Gay/Straight Alliance at University of Texas in San Antonio

[lambda_alliance_utsa]

Hello my name is Johanna Boone and I am the vice-president of the Lambda Alliance at the University of Texas in San Antonio. We a GLTBS organization that acts as a support group , and an outlet to help fight discrimination. In November of 2005, Texas passed Proposition 2 into our constitution. It was a constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman. In an attempt to voice our opinion against this issue my organization held an event we called "Mock Weddings". In this event we "married" gay couples as well as straight couples. It was a last minute ideal so the event was very small but we did manage to reach a number of students on our campus. Sadly that proposition passed with little opposition. We have been told by many people that, that is it. We should just give up now because their is nothing we can do about it. But we do not agree with this viewpoint. We believe that the second we walk away from this fight we will begin to lose what little rights we are guaranteed in the state of Texas. So we have begun planning the "Mock Weddings" again. Only this time we are hoping to make it a very large event with News Coverage if possible. We have contacted local groups as well as state wide groups asking for help. While I am not especially religious, there are quite a few members of our organization who are. We are looking to get members of the churches to help us out by acting as the priest during the wedding ceremony. We would need them to do all the things they would do for a wedding. Of course it will not be legally binding but we feel that this will give our cause more steam if we have religious leaders helping us. The event would take place in the middle of March on our campus. Anyone who is in that area is welcome of come join (email me for date specifics), and anyone who knows someone who would be willing to facilitate the wedding is welcome to please, please send me a message. It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Johanna Boone
Vice President
Lambda Alliance

lambda_alliance_utsa@yahoo.com
jojo_utsa05@yahoo.com

[NathanATX]

Hey there,

Contact MCC San Antonio and see if they could help. www.mccsa.org

Also, keep me informed and I can put my myspace powers to work for you.

Nate
myspace.com/nathanatx
nateblackpfs@yahoo.com

[dsdrane]

Johanna --

I'm convinced you already know this, but...you can do whatever the hell you want to.

Let 'em stop you!

Nutty, right? No. You go, go, go. If you wait for permission, you're lost. If you're right with God, you already have permission.

Peace, -d.

[tpdncr4christ]

we should organize sit ins at popular marriage places until they marry any couple of human beings who desire to be married... worked before...

good luck! praying for you all!

[scott snedeker]

Great idea! Are you really only seventeen! You have a self possession far beyond any I know your age! and most at any age!

I'm actually quite envious!

[pnggrad79]

Dear Johanna,
I appreciate what you are trying to do with your "mock" weddings among gay and straight people. It is a great thing to show the hypocrisy of the Texas legislature to reserve marriage for only straight people. I applaud your efforts and hope that many will show up for this event.

I do have a semantics issue with the title "mock" weddings, however. For glbt people who are seriously committed to their partners, there is nothing "mock" about that. There is nothing "mock" about their marriages, for they are just as much marriages as any straight couple. I am helping to plan a wedding for two lesbian friends of mine and there is nothing "mock" about it. It may not be legal in this state, but in their hearts and minds, they are committing their lives to one another before God and there is nothing more serious than that. They are taking their committment seriously and so should everyone.

It would be my advice, should you choose to take it, to call this event what it is-a wedding for gay and straight people. That is what it is. If the Texas legislature doesn't want to recognize it, that doesn't make it anything less than what it is. "Mock" wedding gives a connotation of making fun of it or joking with it, and this is not a joke. If we are to be taken seriously by the government we have to make this a serious, complete effort. We have to show the state of Texas that gay people do need and are entitled to the same rights as straight people. We do that by going to these events and getting married.

Make sense?

[tpdncr4christ]

Call it Unrecognized Ceremonies... that meets both points that pngrad brings up

[pnggrad79]

TP,
I think unrecognized ceremonies still demeans it. It is recognized by God and the participants but not the government who has shamelessly bowed its knee to bigoted people.

[tpdncr4christ]

So we want a bold statement? We can't just call them marriages... that demeans them too... we need a name that says it is recognized by God, but not by the government... Marriages of Civil Disobediance? just a suggestion...

[pnggrad79]

TP,
If someone gets married only to spite the government, then that automatically demeans it. Marriage is not about civil disobedience, although, if the government says it is not valid, doing so might by default be an act of civil disobedience. Marriage is about the sincere love and lifetime commitment of two people who pledge to love each other for the rest of their lives. It is not merely thumbing their noses at a backward government.

[Vanessa White]

Glad that you are here at Soulforce, and if feedback is what you are looking for, you will always get a lot here that can be useful and help to see various points of view. I agree with png's thoughts here on the use of the word "mock", or any word, for that matter, that lessens the intent of the ceremony or what it represents to the two persons in the couple. Whether or not it is legally recognized is really not an issue, because whether done in a large group, as you propose, or as a couple on their own, due to the current law it can't be recognized for gay couples. It could bring some much needed media attention, however, which might bring some allies out for the cause, and help to create an organized effort. Marriage should be an institution that is available as a civil right to any two adults that wish to enter into it. End of story. Good luck and be safe in your plannings. Vanessa