The steam doth rise...

The steam doth rise...
Originally uploaded by martine.locke

I read a quote in todays paper from a woman in San Diego who was hosting a 'support proposition 8' party in her swanky married persons home. She said that everything she had seen so far in the arguments in the supreme court get together yesterday, told her that proposition 8 would not be overturned. She was happy about that and said, "gay & lesbians still retain all the legal privileges, which are the exact same as marriage. They just have to relinquish the title of marriage."

I think people around me might have seen steam coming out of my nose when I read that. The ignorance behind a statement like that angers me beyond belief. Granted CA has made life a little easier for glbt folks here but what a step backwards proposition 8 is. Its one of the saddest moments I have experienced in this State.

We do not have the same rights as married people.

We can't get married.

I am from another country....if I had the same rights as married people, I could marry my partner and apply for permanent residency here and then transition towards citizenship. Because my relationship isn't recognised federally, I can't do any of that. I could be dishonest and marry a man and get all of that.

As it stands, if I am in an accident while I am on the road in another state, they could legally stop my partner from having access to me or making decisions on my behalf. I have to have a piece of paper with me specifying her as my power of attorney and even then a nurse in a bad mood or with misplaced religious convictions can make that more difficult than it needs to be.

A married person would never have to do that.

If we had the same rights as married people we would jointly submit our taxes and save thousands of dollars every year in tax breaks.

If we had the same rights as married people, we wouldn't have to adopt our own children or not be allowed to have any legal say with them.

If we had the same rights as married people, we could adopt children in this country.

If we had the same rights as married people, my heart wouldn't be full of stories of people who have lost their partner only to be thrown out of their own homes by family members who disapprove of the relationship. And not have a legal leg to stand on.

Oh, I could go on.

Please lady in San Diego, get your facts straight or refrain from making such stupid comments in the Los Angeles times. Your ignorance makes me ill.

I need to write a song about this. Makes me so crabby.

M