(click for link to story)
(click for link to story)
These “patriots” would rather withdraw from the Union than recognize the reality of a lawfully elected democratic government. I’m having visions of cranky children taking their toys and going home, telling their parents that they’d rather move than play with the other kids in the neighborhood….
Crazy.
As the founding fathers of the United States of America made clear in the Declaration of Independence in 1776:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
“…Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government…”
Click pic for source- and more interesting maps…
I’m really proud of my dear friend Drew Emery and his film. His passion and vision were priceless in the approval of this measure to legalize Marriage Equality in Washington State- and all around the country. From him and our friends at The True Stories Project:
We can think of no better way to celebrate this amazing day than by releasing our latest video: Just Marriage: from Outlaws to Inlaws.
For a long time, our audiences have been asking for an update on the lives of our storytellers. When we we were invited to bring Inlaws & Outlaws to public television, we decided this was the perfect time to do just that.
So enjoy. And as you reflect on how far we’ve all come these past eight years, give a moment of thanks to the thousands of people from all walks of lives who set the ball rolling but stepping up and telling their stories.
Note: If you haven’t yet seen Inlaws & Outlaws, be warned; this update is chockfull of spoilers!
A Lesson to Be Learned from Marriage Equality Victories |
The news is almost too incredible to believe.
Yesterday, marriage equality was made the law of the land in three states–Maine, Maryland, and Washington State–and a proposed constitutional ban against marriage equality in a fourth state–Minnesota–was defeated.
Catholics played a significant role in all four states. In Maine, Maryland, and Washington State, the original laws that were upheld by the referendum were all signed by Catholic governors. In those states and Minnesota, active groups of Catholics for Marriage Equality worked tirelessly to get out the vote.
What makes the efforts of these Catholics for Marriage Equality so significant is that they have worked against incredible odds. In each case, Catholic bishops have worked against marriage equality, and their power and influence is formidable when it comes to election campaigns.
It’s not the moral authority that the bishops have. Indeed, due to the sexual abuse crisis among other things, their moral authority has seriously decreased in the last decade. What they do have though is a vast communication infrastructure: parishes, sermons, letters, mailing lists, bulletin inserts, schools–these are incredibly powerful tools to mobilize voters to vote the way the bishops instruct. Despite these advantages, the bishop failed.
The lesson of this election for Catholics interested in LGBT equality is that lay organizing is becoming more powerful than the bishops’ organizing. Despite that lay organizers do not have the access to Catholics that the bishops have, they have found a variety of methods to get their message across: public vigils, YouTube videos, community forums, and newspaper advertisements, to name only a few.
We’ve also seen that having courageous priests and religious who are not afraid to speak out for equality are emerging. Their witness gives us hope that others will soon step forward to urge people to form and follow their consciences with regard to marriage equality.
May the victories today inspire Catholics to continue to work for justice and equality for LGBT people.
–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry
Mr Obama,
This HIV-positive gay man in a rural state fought for you- because you fought for him.
Let’s get to work.
~Greg
Today is Election Day in the United States of America. If you are even just an occasional reader of this blog, you will know that in three states–Maine, Maryland, Washington State–voters will be asked to decide whether or not marriage equality for lesbian and gay couples will be law. In a fourth state, Minnesota, voters will be deciding whether to enact a constitutional amendment which would ban marriage equality for lesbian and gay couples.
In all four states, Catholics have played a key role in the campaigns to support marriage equality. As evidence, just enter any one of the state names, in the “Category” filter in the right hand column of this page, and you will find a wealth of blog posts from the past 12 months about how Catholics have been involved in the struggle for marriage equality.
This week, the National Catholic Reporter has editorialized on the potential outcomes of today’s votes, and has declared three groups of winners of the election already, regardless of the results. As the following quotation from the editorial will demonstrate, those “winners” include LGBT people:
“We do not yet know the fate of the ballot initiatives in the four states voting on measures related to same-sex marriage. Regardless of the outcomes, one thing is for sure: Our LGBT brothers and sisters are taking their rightful place alongside us as full citizens. It will take more time yet for legislation to fully acknowledge this, but few will dispute that this election season, a tide was turned. We don’t yet know the final result, but this community might have helped re-elect a president.
“This year, LGBT Catholics have also claimed — maybe ‘earned’ is the better word — new respect within the church. To listen to our most public leaders, this may be hard to see, but in the pews across America, it is not. Whether it is citizens signing their names to newspaper ads or brave priests risking censure from their bishops, Catholics are telling our homosexual brothers and sisters that we are glad they stand in the assembly among us. We are family. Like civil laws, it will take time for church structures to formally acknowledge this, but we believe that this year will prove an important step toward achieving equality in the Catholic church.”
(The other two groups the editorial mentions are the “Nuns on the Bus” for their work to raise awareness of economic inequality; and Latinos, for becoming a strong enough voting bloc to warrant the attention of both parties.)
We could not agree more with this editorial. Regardless of whether or not marriage equality becomes an option in these four states, LGBT people and the goodness of their relationships have been given a level of visibility that was unthinkable 15 years ago. And Catholic support for LGBT people and issues has not only been increasing, but more and more leaders in government and media are becoming aware that Catholics are overwhelmingly pro-LGBT. Because of this, Catholics, too, have already emerged as winners from the election.
While we are hopeful that equality, fairness, and justice will soon be the law of the land, we know that if today’s election results do not move that agenda along, it will only be a short wait before these values become a reality for all in the U.S.
–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry
(click for voter information)
Pass this on to all your friends…
From Eternity To Here 