by Jaime McLeod
With Maine becoming the fifth state in the union to approve same-sex marriage, our former Jaime McLeod, a member of MTV's Street Team '08, wrote a blog for us about what the ruling means to her ...
Five years ago, my partner and I stood up in front of our families, our friends and our God, and pledged to walk together and care for one another, no matter what life brings. Though it wasn't legally binding, we meant it, and we still mean it today.
In 89 days, we will finally be able to make the vows we made to one another official. It won't change the way we see our relationship. It won't change the way those who love us see our relationship. And, for that matter, it won't change the way those who hate us see our relationship. As some of my gay friends keep pointing out, gay marriage won't cure homophobia. It won't cure AIDS. It won't keep queer kids from getting bullied in school. But it's a step. It ensures that the relationship my partner and I have worked so hard on for the last eight years doesn't receive fewer protections under the law than the drunken Vegas wedding of a pop starlet to some guy she hardly knows. It means our friends won't have to go through a ridiculously difficult legal process so that their kids can have two legal parents. And it means that a majority of legislators in my state were willing to stand up and acknowledge that same-sex relationships are just as valid as heterosexual ones.
Thank you, Maine State Legislature, and Gov. Baldacci, for doing the right thing and affirming the rights of all Mainers. You're all invited to my second wedding!
Today, the Vermont Legislature overrode Governor Jim Douglas' veto of the bill allowing same-sex couples in the state to marry legally. Vermont, with this measure, became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage, along with Massachusetts, Connecticut and everyone's favorite wild card, Iowa. (Come on, New York! Seriously.)
What is exceptional about this story, however, is that Vermont is the first state to legalize gay marriage by legislation rather than a ruling which, to many, signals an even greater sea change for gay rights in America.
With that in mind, our attention turns to Proposition 8, which the Supreme Court of California must decide to uphold or overturn by June 5, three months after the court heard oral arguments. While those of us in the LGBTQ community obviously would like to see Proposition 8 overturned, I'd like to pose a caveat to that argument.
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Yesterday, a California appeals court ruled that a Christian high school in Wildomar did not violate California's anti-discrimination law when it expelled two 16-year-olds whose bond was "characteristic of a lesbian relationship.” The school claimed that because it is a private institution, it does not have to comply with state laws, such as the one pertaining to discrimination. Boy Scouts of America v. Dale — a 1998 New Jersey case whose original decision was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2000 stating that private organizations could refuse entry to anyone they wish — provided a precedent for this case. Wait — so does this mean that a private institution or social organization could arbitrarily decide not to include black people? Or Jewish people? For some reason, I feel like that wouldn't go over so well. That brings us to the ever-complicated question of when to draw the line when it comes to legality, morality and, you guessed it — the church.
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Ten percent of the world is gay — is that what they say? I've always thought it was more like 40 or 50 percent, but, hey, maybe I've just had good luck.
Anyway, that's the impetus behind today's "Day Without a Gay" movement. LGBT people across the country were asked to "call in 'gay' " in order to show that, if we cannot enjoy the same rights as our straight buddies (see: the passage of Prop 8 in California, or just read most state constitutions), we really aren't being recognized as productive and beneficial members of society. "Day Without a Gay" is a way to exemplify what life would be like without gays in society. Read more...
Yesterday, I came out again. It wasn't quite like when I begrudgingly came out to my parents in 10th grade, and it wasn't like coming out on "America's Next Top Model," on the television screens of people whom I never had to see. Before I said the words "I'm gay" onstage to several thousand people standing below, my mind flipped back to the moment that Ellen DeGeneres said the same words into the microphone at the airport on "Ellen." (I know, could I be more gay? Probably not.)
There was something different about yesterday's "coming out" moment, beyond the fact that I was staring at my parents, who were surrounded by thousands of gay people (a first for them, undoubtedly). This time, I was coming out for a tangible, structured, pro-social, and active reason.
Yesterday, 4,000 people gathered in front of City Hall to protest the passing of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. Read more...
