from HERE
Up there, in the lefthand corner, yeah, right there, that big green state. Washington! Yes! That one.
The Washington Legislature passed a so-called "everything but marriage" bill that grants same-sex couples all the rights and benefits the state offers married couples without letting them say they are married.
Huh? What? Huh?
This is my issue with this Let-the-gays-get-unioned-but-don't-let-em-call-it-marriage mentality. It's still "less than;" it's not equal. It boils down to semantics, i know, and we should say it's a good thing, but it isn't.
Less than isn't good.
Picture a playground of children, tossing around the ball, smoking Marlboro's, gambling, whatever it is that kids do these days, and they're talking.
Kid 1: My parents have been married ten years! Man they're old.
Kid 2: Mine have been together fifteen years.
Kid 1: Together?
Kid 2: Yeah. Together. They had a civil union fifteen years ago.
Kid1: So they don't have a real marriage like my mom and dad.
Kid 2: Yes they do. My two dads have been together for fifteen years.
Kid 1: But not married.
Kid 2: So?
Kid 1: It's not the same.
Kid 2: Yes it is.
Kid 1: No it isn't
Kid 2: Take that back.
Kid 1: No.
SMACK!
Yeah, that'll play out well.
It's less than. it's a partial baby step.
C'mon Washington, you can do better than that. Words matter. Telling me that I have all the same rights and privileges as everyone else, but that I cannot be married, I can only be civil unioned, is like saying I have all the rights and privileges of being an American, but I am not a citizen of this country.
Words matter.
We are an odd state, aren't we? :-)
ReplyDeleteI see this, hopefully, being solved thru our state supreme court.
This all started in 1998 when the legislature passed the Defense of Marriage Act. Lower courts overturned it and the state supreme court is just one vote away. 5-4 they upheld it. Our justices are elected, every six years, so I think there may be an opportunity, down the road, to throw the Act out.
Of course words matter.
ReplyDeleteIt's frustrating how convoluted our country is. I still think it's a big step, though.
I totally agree with you. It its not called marriage, we won't be treated like married people. Places that offer family discounts will try to say 2 gay unmarried people with different last names aren't "family". And good luck finding the right box to check when the choices are 'Single', 'Married', 'Divorced'.
ReplyDeleteThat is so bassackwards!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a step in the right direction. I'm willing to have federal benefits for my husband if I have to call it a civil union (in a federal document) even though in CA we're MARRIED. Give me the benefits now. We'll hammer out our differences over semantics later, because once civil unions are in place and opponents get used to the idea, marriage isn't far behind...we are living in exciting times!
ReplyDelete