May 23

Same-sex marriage affects every single one of us

Comments (62) by Lerner May 23, 2012 - 6:02 AM

Same-sex marriage rights aren't just a gay issue. The same-sex marriage equality movement affects the entire LGBT community directly and... perhaps less obviously... it affects every single person on the planet. That's a bold statement, right? I promise, I'll explain.

Barack Obama recently went on record as saying, "for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married." Well, wow. Bowl me over with that ringing endorsement, Mr. President.

While it is exciting that the person holding the office of President of the United States of America has finally spoken up for same-sex marriage rights, I think it's worth noting that he went out of his way to make the point that it was for him, personally... not politically.

Now, unless I'm mistaken, a political endorsement is the kind of endorsement you're looking for from someone in the highest political office in the land. As a bisexual woman, my rights are trampled and my feelings are hurt every time something like Amendment 1 or Proposition 8 passes and I am highly unimpressed with President Obama.

Allowing one's Vice President to put his balls out there a few days ahead of time to test the waters and then slinking in behind him to say "Oh yeah, me too" when the LGBT community erupted with gratitude to Vice President Biden? What a punk.

He campaigned four years ago on the repealing of Don't Ask Don't Tell and support of the LGBT community and then he sat in office for four years with his thumb up his ass deferring to the potential for civil unions and leaving it up to the states. He's come out a few months before election to appease us and make sure we come out to vote.

Now, granted, I am married to the father of my children and so this doesn't affect my rights today. But if I wasn't, or if in the future I am not, and I am waiting on the right to get a marriage license to my long-term girlfriend then I'm not going to be exactly turning cartwheels at his pussy-footed, luke-warm mumblings about how it's mostly alright with him... you know, personally.

Sure, he's got my vote. What am I going to do, vote for Mitt Romney?! But shame on you, Mr. President. Shame on you.

​Now I promised to tell you how it affects not just me and my wounded feelings, but every single person on the entire planet. So let me break it down:

1. Laws should protect and serve, not segregate and discriminate.

2. When we legalize hate, we normalize it; we teach our children that it's not just accepted but endorsed.

3. How can we ever hope to help our children's children have the peace we all imagine for the future if we can't learn to see love as love, in any form it finds us?

As a human being, I am so embarrassed and ashamed that we are still passing laws which tell so many people that they are worth less than some other group of people. As a mother, my heart completely breaks in two that my children are growing up in a world where it could happen.

I'm going to leave you with a quote I read recently from another mother who wrote a post about how she found hope that our kids will figure it all out soon:

"This gives me hope for her generation. That when she is my age, with children of her own, she can tell them that once upon a time, people were actually told who they could love, and who they could marry... isn't that dumb?"

by Lerner May 23, 2012 - 6:02 AM

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Comments (62)

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  • Report Fri May 25, 2012 - 6:02 pm
    by  Lori Dyan
    Eloquently stated, Lerner. It is shameful that we allow our governments to dictate the gender of who we love. Thankfully, our kids seem to be born smarter than many politicians (i.e. my 4 yr old daughter plans on marrying her best friend because, "She has pretty dresses that we could share.")
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Sat May 26, 2012 at 3:39 am
  • Report Sat May 26, 2012 - 3:39 am
    by  Lerner
    @Lori Dyan: that is potentially the best reason to get married I've ever heard in my life. She is so smart. A best friend and a bigger wardrobe all at once? That's a hell of a dowry.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 10:21 pm
    by  Sharon Goldstein
    There's also a possibility that the White House set up Biden's "slip." It wouldn't be the first time that a politician leaked a subject. Just a thought.
    Reply Delete
  • 3 replies, Last reply by Lerner on Sat May 26, 2012 at 3:38 am
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 10:24 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Sharon Goldstein: I would bet my left pinky toe on the fact that's exactly what happened. I think it was an incredibly transparent and gutless move.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Fri May 25, 2012 - 10:51 pm
    by  Sharon Goldstein
    @Lerner: Or it was a clever move to make it easy for the President to slide into the subject. I honestly don't know, but it would depend on the advisors. The important thing, to me anyway, is that it FINALLY got said. It's already had an effect, particularly in African-American communities, which have always been extremely conservative on this subject.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Sat May 26, 2012 - 3:38 am
    by  Lerner
    @Sharon Goldstein: very true, on all points.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 5:58 am
    by  Elizabeth
    "1. Laws should protect and serve, not segregate and discriminate. 2. When we legalize hate, we normalize it; we teach our children that it's not just accepted but endorsed. 3. How can we ever hope to help our children's children have the peace we all imagine for the future if we can't learn to see love as love, in any form it finds us?" I'm not sure which of these I want to applaud the loudest. I am heterosexual, but have many dear friends in the LGBT community. And so I tend to take these affronts on their rights personally. I am also a Christian, and the way some behave not only angers me, it makes me embarrassed to admit I am one. God doesn't hate. Humans are the ones who created that. Bravo, Lerner. Bravo. Love you and love this post!
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Thu May 24, 2012 at 6:38 am
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 6:38 am
    by  Lerner
    @Elizabeth: thank you, so much, Elizabeth! I don't think it really matters much anymore, which one we applaud the loudest, as long as we keep applauding human rights in every single capacity we can.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 3:00 am
    by  theprez98
    "Sure, he's (Obama) got my vote. What am I going to do, vote for Mitt Romney?" No, but how about voting for a third party candidate? Or withholding your vote from Obama? Otherwise, the message you send is that, despite all the rhetoric, the issue really isn't that important.
    Reply Delete
  • 5 replies, Last reply by Lerner on Thu May 24, 2012 at 6:37 am
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 3:08 am
    by  Vikki
    @theprez98: And then we split the vote. That's how we ended up with Bush. It would be great if third party candidates were truly a viable option but my familycan't afford to take that kind of risk.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 3:12 am
    by  theprez98
    @Vikki: Maybe so--but if you (or anyone) who feels so passionately about this issue votes for Obama, you're effectively endorsing his position. On this issue, from a policy perspective, Obama is not going to change anything. IMO local and state elections are much more important to the future of our families than presidential elections.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 5:18 am
    by  Lerner
    @theprez98: I gotta agree with Vikki on this one. It's unrealistic for me to expect any one candidate to embody each and every view that I have, so I look for the one who has the best chance of affecting the most change in the areas that are important to me. Looking at the options of the table, I feel like Obama is the most bang for my voting buck, but that doesn't mean I have to put up and shut up on every issue. It's not just my right, but my ABSOLUTE DUTY as an American citizen to question my leaders. And in this arena, I feel like he definitely failed to live up to the promises he's made. I am hopeful for the change that will definitely come in my lifetime, I believe that it's inevitable at this point (looking at and listening to the younger generations). Believing that it's only a matter of time until equality comes, the process by which it arrives matters very much... for me. Simply put: once we've got the right then that's really all that will matter, but it doesn't mean that being on the wrong side (or in this case comfortably perched in the middle) of the debate is irrelevant. He wussed out, and that's incredibly disappointing but in the grand scheme of things he's still got my vote. I don't have to like every single thing he does to vote for him. Luckily we live in a country where I'm allowed to express my extreme disappointment in this area, while still agreeing with the majority of his politics.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 5:59 am
    by  theprez98
    @Lerner: Personally, I don't think the government should be involved in marriage other than to enforce it as a contract. Whomever chooses to enter that contract should be able to do so.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 6:37 am
    by  Lerner
    @theprez98: couldn't agree more.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 2:57 am
    by  Vikki
    I'm a lesbian. My partner and I have been together for 19 years. We are not legally married and can't be in the state of Minnesota, a state that will vote on whether or not to ban same-sex marriage in November. I applaud President Obama's statement - his words matter. AND? I'm tired of the GLBT community and its allies spending our time and money fighting for our rights and against hateful amendments in a state by state basis. The truth is that people taking a stand - people who are not GLBT but believe in justice - is what will bring equality for all. Thank you for pointing that out.
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Thu May 24, 2012 at 5:11 am
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 5:11 am
    by  Lerner
    @Vikki: Here's my full thoughts on the whole do I like what he said, or don't I: I'm separating the man from the office here. Barack Obama let me down, but I am glad that the man in the office of the President finally said ANYTHING good about the issue. I am thoroughly saddened by Obama's lackluster follow-through on a campaign promise he made to us, but yeah... I just want change in any way it gets here really. It's time, it's WAAAAAY past time and I think he could have done a hell of a lot better with his words, his support and his political influence the last four years.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 2:42 am
    by  Grumble Girl
    This was a great post, lady. Here in Montreal, things are so much better than in the US (I can't believe it's STILL and issue ANYWHERE!!) but change is slow. Obama's statement was a bit weak, but I'd like to think it's still a step in the right direction... he is the best presidential candidate (by far!) so let's hope significant change(s) can be made during his next term. Change is necessary - it's evolution, just the same as anything biological. I have such high hopes for the US... and I have such worries at the same time. Le sigh.
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Thu May 24, 2012 at 5:08 am
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 5:08 am
    by  Lerner
    @Grumble Girl: You and me? We're like this (imagine me point two fingers at my eyes, then turning them to yours to indicate that we totally get each other). Totally on the same page.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 6:59 pm
    by  JohnoMori
    In defense of President Obama, marriage has always been a State issue. There was a movement to change that by certain folks in past years who supported a Constitutional Amendment trying to take the power away from the States on this issue. There was much outrage over that and I understand mostly because that was an amendment in support of inequality. But there is a similarity in wanting Obama to make the legalization of gay marriage a Federal issue. Sure, maybe he should hand down an Executive Order (I say that hypothetically as it would surely never happen) saying States must recognize gay marriage, but doesn't the wreak of the type of totalitarianism that is everything the U.S. is not about? Fact of the matter is that there is a large group of people (I bet you some even well-intentioned at the moment) who think marriage is sacred between a man and a woman and this seems to vary regionally. The debate will rage on for some time but it is clear to see where the zeitgeist of the country is on it at this point. So while it is not happening in the time frame you would like, I think it moving at this pace while preserving the rights of individual States to handle these issues on their own is worth it. That said, I did think it was a really weak move for Obama to make Biden float his position first. But they ain't politicians for nothing.
    Reply Delete
  • 12 replies, Last reply by Lerner on Thu May 24, 2012 at 5:07 am
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:14 pm
    by  Lerner
    @JohnoMori: John, thank you so much for your comment! It gave me the chance to clear up something that I can’t believe I didn’t address in my original post (I suppose brevity becomes too important at some point). I don’t think there should be a federal law….. Weird, right? :) In fact, I would complete agree with and support all the points presented in your comment if it had started out not in defense of President Obama, but in defense of the Constitution of the United States. As a card-carrying member of the ACLU, I can think of fewer things more crucial to the legal fabric of our country than upholding the most eloquently written and thoughtfully constructed legal document in the country. The beauty of the Bill of Rights is that it is so clear in its intention of protecting the least among us. It was drafted with the sole purpose of providing shelter for human rights in the face of popular demand. We bucked the suffocating hold of the oppression we had grown sick of accepting because as a country we knew that human life and the pursuit of happiness were sacred and not to be subjected to what our next door neighbors (or our colonial leaders on the other side of the planet) thought we should do. When I say I want a political endorsement from the President, I mean that I want him to come out and say, “Yes! I think that same sex marriages should be legal. I think that it’s time that the states make it legal and I will speak out in support of that human right until they do.” Or something along those lines. I want integrity from my leader. I voted for him to protect my rights and represent my interests. As my President, he owes it to me. But more importantly, he owes it to my children… to his children… to his neighbors’ children. When I was younger, I thought that being American was a little bit lame. I thought that protesting and damning the man were cool in their own right, not as a means to an end. I don’t know if it was living abroad, having kids, just getting older, or a combination of all three… but I am so stinkin’ patriotic now it’s ridiculous. I am so proud to live in a country where it’s possible for us to say out loud, “Shame on you, Mr. President. You botched this one. You’ve done it very wrong, and I am extremely disappointed.” I am sometimes moved to tears at the evolution of our country in such a short period of time and how our forefathers were so brilliant that they built right intot he framework of our Consitution the inate ability for change because they recognized that they were only human, completely fallible, and that the more perfect union they were tryng to form would require the input of the people. In order to last through centuries of social climate change it needed to be dynamic. In order to avoid another reveolution every century it would have to accommodate the face of the future as well as preserve the fundamental ideals that form the fabric of the United States. When I said I was sick of Obama hiding be hind states rights, and I should have clarified, what I meant was that using that as your go-to statement in response to being asked about same-sex marriage rights is a pussification the likes of which I’ve grown to greatly disrespect. Quite bluntyly, he fucked this one up completely for the last four years in my eyes.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:51 pm
    by  JohnoMori
    @Lerner: OK then. Whatever it is your selling, I am buying sister. That was an insanely compelling and honest rant. I started in the defense of Obama because that is not a position I find myself in often. I do not buy the Obama hype and never have. Hope and change was bullshit then and it is bullshit now. He wants power to further his own agenda (which maybe you agree with and maybe you don't) and in order to gain power, like every other politician, he would sell his mother to get it. So selling out a few (literary understatement) LGBT activists in the process is nothing. I have nothing against Obama personally. Seems like a nice guy and I'd have a beer with him. But if anyone thinks that he is politicking any less than the rest of them, well, I am throwing the flag on that. So, I agree, he should have the nads to take a stand on the issue but while the country remains split, I think he will Humpty Dumpty this one, particularly in an election year. I am glad though, that they are not stripping or threatening to strip States's rights any longer. We just can't afford for the Feds to do it all. Fun, fun, fun.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:57 pm
    by  Lerner
    @JohnoMori: High five!!! Exactly. It was bullshit then and it's complete and total hot steaming pile of bullshit now. And yeah, I'd love to have a beer with him, if for no other reason than to giggle and blush when he's so damn cute. Wait, that wasn't a serious political statement and that's what I'm trying to do today, right? :)
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 11:41 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Lerner: and also? sorry for all those question marks in my original reply. Formatting problem from copying and pasting, I'm not a punctuation idiot... promise :)
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 1:04 am
    by  Gigi_E
    @Lerner: *sighs* if I could 'like' both your comments and responses @lerner and @johno...I would - hey why don't we have that, that would be COOL!
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 1:06 am
    by  Lerner
    @Gigi_E: That's a great idea! I'll mention it to my editor... oh, wait. :)
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 1:35 am
    by  JohnoMori
    @Gigi_E: You have to roll the old fashioned way - "Wow, I really LIKE your comment." But I will ask Rachel to add it to the dev list. The future dev list that is.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 1:37 am
    by  Gigi_E
    @JohnoMori: I REALLY LIKE your COMMENT a LOT.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 2:07 am
    by  JohnoMori
    @Gigi_E: Thumbs Up!
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 1:44 am
    by  Lerner
    @JohnoMori: Can that whole formatting problem when copied and pasted from Word be added on there as well :)? Uhoh, I think comment work orders have hijacked the discussion.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 2:07 am
    by  JohnoMori
    @Lerner: Thumbs down.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 5:07 am
    by  Lerner
    @JohnoMori: ha! that's awesome.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:44 pm
    by  Elizabeth Barone
    I've been saying that President Obama kind of dropped the ball on that one. I'm glad I'm not the only one; everyone I said it to looked at me like I'm crazy. And I agree wholeheartedly that any law that segregates any group of people from anyone else is bad for everyone. No matter how you spin it, it's bad. On a more personal note, I'm bisexual, too. And if I weren't with my very male fiance, I might be with a woman, and I might want to marry her. (I also thought I was the only bisexual person in the world with someone of the opposite sex. Usually it doesn't pan out that way -- or at least, none of my bisexual friends ended up with people of the opposite sex. So... thank you for this post. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.)
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Thu May 24, 2012 at 2:18 am
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 2:18 am
    by  Lerner
    @Elizabeth Barone: If you guys have kids, be prepared to feel like the world's biggest closet case. Married mom at school functions, I feel like such a liar :). It's weird I know. But yeah, thanks for the comment and I totally get it. It's good for me to feel "gotten" as well, so really... thanks.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 2:00 am
    by  Sue Robinson
    "1. Laws should protect and serve, not segregate and discriminate; 2. When we legalize hate, we normalize it; we teach our children that it's not just accepted but endorsed." LOVE this Lerner and I agree whole heartedly. Great post friend!
    Reply Delete
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 1:28 am
    by  Natalie
    So proud of you for tackling this topic and for hanging your own balls out there! And my girl crush just got bigger ;)
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Thu May 24, 2012 at 1:33 am
  • Report Thu May 24, 2012 - 1:33 am
    by  Lerner
    @Natalie: :) Ha! Thanks. I can't very well sit in my living room thinking that Obama is a totally pussy on this issue if I'm too lame to speak up on my own. It was time.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 11:20 pm
    by  The Regular Guy UK
    I can't really comment on the politic as I do not understand it enough. I'm also not, as you probably have already figured out, hardly the poster boy for gay rights... However. I have always felt that a couple is a couple is a couple. If you love each other, what more do you need to know? But at the end of the day, marriage in our two countries is formed from religion and the same religion that formed the politics and had some very firm views. Changing those views cannot come easily. Will never come easily. Politicians do not, as you said in a comment, get to the top without being good at being politicians. The first time I heard someone talk about gay marriage I laughed, it seemed such a ridiculous idea. But then I thought about it. The more I thought about it the more sure I was that it was right. Why not? What's the reason? Will anyone ever truly understand how love works? I know I won't but I do know who I love, and I know I could never be without her. If I wasn't allowed to be married to her just because of some arcane law about women with glasses I'd be pretty damned peeved - that much I do understand. I do think that, as Johno said, the tide is turning. Hang in there - it won't happen quickly - but it will happen - it is happening - in your lifetime.. That's quite exciting isn't it?
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 11:37 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 11:37 pm
    by  Lerner
    @The Regular Guy UK: I only kinda heard everything you wrote, because that bit about your wife is so fucking good that I can't see straight. Le sigh. Make her read that. Tell her I said holy crap, what a good marriage she must have :). And yes, that's the point isn't it? It's not about rhetoric, it's barely even about politics. It's about love. Period.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 7:04 pm
    by  Toni
    Even though I have a big crush on Obama and admire him for many things he does and promotes, I did wonder about his "evolution". I would like to believe that, like many humans about many topics, he has come to a different stance on same-sex marriage and isn't afraid to say that his opinion is slightly different. Hopefully he has discussed it and examined his beliefs, and has genuinely come to this position, rather than just sitting back and wondering what would get him the most votes. Now, if we could just send someone over to Illinois where the Senate has (yesterday) voted down a measure for Anti-Bullying in schools, on the grounds that it "promotes homosexuality". (Not even quite sure how you "promote" homosexuality, but it still makes me want to relocate.
    Reply Delete
  • 3 replies, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 11:35 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:16 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Toni : promotes the "homosexual agenda" is always one of my favorite piece of rhetoric on the topic (she says sarcastically). Ugh.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 11:28 pm
    by  Charisse
    @Lerner: Oh yes -we have an agenda - to push the gay to your children and their friends. I hate that phrase. Really...we are plain and normal citizens just like the other straights. We pay our taxes, we are philanthropists, we have kids in the public school system, we buy groceries...I mean...really...
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 11:35 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Charisse: Don't you start pushing your gay agenda here for crying out loud!! :) Absolutely. Love is love, family is family, people are people... the rest is just nonsense.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 7:53 pm
    by  lhewitt
    Hey Lerner, Yeah, he wants the votes. You know what - I am sick of the government. I have not had alot to say ITPR this week because I am for same sex marriage. Period. It is being used once again as a policitcal tool . The idiots that are against (and I mean AGAINST) - all they come up with if some bullshit little chant ( marriage is between a he and she, not a he and a Steve) Really? That's all they got and they got that from the bible. Which bible, there are several versions. So let them be against it! I am against some things too, but would not vote to disallow a person something so simple as love.
    Reply Delete
  • 3 replies, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 11:35 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:17 pm
    by  Lerner
    @lhewitt: Most importantly? The bible is not a legal document! The bible is not a legal document! The bible is not a legal documetn! Did I make my point? ;)
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 11:31 pm
    by  lhewitt
    @Lerner: Yeah you did. I just forgot to include that in mine, because I had something in my head about separation of church and state and thought I was pointing that out but it does not read like that. It just seems that the people who are so against it, are against it for religious reasons and that does not have anything to do with the law. I would not vote based on religion. I hope that makes since, but I am sorta high on pain pills so it might not. Example - I would not vote against same sex marriage based on my religious beliefs - I need to set those aside and look at the bigger picture. While I am allowed to believe what I want, I don't think my feelings and beliefs should be the only things I base my vote on. I need facts (over 50% of Americans are for gay marriage). I think it is irresponsible for the person chanting the stupid chant to go and cast a vote becaude the bible or preacher said it was so. There is more involved than that.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 11:35 pm
    by  Lerner
    @lhewitt: exactly.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 9:50 pm
    by  Charisse
    While I was happy that ANY person in the presidential seat said ANYTHING that could be REMOTELY viewed as supportive to the LGBT movement, I am with you. I wish it wasn't his "personal" opinion that my wife and I should be recognized as married in all 50 states instead of just 8. This is a VERY important issue to me. And like you, of course he has my vote...because again....say ye...Mitt Romney...NO THANKS!!! BUT COME ON!!!! If it weren't for the "second-class" citizens of this country he would not have been elected at all!
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 10:21 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 10:21 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Charisse: Word up!! :) Can we fit *that* on a bumper sticker?
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 9:29 pm
    by  Just Jennifer
    Well now I can see why the President's comments fell kinda flat. At first I thought what he was saying was a really big deal. I must not have caught that it was only his personal opinion, not a political stand.
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 9:40 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 9:40 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Just Jennifer: Even the wording of his "personal" support is shockingly wishy-washy and inarticulate for a brilliant man who has never displayed a problem with expressing himself. Yeah, it was pretty weak sauce :)
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 9:29 pm
    by  Walt@luckypuppy.net
    Oddly enough, it sounds like you and I are agreeing. But I still think the president was just pandering for votes. Diverting our attention while his destructive agenda moves forward. Hmmmm "Forward"? That's a catchy slogan. The communists have used it forever.
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 9:39 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 9:39 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Walt@luckypuppy.net: I agree with the pandering. I disagree with all the rest of it, but that's the beauty of it isn't it? Bless America :).
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 9:06 pm
    by  Tara R.
    Thank you for including me in your rant. I truly hope that our kids will get this right.
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 9:17 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 9:17 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Tara R.: I've said it before and I'll say it again :): Thank you for writing a sentence so eloquently that it gives me goosebumps every. single. time. I read it. The post you wrote was so important in its ability to point to the iron clad hope of the future. It's almost inevitable at this point, I truly believe that. But I refuse to sit quietly and complacently and wait for it. Speaking up, reminding my children how important it is as they grow, it's the only way I know to really truly affect the future. Thank you so much!
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:38 pm
    by  alexandra
    I know. Even my Granny IL, who is OLD OLD says, "why can't people just marry who they want?"
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 8:45 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:45 pm
    by  Lerner
    @alexandra: High five, Granny! :)
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:31 pm
    by  carrie
    Lerner, You've gotten it right once again. I agree with you 100% and I hope our children grow up to look back at the gay marriage ban with the same confusion and sadness that we have when we look back on segregation.
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 8:45 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:45 pm
    by  Lerner
    @carrie: I look at my kids, at my friends' kids, and I just believe with every fiber of me that they will.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:30 pm
    by  Janie Emaus
    I hope our kids will figure it out, too.
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 8:45 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:45 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Janie Emaus: Somehow, I just know in my heart that they will. They just have to.
    Reply Delete
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 3:40 pm
    by  Clare Macnaughton
    *standing ovation* We make the change by demanding the change over and over and over and over again - chant change. Silence changes nothing which is why we must speak.
    Reply Delete
  • 1 reply, Last reply by Lerner on Wed May 23, 2012 at 8:16 pm
  • Report Wed May 23, 2012 - 8:16 pm
    by  Lerner
    @Clare Macnaughton: thank you, honestly it wasn't the easiest piece to write because it's kinda hangin' my own balls out there. Maybe I can be a good example for the president :). Ha!
    Reply Delete

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