March 02, 2004
Gay Marriage Here
Well, Multnomah County, which is where I work and about two miles from where I currently live, will be the third county in the nation to allow gay marriage tomorrow.Update: Portland Communique has some local updating. I guess Kevin Mannix called it "idiotic" and "a travesty". So I guess that makes it a good thing.
Chuck Currie, a United Church of Christ Seminarian, has some more local news. Evidently some of the clergy from the First Unitarian Church (which I attended for a short while) are on the streets performing wedding ceremonies.
And here's some reporting on Vera Katz and her statement about the whole thing. Very cool.
More local commenting.
And finally, someone commented on this entry about it and I went and visited her weblog - your basic conservative railing against what this state is coming to, and comparing it to legalizing murder, etc. I commented about this on another weblog, but wanted to put it here too.
I try to understand what she means. Not to defend it, but just to, you know, understand. She's not trying to make sense when she compares it to legalizing murder. I think it's just that she feels, as others do, that it's "yet another step" on the way towards society crumbling apart into something awful; as awful as it would be awful to legalize murder. It's an emotional argument, not a logical one. They see it as condoning another sin. It doesn't matter to them that there's other sin out there already like adultery or divorce. They see this as yet another sin that is now condoned. So folks like her are desperate and see this is another part of the slippery slope.
So those folks need paradigm shifts. They need to see that these kinds of shifts actually make society better for them as well. That it means more love, more social stability, more affirmation of basic legal equality. They need to remember that it doesn't mean they have to morally accept it; that tolerance is not the same as acceptance. If we're going to convince them to calm down, then it'll be about eventually showing them that this isn't a part of a slippery slope towards social corruption and sin.
I can't tell you how saddened I am by all this.
By the way, your template is exactly like mine!
Posted by: Tammy at March 3, 2004 08:57 AMI think/feel/believe that it's about damn time gay marriage was recognized. It's not really about marriage...bottomline, it's about equality. Wish I could have been in Portland on this very special day!
Posted by: calichick at March 3, 2004 11:39 PMThanks for your comments, both here and on my blog. I think you're right.
Posted by: Betsy at March 4, 2004 08:25 AMI am pleased that Multnomah county has taken this action I am not happy with how it was done. I really believe there may be actionable behavior on the part of the four commisioners who made this happen. It didn't have to be done behind closed doors. No courage of conviction to let debate happen? I'm afraid the happiness that should be associated with this decision has been tainted.
Posted by: Philip at March 5, 2004 03:38 PMYeah, It's good Idea
Posted by: Fedya at July 2, 2004 02:50 AM