Hmm...
So, I've been out in Central London for a while now and have to say that whilst I'm ecstatic about #44, whilst I'm pretty happy with what currently looks like 57 (in practice) Dems in the Senate with outside possibilities for more, whilst I'm glad about the pretty decent numbers from the House, not to mention various other results, I shan't be posting the "Mission Accomplished" banner on this post, as I have to say that I feel worse now than when I headed out of the house.
Why? Well, I'm sure that you've guessed a big part of it. Proposition 8 in California looks set to pass. Yeah, there are still lots of votes to count, but it'd be very unusual at this point if enough broke our way to defeat it. This thing is frankly an abomination.
folk has made some very good points regarding this, which I entirely agree with. Still, from what I'm told, this thing has set a new and ugly precedent; a group has had its rights first recognized and then taken away by a majority vote. And not just that, but it has been done primarily by voters swayed by a downright vicious campaign steered by a religious group (the LDS using the Catholic Church as a front, by my understanding.) Seriously, folks, I know that we're all reveling in other results, but there are a lot of people hurting in CA right now and this execrable measure can not go unchallenged. I've seen discussion already on how that might be done, but I'm too tired (not to mention tipsy) to seriously look over it at the moment. Definitely something I'd urge us all to have a think about.
However, sadly, there's more. An incomplete list would include the following: Arizona and Florida have both also passed gay marriage bans, Arkansas has banned gay adoption, that crazy McCarthyite Michelle Bachmann has been re-elected, Alaska looks like it may send a convicted felon back to the Senate and the list goes on. Oh, and there's also still one hell of a lot of work to do to sort out the immense mess Bush and others have made, not to mention that turnout was actually pretty low, which may be partially down to another problem, namely the bloody voting machines.
I guess what I'm saying is that I really wish that tonight had gone just a little better and that as great as what has been done is and how much respect I have for all of you who have done it, there's still a fair bit of work to do. But not today.
Why? Well, I'm sure that you've guessed a big part of it. Proposition 8 in California looks set to pass. Yeah, there are still lots of votes to count, but it'd be very unusual at this point if enough broke our way to defeat it. This thing is frankly an abomination.
folk has made some very good points regarding this, which I entirely agree with. Still, from what I'm told, this thing has set a new and ugly precedent; a group has had its rights first recognized and then taken away by a majority vote. And not just that, but it has been done primarily by voters swayed by a downright vicious campaign steered by a religious group (the LDS using the Catholic Church as a front, by my understanding.) Seriously, folks, I know that we're all reveling in other results, but there are a lot of people hurting in CA right now and this execrable measure can not go unchallenged. I've seen discussion already on how that might be done, but I'm too tired (not to mention tipsy) to seriously look over it at the moment. Definitely something I'd urge us all to have a think about.However, sadly, there's more. An incomplete list would include the following: Arizona and Florida have both also passed gay marriage bans, Arkansas has banned gay adoption, that crazy McCarthyite Michelle Bachmann has been re-elected, Alaska looks like it may send a convicted felon back to the Senate and the list goes on. Oh, and there's also still one hell of a lot of work to do to sort out the immense mess Bush and others have made, not to mention that turnout was actually pretty low, which may be partially down to another problem, namely the bloody voting machines.
I guess what I'm saying is that I really wish that tonight had gone just a little better and that as great as what has been done is and how much respect I have for all of you who have done it, there's still a fair bit of work to do. But not today.