I can tell you from the here in MA - the first state legalized Gay Marriage - it is transforming

[debbierlus]

For those of us who just accept that some people are gay and should be able to marry the person they love; it seems obvious. Legalize gay marriage and be done with it.

There was a good amount of protest here in MA surrounding the legalization of gay marriage. Many people thought it was morally wrong based on their own hang ups, and it shouldn't be legitimized (just like parts of the rest of the country). Fortunately, MA folks are pretty good people as a whole, and gay marriage is now legal (as it should be FEDERALLY).

And, once it was legalized, and nothing really changed in other people's lives and life went on, people just kind of moved past it (for the most part) and it became everyday...just normal. I know people who were against gay marriage who now just shrug their shoulders and say 'its none of my business'. My own father was against it, and now, he states (as if this was his view all along)...
'What's the big deal?' Even my Catholic Mother is starting to accept gay marriage (and she was always anti gay) because now she is encountering so many gay people who she really LIKES and she is starting to see they are just PEOPLE, not the weirdos she always so horribly judged them as...And, she has had the chance to get to know everyday people who are now not just proudly out, but generally accepted and embraced. The gay community has become part of the community as a whole in a way not seen before the legalization of gay marriage. And, it has allowed people who have harbored long held prejudices to see the truth: Gay people are the SAME as the rest of us. I know this shouldn't be a shocking revelation, but to those raised in prejudice, fear, and intolerance, it is a VERY big deal.

Gay marriage has been WONDERFUL for the state of MA. Everywhere I go, I see gay families...happily walking the streets with their spouse and children. Fathers and children. Mothers and children. Just everyday people living their lives as it is their RIGHT to live their lives.

We need legalized gay marriage in every state. Anything less is unacceptable.

[nichomachus]

1. The problem in CA is that the entire pro-Prop H8 campaign was a lie

Everything they said was a lie -- and the priests, ministers, Mormon guys, whoever just corralled their captive audiences every Sunday for months and told them lie after lie after lie. There was no effective way to counter that.

Even today, most people who say they voted for Prop H8 repeat a lie as their reason. One woman quoted in today's paper here said she didn't oppose the idea of gay marriage, but was upset that priests and ministers would be forced to perform gay marriages or have their churches sued or shut down.

[debbierlus]

9. I didn't realize their was such a coordinated disinformation campaign

Wow. Just...wow.

[Ms. Toad]

13. That's been around since ~2003

It was some conservative genius's idea to grab not only their usual supporters, but liberal church members as well. Around that time I started having friends who don't want the government to tell their church what to do (based on historical meddling by the government in the peace churches' activities) expressing concern that permitting marriage would force churches to do things that conflicted with their beliefs. It really was genius - and I've been fighting it since then - including here on this board at least in isolated pockets since the election.

All you have to do to challenge it is to ask whether their local catholic church has ever been forced to marry a member who was previously married in the church to someone else without having had that first marriage annulled. The answer is "No." Just because any individual who is legally divorced is free to re-marry does not mean a particular church is required to perform the marriage. The fact that it would be legal for two men or two women to get married would not suddenly change that dynamic. The law sets forth who is permitted to obtain legal recognition for their marriage, and the church is free to participate in obtaining a legal marriage for all, none, or some subset of those couples legally eligible to be married.

[bicentennial_baby]

2. As someone who protested at our ConCons in Boston, thank you for this post!

I was at the Prop 8 protest in Boston yesterday, and the anti-equality group was so much smaller than I've seen in the past, and frankly, they looked deflated.

I love one of the signs I saw yesterday: "Welcome to MA: The Sky didn't fall"

:D

:hi:

[debbierlus]

8. Thanks for protesting! I think the Prop 8 might be the match....

That sets fire to a re-energized and empowered national movement. Enough is enough is ENOUGH.

[kevinbgoode]

3. Thank you very much. . .:-).

And when I can finally afford another vacation, I'm heading for New England. I want to see how free people get to live.

[libnnc]

4. kicking this

:kick:

[fortyfeetunder]

5. Thanks to MA -- The new definition of marriage is INCLUSION

Which only 2 states have so boldly and bravely chosen.

The goal is defining marriage to make it inclusive for both gay and straight families.

And what is wrong with inclusion?

[debbierlus]

7. A much better definition for sure

:)

[aquart]

6. Amazing when you see what we used to shove in the closet.

[CK_John]

10. Prop 8 and various ultra right campaigns are all about power and control, the issue of the

campaign is just a straw man to gain how far they can push the public toward a fascist state. After this campaign there will always be another issue. With each campaign they gain true believers and identify the weak minded and soft spots of the public psychology.

[codjh9]

11. A key point in what you say is when people actually KNOW and LIKE gays, and see that they're

not some kind of 3-headed demons. As my ex and a cousin of hers once told someone else in their family, 'You'd be SURPRISED who's gay', as in, don't go around assuming that you don't know any gays. Everyone does, whether they realize it or not. (I'm hetero with a few gay friends).

[bertman]

12. beautiful, debbierius! I hope I live to see the day when my gay and lesbian friends can

marry legally in North Carolina.

What gives me HOPE is "who would have thought a man with a black father and a white mother could ever be elected President of the United States?" The times they are a'changin.