2. I cannot marry my partner. Defense of Marriage Act took care of that in the late 90's. Thanks for nothing, Bill Clinton. However, the language of this proposed amendment reads as follows:
Section 38. (a) Marriage in Indiana consists only of the union of one man and one woman.
(b) This Constitution or any other Indiana law may not be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.
This means they are further enforcing a law already on the books, and in paragraph b, they are talking about anyone (gay or straight) that is unmarried.
3. So why should straight people care about paragraph b? First, the state of OHIO passed this amendment and has found more money to throw at unnecessary court cases where a live-in boyfriend battered his live-in girlfriend, and because they were not married, he's getting away with it. Second, paragraph b uses a legal definition that is not defined: "incidents of marriage." No one can state what that means, therefore batterers can get away with assaulting their girlfriends, unmarried men may have no rights to the children they have produced outside of marriage even if they live with them, etc. It is too vague. It could mean anything. Even the person who drafted it, conservative legal expert Robert Bork has stated "Objections to this second sentence have convinced me that it is poorly drafted and causes needless controversy."
4. FOR THE EMPATHETIC AMONG YOU: My partner and I spent $2000 for some of the rights and responsibilities (1,049 state and federal, at last count) that straight couples get in Marion County for $18 and a woman's blood test. If this legislation passes, my family of origin--who are as enlightened as most of the more obtuse I've been lucky enough to encounter--can challenge or negate any of the legal documents we spent money on to protect our property and lives (Will, Living Will, Medical Power of Attorney, and Domestic Partnership Agreement) from said beings, many of whom I've had nothing to do with in over a decade.
5. And isn't that what's great about America? It's big enough for me and my partner, and all the rabid folks who believe the workingman John of the Gospel was the same mentally ill John of Patmos who wrote his schizophrenic visions in Revelation, and believe they were originally written in English. Or maybe German. Or that just because Leviticus says gay people are an abomination, that means you can still have shrimp cocktail and bacon (which is also an abomination) because those commands from G-D are outdated. Or that Sodom and Gomorrah was sinful because the people were into anal--instead of just being inhospitable and trying to rape his daughters who were by most accounts about as old as an 8th grader. But if you read on, you find Lot's daughters got him drunk and slept with him--so that's ok. Whatev. You believe what you want to. You are sleeping, with your eyes tightly closed. Whatever gets you through the night, kid.
6. These naked attempts at making this country a Western answer to the Taliban would have been spit on by the Founding Fathers, who were at best Deists. (Which doesn't mean Christian, just that they acknowledged there was maybe a (or some) supreme being(s)). Do you know what a Philistine is? Those are the people like you that actually allowed the Romans to nail Jesus to a tree. How come Jesus doesn't mention even once anything about homosexuality? If He were here, I'd like to think he would tell you what douchebags you are.
7. The only state that offers gay marriage is Massachusetts. Other states that offer civil unions or domestic partnership include CA, CT, DC, HI, MA, NJ, NH, VT, WA. Fun fact about New Hampshire is that while it is called Civil Union, it confers the same rights and responsibilities as marriage, but they called it something else. Live free or die, anyone?
8. Contrary to belief, marriage cannot and will never be legal to an animal or child for one simple reason: Animals and children, legally and according to common sense, cannot give consent. Ever wonder why you can't enter into a legal and binding contract until you are 18? That's why. NOT ABLE TO GIVE LEGAL CONSENT. So quit confusing pedophiles with gay people. Or those who have relations with animals. Two or more consenting adults can do whatever they want, because the Constitution says so. You don't like it, move to Ohio. That Bible interpretation = law works there. I'd still like to think Indiana is part of the United States. As much as our coins say, "In God We Trust" (which the early Christian Taliban put on there and "under God" into our Pledge of Allegiance in the first 60 years of the 20th c.) they first said "Liberty." Which means good fences make good neighbors. You want to abuse your kids with dogma that makes them hate and spit on people you deem lower than you: go ahead. It's a free country. And I'm sorry you feel/believe/live that way. BUT IT'S NONE OF MY BUSINESS UNTIL YOU TRY LIVING ALL OVER ME.
9. I am more than happy to move to a more enlightened place. I will sell my house for a pittance. I will make sure no longer one red cent I earn ends up in this state. Although I can't really do that, as red states suck at the federal teat that collects most of their taxes from the blue states and relocates them (for highway projects and other pork barrel spending). Like Indiana. I really don't need anything Lilly puts out anyway.
10. Free-loading, ignorant, and holier-than-thou, let me let you in on a little wisdom I learned as a kid at Sunday School: treat people as you wish to be treated, and you will reap what you sow. I wish you well, and goodbye. Goodbye to my high-5 figure salary you took taxes to support your cops and fire departments and schools from. Goodbye to my home ownership that made a difference in what used to be a dirty ghetto that was my neighborhood by the new Stadium. Goodbye to my wife who would be making 6 figures as an ER nurse practitioner. All of your arguments, fears, and prejudices fall apart in the cold, hard light of reason and rationality. My hope is that one day you see and accept it. But I'm not going to wait around or hold my breath.
