(inspired in part by a post by beninem that you can’t see because I’m cooler than you)
Proposal 2 in Michigan, which not only added a same-sex marriage ban to the the state constitution but also will probably remove same-sex partner benefits (like health care for partners) for many people in the state, passed 60% to 39%. My home state (where same-sex marriage was already illegal) felt the need to write discrimination into the state constitution.
I have a suspicion that the proposal would have still passed in Michigan if it had said “The proposal would amend the state constitution to provide that the union of one man and one woman of the same race in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.”
One of the “really, I’m not a bigot” arguments was that gay people shouldn’t get special rights, and they are already allowed to marry (people of the opposite gender). Another “c’mon, I said I’m not a bigot, why don’t you believe me” argument was that allowing gay people to marry would weaken heterosexual marriages.
How hard would it be to draw up some boilerplate prenups that would allow 2 gay men to marry 2 lesbians that would confer as many of the 1,049 federal marriage rights on the correct person. i.e. “I will give any inheritance I receive to the 3rd party of this agreement upon the 1st party’s death.”
Obviously it would also have to protect the rights of the participants, so they would have to sign away any joint property rights. Something that was as simple as a Creative Commons deed would be perfect, and maybe a website to match up gay couples to help each other restore their rights.
Then let’s see how great banning same-sex marriage is for strengthening heterosexual marriage.
6 responses to “Michigan’s Prop 2”
Kerry won Michigan with 2.5 million votes or 51%, while Prop 2 won with 2.7 million votes or 59%. This means that there was some overlap between Kerry supporters and Prop 2 supporters. I have seen no analysis anywhere, but it would be interesting to see what types of voters voted for both Kerry and Prop. 2.
That is what really gets me about these bans on same-sex marriage — what’s to stop them from saying that my interracial marriage is a crime against nature? or that couples that don’t procreate aren’t against nature? (Some states have said that marriage is “for the children.”) You’d think states would be thrilled to get marriage tax from more people. Sigh.
I have a suspicion that the proposal would have still passed in Michigan if it had said “The proposal would amend the state constitution to provide that the union of one man and one woman of the same race in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.”
If you believe this your in serious trouble. One is a choice the other is not!
There is no Gay Gene people have been shown to change there sexual orientation more than once. You cant change the color of your skin. This has been proven in many studies.
I don’t actually believe that it would be passed, that was hyperbole.
As for it being a choice, at what age did you choose your sexuality? What kind of factors did you take into account? Did you do any research or take a class on the various sexualities before making your choice?
It’s funny that the scared straights don’t understand that we are still going to get married, in fact i have a same sex wedding to attend on New Year’s Eve… we don’t care about the government’s recognition, it’s about our commitment to one another, which is more than I can say for lots of the heterosexual marriages I know of. They can put discrimination into the constitution but we’re used to being discriminated against… they will never squash our spirit.
And doesn’t that prove that maybe our commitments to one another are stronger, if we have to fight against opposition to have the same rights as those privileged heteros?!