Kathryn Jean Lopez descends into state of depression over NY vote.

[RandySF]

Empire Shame
June 24, 2011 6:20 P.M.
By Kathryn Jean Lopez
The New York State senate appears to be moving the marriage bill to the floor, with agreement on still-weak religious protections. (You may want to give your representatives a Friday-night holler.)

They also happen to be redefining marriage in it.

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan calls it a “a real David and Goliath battle.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/270486/empire-shame-kathryn-jean-lopez

[Bladian]

1. The comments are making me angry n/t

[Bluebear]

2. Kathryn Lopez can kiss my gay ass. nt

[JackRiddler]

15. & my perverse hetero one

[MrScorpio]

3. In the comments, Some fool named "Reno Dave" said this:

"...in a misguided effort to achieve what they perceive as equality, when their unions will NEVER be procreative, and therefore, never equal."

So does this mean that heteros who marry but never produce children, for one reason or another, aren't equal to married hetero couples who do have kids?

These people are fucking dumb asses.

[Chipper Chat]

6. Wait until science discovers a way for two men to procreate.

The oceans will run red with the blood of a million exploded freeper heads.

[Walk away]

12. I would donate to that research just to see it! nt

[ohheckyeah]

8. I guess my husband and I

aren't married either since we have no children. Who knew?

Don't let the idiots get you down.

[malaise]

20. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Do not disturb the irrational loonies :hi:

[musette_sf]

9. No shit.

For all the millennia during which women were livestock, you'd think these assholes would at least try to be a tad bit gracious about NOT treating modern marriage as a procreation contract. But, sadly, no.

[auburngrad82]

22. This guy seems to live by the Python song from Meaning of Life

Come on, everybody sing!

"Every Sperm is Sacred..."

Blah, blah, blah.

[Chipper Chat]

4. Our local paper carries her column.

Also Floyd and MaryBeth Brown. Right-wing trash the whole lot.

[peace frog]

17. Mine too, which is the reason I cancelled the subscription

I said *thanks but no thanks* to brain pollution.

Dear Miz Lopez:
They're here, they're queer, now they're getting married, get over it!

[kenny blankenship]

5. When your imaginary friends abandon you, Kat, there's always Prozac

Take heart, Archbishop Dolan! That David was a saucy little minx and Goliath wasn't the only big lug he left in his wake. You weren't the first he laid low and you won't be the last.

[RandomThoughts]

7. Many people call many things that.

It is a story about many things, and applied in many ways to many topics.

And can be said in either context from many sides of an issue,
hence why I like what Lincoln, says, we hope that we are on Gods side, not claim to know for sure.

Knights Tale Tribute-- We Will Rock You.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqR-8928R3s


Jessica Alba - Sin City Bar Scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfpKjRitYdE


The Last Boy Scout - "Im awake"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKc8m0apNh4


Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg8cDmi7-U8




Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5JkHBC5lDs

Bonnie Raitt - I Can't Make You Love Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW9Cu6GYqxo

Bonnie Raitt - Nick Of Time
http://www.123video.nl/playvideos.asp?MovieID=407128

Dire Straits - Walk of Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZxVC0GB838


Constantine - Bring me to life (Evanescence)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx8d3K_hngw



I am still standing

[WCGreen]

10. Maybe if David and Goliath had the chance to get married...

then they wouldn't have been fighting each other all the time...

[Walk away]

13. That's adorable!

:pals:

[aquart]

11. Who?

[kevinbgoode]

14. Ah yes. . the wingnut whining over the "principles" of "marriage"

. . .when what K-LO REALLY means is protecting the largest government welfare system in existence. The inflation in the number of special rights/benefits/privileges/rules/regulations for "married" people in the states is astounding. . .what can say "big government" louder than hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these statutes?

This is where I often piss these faux ideological con-artist con-servatives off the most. When it comes to "marriage," they are so quick to crow about the "foundation of society" the "pillar of our civilization" and all that other crap, when they damn well know that it is nothing more than a huge government-regulated welfare system which milks ALL the taxpayers under the guise of "greater social good." That's right - this is the one area of "socialism" that conservatives seem to defend with ferocity - but of course, it is also the biggest area in which they reap the greatest benefits.

Think about it for a moment. I remember an appalling experience I had about 15 years ago, watching one partner of a same-sex couple pass on. What I got to witness (courtesy of those hundreds of special rights laws that our "representatives" spend an inordinate amount of time creating for "married" people) was the fleecing of their joint property by strangers, the outrageous disrespect of their relationship in the damned newspaper obituary, the surviving partner ostracized and eliminated in planning the funeral of his longtime partner, and the pretension of their "government" that they NEVER EXISTED.

Worse, in MY state, who do you think gets the property if there are no legally defined heirs or "natural" defined "family" members? The STATE. Yes - big government at its best.

The MAJORITY of legal adults in this country are NOT MARRIED. Some don't WANT to get married. Some, (like most same-sex couples in various states) CAN'T get married, and some others were fleeced so badly in previous divorces that they want to stay as far away from marriage as possible. And what has their government done for them? Created a small cluster of complicated, expensive, often-ignored regulations and rules governing their basic life and death needs and experiences. Most of the are woefully inadequate. And yet I'll listen to conservatives moan "why don't those gay families just get powers of attorney? Those should work perfectly." Well, if that shit worked so perfectly, then all of those hundreds of special little marriage statutes could be dumped and EVERYONE could be assigned that little complicated file-cabinet-full-of-legal-directives-route.

For all the "sanctity" these people scream about, they sure need an ever-increasing number of special rights laws written and financed by ALL of us in order to support their "pillar of society" scheme. Sure, they have children and start the next generation - but all of us pay for things like health, food, and public education - and yet how many "unmarried" or "single" or "without child" people get to sit on school boards or are admitted to PTAs? So it becomes a welfare system for the greater community - a system, that strangely enough, conservatives insist must NOT be allowed to be extended to families headed by same-sex couples, yet ALL of us should be forced to support the legally "married" "traditional" families that conservatives want to define for us. . .even though they are the MINORITY of families in this country.

To me, it's all an outrage. I'm VERY happy same-sex couple now have access to this buffet or rights and responsibilities in New York. But I also think it is well past time that this country consider how the present array of "marriage" and "family" laws neglect and violate the rights of those who are NOT married - and that we should have an expectation that OUR representatives tend to our basic life/death needs and experiences without forcing everyone to be tied to the "marriage" system.

[ejpoeta]

16. taxation without representation. it's bullshit. they want your tax money

without having to treat you like citizens with the same rights as everyone else. who the fuck cares if someone is gay or not. that has no bearing on what kind of a person you are. just like whether you go to church or are a 'christian' should have no bearing. for or against. people need to grow the fuck up. and apparently just getting papers signed aren't enough because apparently a family can just go to court and get a judge to vacate any papers and ignore any wishes of anyone.

[trud]

18. geez, fork out for a will

if you don't like the default estate laws.

[justiceischeap]

19. I hope you're kidding or using sarcasm. Otherwise you missed the point of the post

Sometimes it doesn't matter if you have wills, power of attorneys, etc. There are some states that will ignore those in favor of blood relatives.

[MrScorpio]

21. You're exactly right

Hospitals and courts have routinely ignored legal documentation for things like wills and medical guardianship between gay partners.

Marriage equality is going to level the playing field.