Maine Says No to Gay Marriage on Election Day
In the wake of yet another Prop 8-like blow this week, the modern Civil Rights Movement is reeling from more legalized discrimination. Maine—a state that fought so hard to gain marriage rights for all and recently awarded such a right to all couples just this year—has now been reverted to a state with marriage inequality status. Their brand new beautiful law has been overturned.
What exactly are these voters so terrified of? That the sanctity of divorce, child custody disputes and asset splitting are threatened to be shared by everyone? Because let’s face it—there is no real sanctity of marriage. The only thing that’s sanctified in any union is love, and couples—no matter their gender, color, religion, or background—deserve to unify that any way they choose.
These overturned marital laws—which only serve to inflict discrimination, create a more church-run state, and make us look more laughable in the eyes of the international community which embraces marital rights more and more each day—really remind me of my favorite Roe V. Wade slogan: “Against abortion? Don’t have one.” The same applies if you want to get married or not—to either gender! “Against gay marriage? Don’t marry someone of your own gender.” Wow, is it really that simple? That sure would save a lot of tax dollars, wouldn’t it?
Can you imagine having your marriage license deemed null and void after you’ve been married—when you still want to be married?
“Sweetie, did you file for divorce?”
“Of course not! You?”
“No way! So why aren’t we married, again?”
"Something about some Mormons we don't know not wanting us to be?"
"Oh. Right."
It’s a disgrace to humans as well as our own justice system. Until we reach the goal of having equal marriage rights nationally guaranteed, here are a few things we can do in the meantime:
- Boycott marriage. Seriously. My husband and I considered doing this years ago and ended up getting married anyway, but now I sometimes wish we’d have waited. Refuse to give a dime to the government or to any marital business until everyone has the right to do so.
- Enforce marriage. For those who are already married, petition the government to not let them get divorced. Why should they if marriage is so damn sacred? This is particularly true in the states stressing the “sanctity” of it all. If it’s so sacred, it cannot be ended by anyone but God or death. (Murders caused by the law, of course, should be punished accordingly per usual standards.)
- Don’t give up. It’s easy to say that when years of struggle are behind this movement, but it’s more important than ever to keep the momentum going. As the late Senator Paul Wellstone said, “Stand up, keep fighting.”
