
And this next passage is a quote from Tony Allegretti's friend Rebecca, where she discusses some reasons for voting No on 2 (copied from his blog, The Urban Core). She says it way better than I ever could:
"Mainly this law would make it so that families, domestic partnerships, etc., that currently have benefits such as legal rights and allowing each other to be covered on health insurance would be eliminated. If passed, it will create a huge strain on our legal system when the thousands of people who lost benefits sue the state. It does nothing to "protect marriage," as Florida law already states that marriage must be between a man and a woman.
Beyond that, as other states are passing laws that give more rights to families who choose not to be married, including same-sex marriage laws, Florida will go against this trend if this law should pass, making us appear as a "backwoods" type of state. A state that has passed a similar law is Kentucky. States that have passed the opposite law, giving more rights to families, are Massachusetts and New York.
It is a mean-spirited and discriminatory amendment that all Florida voters will be voting on this coming Presidential Election, Nov. 4th, 2008.
We should all join together to oppose stripping away existing employee benefits - like health care - while forever barring the passage of future measures that could help families.
My personal feeling is that this law penalizes any family that chooses not to join themselves by marriage. I support anyone who wants to join together as a family unit, to care for and support one another, and I don't feel that love has to be registered with the government at the county courthouse to be valid. Love and families are concepts that supercede government and laws, and government stating that only certain people can be in love is a Big-Brother, Orwellian type of scary. Each person may choose who they love without government permission, in my opinion. If you disagree with my personal opinion, please vote NO on 2 based on the legal ramifications I discussed initially."
I hope we didn't upset too many readers by posting this. I just wish we could all live our own personal lives, and leave the government/church out of it. Especially when love is involved. Sorry to get a bit cheesy, but to quote those Liverpool boys, sometimes, "all you (we) need is love," ya'll.
posted by Jenny K
2 comments:
I can't believe no one has commented on this. I wholeheartedly agree with everything that was said. I myself voted NO on No. 2. I think it's appalling that anyone would think to rise to the level of God and tell another person that his/her love for another man/woman does not matter and can not be justified. The legal ramifications aside, it is not up to us to make those decisions for others. It will all be settled when life is done, no matter what you personally believe.
I do think that there is at least some hope that this amendment passed in Florida with a very narrow margin. Perhaps once the "old guard" has come and gone our generation can begin to make real strides towards change in Florida.
*fingers crossed*
Thank you, Jenny, for posting this. Keith Olberman's message is spot-on.
There is a protest starting at noon tomorrow in front of City Hall. You can see more info on it here: http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Jacksonville
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