I say 'every day' but I doubt that's really true... Imagine my luck when I learned two new things today!
Firstly, I learned the real definition of 'pugnacious.' Which isn't really relevant to this blog... And the second thing I learned was how absent homosexual rights were in America right up until 1996.
Yes, that's correct. Gay people had NO rights whatsoever until 1996. Can you believe that?! Apparently I learned this around 4 weeks ago in my American Civil Rights class at college, but it wasn't until I was doing a spot of revising that I actually paid attention to this part. According to American law, the first act passed for gay rights was in 1996, which protected homosexuals from state discrimination, and also barred the passage of any new 'anti-discriminatory' legislation against them.
Now I hate to sound like a broken record, but this makes me even more determined to abolish 'Proposition 8' in California. It is now obvious that most of the people who voted 'yes' on prop 8 were mis-informed about what it was about, and I think that if the vote was to be done again, proposition 8 would not exist.
So, without sounding like I'm nagging, please do everything you can to help the cause of prop 8, and get it over-turned once and for all! I'm not married personally, but I know how awful it must be to be kept from marrying the person you love, and a lot of people I know who it is being prejudice against say that it really hurts to know that even their 'friends' don't want them to be happy.
Go here for advice on donating and spreading the word.
So as you probably all know, Proposition 8 (see previous blog entry) was passed this week on November 4th in California.
It's rare that I post a blog without humor or any sarcasm within it, but this is one exception. I am quite aggravated that the people in the state of California, which is widely known for being very liberal, this week abolished the rights of same sex marriage within its borders.
Now I personally don't think I will ever get married. I could, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to. However, my gay twin brother - who I love more than anything - and I plan on moving to California in the next few years, and I'm just sad to think what will happen if this proposition is not over-turned by then. It was the other day that I realized that my brother (and my best friend) will not be able to marry the person he loves. Many of my friends were crying all day at the realization that they, and their friends, could no longer be joined in civil matrimony. I just don't understand why anyone would want to vote against love.
So I urge you, people of California, to do all you can for the 'No On Prop 8' campaign. Join protests, start rallies, raise money, raise awareness. Go to www.noonprop8.com to see exactly what you can do to help.
California, the state with the highest electoral vote count (55), could theoretically be classed as the most powerful state in the US for this reason. So please, all of you out there, fight for love. Show your new president exactly what you want: Equal human rights for same sex couples.
It's over to you.
