scrupulous_stoic
12-02-2008, 02:46 AM
This post is going to act as a recap of all that has been going on with me since I've last posted, but is mostly concerned with my efforts to galvanize the LGBT community and help bring down Proposition 8.
So, to commence, life is going well. This is my last semester in California, and will be transferring to the University of Oregon in the fall of 2009, where, eventually, I hope to gain a Bachelor's degree in both International Studies and German, with an emphasis in Scandinavian Language and Culture. I've been volunteering my time at the Gay Youth Center, and I am the secretary of the GSA at my community college.
Now, onto the more pressing business. I have realized that apathy in this situation in regards to Proposition 8 is ultimately death, and I have been formulating a campaign against the measure. The foundation of my motives lies on a blog I typed on November 5th:
"Remember, remember, the Fifth of November,
the gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot."
It was on this day, in the year 1605, that one man set out to overturn what he saw as oppression. Guy Fawkes, a member of the English Roman Catholic revolutionaries, saw that Protestant King James I and Parliament were intolerant of the Catholics, and thus he volunteered to make a statement, and incite a revolt, by blowing up the Parliament building. Fawkes was no stranger to such intolerable rule; he helped serve in the Netherlands during the Dutch revolt against the Spanish. He ultimately was unsuccessful in his plot, and was hanged for treason in 1606. In America, his name has all but faded in obscurity, and is only made mention when Commonwealth nations light effigies and fireworks.
His name, however, is bound to rekindle a spark of life.
Yesterday was Election Day for the United States, and history was made when the first African American candidate, Barack Obama, was elected as the next President with no doubts of fraud. After eight years of turmoil, hope has resurfaced in America.
However, not all victories are without their loses. Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage, is being seen as the victor, though absentee ballots are still being tallied.
I, for one, am outraged. Madame Democracy, that sensuous whore, has again spread her legs to the idiocy of the masses, allowing discrimination to be written in our state's Constitution. Even now, as supporters of Proposition 8 gloat that they have successfully allowed California to see civil rights in retrospect, opponents are amassing to fight the greatest equality battle of my time. Predictions show that, despite the Secretary of State's message that the ballot won't be official until December 13th, there will be a plethora of lawsuits filed in the next few weeks. Gloria Allred, the most prolific woman attorney, has agreed to fight for the first lesbian couple to be married in California. Ellen Degeneres and others are sure to follow suit. This battle will soon find its way in the corridors of the United States Supreme Court, where Madame Justice will rule in our favor eventually.
If not, I call upon Madame Liberty to grant us solace, as stated in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
"14th Amendment, Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Today, California allowed a group of people to be inferior as to not participate in a government sanctioned union. It is time now, that as opponents of Proposition 8, we do away with "gay rights," or "womens' rights," and see it all as "equal rights." This battle has shown us what problems we face. Conservative, out-of-state interest groups will stop at nothing to preserve their all but shattered worldview. And, like the war in Iraq, people were fed lies to condone destruction. It was also on yesterday that Arkansas banned unmarried parents from adopting children, or being foster parents, specifically singling out gays and lesbians in their debates and advertisements. As President, I hope Obama fulfills his goals of the new, resurrected American dream, as we need it more than ever.
Today, I ask you to remember Guy Fawkes and to remember what America is based upon; Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. If you feel as angry as I am that civil rights were voted upon like some beauty pageant, and if this ban is not overturned, then I ask you to join me next year on the steps of the Supreme Court of the United States of America to protest, and give the United States a Fifth of November they shall never forget.
Es ist Zeit für Gleichberechtigung!
Bennett Hubbard
NOTE: If Proposition 8 is not repealed, and there is no hope in the US Supreme Court, after I obtain my Bachelor's of Arts degree, I will be moving to Canada and attend the University of Toronto or University of British Columbia, unless something opens up in Europe.
I am currently organizing the entire Coachella Valley (for all those geography-challenged readers, the Coachella Valley spreads from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea, and includes Rancho Mirage, Indio, and Palm Desert) by creating a local chapter for individuals wanting to repeal Proposition 8. I plan on speaking to the mayor of Palm Springs, who is openly gay, to see if there are any meetings or events I can host or be a part of. However, as much as I want to succeed, I feel my efforts are stagnant at the moment. What should I consider in order to have this work?
So, to commence, life is going well. This is my last semester in California, and will be transferring to the University of Oregon in the fall of 2009, where, eventually, I hope to gain a Bachelor's degree in both International Studies and German, with an emphasis in Scandinavian Language and Culture. I've been volunteering my time at the Gay Youth Center, and I am the secretary of the GSA at my community college.
Now, onto the more pressing business. I have realized that apathy in this situation in regards to Proposition 8 is ultimately death, and I have been formulating a campaign against the measure. The foundation of my motives lies on a blog I typed on November 5th:
"Remember, remember, the Fifth of November,
the gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot."
It was on this day, in the year 1605, that one man set out to overturn what he saw as oppression. Guy Fawkes, a member of the English Roman Catholic revolutionaries, saw that Protestant King James I and Parliament were intolerant of the Catholics, and thus he volunteered to make a statement, and incite a revolt, by blowing up the Parliament building. Fawkes was no stranger to such intolerable rule; he helped serve in the Netherlands during the Dutch revolt against the Spanish. He ultimately was unsuccessful in his plot, and was hanged for treason in 1606. In America, his name has all but faded in obscurity, and is only made mention when Commonwealth nations light effigies and fireworks.
His name, however, is bound to rekindle a spark of life.
Yesterday was Election Day for the United States, and history was made when the first African American candidate, Barack Obama, was elected as the next President with no doubts of fraud. After eight years of turmoil, hope has resurfaced in America.
However, not all victories are without their loses. Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage, is being seen as the victor, though absentee ballots are still being tallied.
I, for one, am outraged. Madame Democracy, that sensuous whore, has again spread her legs to the idiocy of the masses, allowing discrimination to be written in our state's Constitution. Even now, as supporters of Proposition 8 gloat that they have successfully allowed California to see civil rights in retrospect, opponents are amassing to fight the greatest equality battle of my time. Predictions show that, despite the Secretary of State's message that the ballot won't be official until December 13th, there will be a plethora of lawsuits filed in the next few weeks. Gloria Allred, the most prolific woman attorney, has agreed to fight for the first lesbian couple to be married in California. Ellen Degeneres and others are sure to follow suit. This battle will soon find its way in the corridors of the United States Supreme Court, where Madame Justice will rule in our favor eventually.
If not, I call upon Madame Liberty to grant us solace, as stated in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
"14th Amendment, Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Today, California allowed a group of people to be inferior as to not participate in a government sanctioned union. It is time now, that as opponents of Proposition 8, we do away with "gay rights," or "womens' rights," and see it all as "equal rights." This battle has shown us what problems we face. Conservative, out-of-state interest groups will stop at nothing to preserve their all but shattered worldview. And, like the war in Iraq, people were fed lies to condone destruction. It was also on yesterday that Arkansas banned unmarried parents from adopting children, or being foster parents, specifically singling out gays and lesbians in their debates and advertisements. As President, I hope Obama fulfills his goals of the new, resurrected American dream, as we need it more than ever.
Today, I ask you to remember Guy Fawkes and to remember what America is based upon; Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. If you feel as angry as I am that civil rights were voted upon like some beauty pageant, and if this ban is not overturned, then I ask you to join me next year on the steps of the Supreme Court of the United States of America to protest, and give the United States a Fifth of November they shall never forget.
Es ist Zeit für Gleichberechtigung!
Bennett Hubbard
NOTE: If Proposition 8 is not repealed, and there is no hope in the US Supreme Court, after I obtain my Bachelor's of Arts degree, I will be moving to Canada and attend the University of Toronto or University of British Columbia, unless something opens up in Europe.
I am currently organizing the entire Coachella Valley (for all those geography-challenged readers, the Coachella Valley spreads from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea, and includes Rancho Mirage, Indio, and Palm Desert) by creating a local chapter for individuals wanting to repeal Proposition 8. I plan on speaking to the mayor of Palm Springs, who is openly gay, to see if there are any meetings or events I can host or be a part of. However, as much as I want to succeed, I feel my efforts are stagnant at the moment. What should I consider in order to have this work?