A Historic Day in America!

Oh happy day! The Supreme Court came down on the right side of history today by ruling the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and dismissing the Proposition 8 case due to the plaintiffs not having legal standing to bring the case before the court, thus allowing marriage equality again in California!

As a result of the DOMA ruling, the federal government will now recognize legally married gay couples in states that recognize their marriages and give them all the rights and privileges afforded to all married couples. And because the ruling is based on the equal protection clause, this ruling could have much broader consequences.

This is a historic day for the whole country - it is a huge step forward to fulfilling the country's promise that EVERYONE has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! Let's keep the momentum going until all states become marriage equality states!

Another Victory!

Great news from Vermont - the legislature there overrode the governor's veto and Vermont has now become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage. And, it's the first state to do so through the votes of the legislature rather than a court decision.

The dominoes are falling, one by one!

Better Late Than Never - Write to Marry Day

I was in the city for a conference yesterday. It started at 8 a.m. Yes, 8 a.m. In the morning. I usually meander (hence my blog name) in to work at more like 10:15. To get into the heart of New York City by 8 a.m., I left my house at 6:45 a.m. Without breakfast or coffee. I drove halfway to New York in the early morning darkness without my car lights on, wondering why on earth the car behind me kept flashing its lights at me, and getting annoyed about it. That's how out of it I am that early in the morning without coffee.

I did recover enough (after 3 cups of coffee) to participate properly in this conference. But it was a long day. The afternoon didn't end until 5 p.m. and then I walked all the way back to the bus station, a total of 19 short blocks and 3 long ones. Then we had dinner at my aunt's and didn't get home until almost 11 p.m.

At that point I looked at some blogs and realized I'd missed the Write to Marry Day Blogswarm. I was too tired to write last night but can't let this opportunity pass without a post in support of the movement against Proposition 8 in California.

I have always felt very strongly about the issue of same-sex marriage. It is absurd to me that two people who love each other shouldn't be allowed to marry. Love is love, it doesn't matter whether it's a man and a woman, a man and a man, or a woman and a woman.

I predict one day people will look back on these days and marvel at how ignorant and bigoted our country was, when so many states still forbade same-sex marriage -- much the way we do now when thinking back to the old laws against marriage between different races.

I could go into a whole bunch of great reasons that same-sex marriage is good for society, good for marriage in general, and best of all, good for those who choose to marry. But that's not the point. The point is that marriage should be for everyone who wants it. Period. We're talking about justice and equality, and those are the only reasons that matter.

So, those of you in California - Vote "No" on Proposition 8, which would change the state constitution to eliminate the rights of same-sex couples to marry and define marriage as only between a man and a woman. We cannot allow a step backward in the march for equal rights.