Come Out! Come Out, Wherever You Are!
I was talking with a friend about the California Marriage ruling, and the prospect of an ugly initiative campaign in the Fall. And I said that the most important thing that gay people can do is to come out–to friends, colleagues, acquaintances–to everyone. I know that there are some people whose mind is not open about this issue. But there are, I believe, a whole lot more people who, if they knew that someone they cared about is gay or lesbian, and they found out how much this issue matters… Well, it might make a difference.I’ve seen the statistics that suggest this is much less of an issue for young people than older ones–so, in the long run, this probably will work out. But there are times when I wish the long run were here.–But maybe that’s not possible at this time. There have been a couple of different articles from various counties in California about how the staff are dealing with the prospect. All of the counties are saying, “not yet!”. It was interesting that the report from Kern county [very conservative, inland] was clear that if the Court rules that they have to start issuing licenses to same-sex couples, then they will. But San Diego, a conservative but much more mixed county, was pondering allowing employees to claim a moral or religious objection and to be excused from performing same-sex marriages. By comparison, when Canada began performing same-sex marriages, the Government was very clear that any Marriage Commissioner [the Canadian equivalent of a Justice of the Peace] who objected to performing same-sex marriages could no longer continue as a Marriage Commissioner. It’s quite refreshing to see a Government saying that the laws apply to everyone.And, the cheery thing is that, in Canada at least, after a period of grumbling about it, Canada seems to have gone on to other, possibly more significant, issues–like the economy and trade policy with the U.S,, for two.So, let me recognize that the coming campaign is going to be difficult, and that the result is going to matter deeply to me; but there is, always, eventually, Hope.
Tags: Justice, Spirit
Bob