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Unintended Effects of the Hearing on Equality

by: BurtCohen

Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 19:19:03 PM EDT

I am told by a sympathetic senator that the consistently wacky message of the largely out of state antis definitely helped us.

The senators were really taken aback and disgusted by their vitriol and truly nutty assumptions and assertions.

But we still have some heavy lifting to do.

BurtCohen :: Unintended Effects of the Hearing on Equality

Tags: Gay Marriage, Senate, (All Tags)

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Unintended Effects of the Hearing on Equality | 8 comments

Heavy Lifting (4.00 / 1)

Why the hell is that?

How much pushing do the Senators need to follow their consciences and do what they know full well is the right thing?

They will vote on Wednesday with the haters from away, or not.

by: elwood @ Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 18:29:30 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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It will take a bit of lifting (4.00 / 2)

to get Bud Martin elected in these parts. If we can do that it will help!

=Health care for all now!=

by: beverlywoods @ Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 21:22:40 PM CDT

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by: you @ soon

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The Hate (4.00 / 2)

The hate expressed by some -- many in fact -- at the marriage equality hearing this past Wednesday is what many gays, lesbians, and transgendered persons hear every day. Horrible things are said to our young, and still virtually every day I have something said to me, or face some sort of discrimination. Fighting discrimination in our laws, which marriage equality and the transgender bill is all about, will eventually reduce that hate.

With that in mind, of course we have more heavy lifting to do. And House Bill 415, calling for including transgender in our state's civil rights laws, comes up for public hearing next Thursday at 1:00 PM, Room 201 of the Legislative Office Building, in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is every bit as important as House Bill 436 in ending discrimination.

by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 19:13:15 PM CDT

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thanks for your consistent and courageous work! (4.00 / 1)

May equality prevail!

=Health care for all now!=

by: beverlywoods @ Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 21:20:17 PM CDT

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I'm not counting on a law to reduce hate. (0.00 / 0)

The people who feel themselves connected through their shared antagonisms don't really need to be legislatively supported. Four decades after state-sanctioned segregation was ended, we have gated communities and age-restricted communities and private security services to keep "undesirables" in their place.
Perhaps we don't notice because the class of "undesirables" has grown so large that the self-segregating elite was largely invisible until they managed to cause the whole economy to collapse.
We need to consider that there's often more than one alternative. When southern communities were informed that they couldn't restrict recreational facilities to whites, they just closed them down entirely. Ditto for community hospitals and clinics and trolley cars.
As long as government serves the interests of the elite, the collection of taxes and distribution of assets is not considered a problem by conservatives. Equality is the fly in the ointment.

by: hannah @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 10:55:00 AM CDT

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I'm Counting On A Law To Reduce Hate (4.00 / 1)

I do think that "institutionalized discrimination" increases hate, and that eliminating that discrimination within our laws will, over time, reduce hate. Hate is a learned emotion, and when one comes into the world we're without hate. We develop it from what we learn and experience. When our government says it's okay to discriminate against people -- whether they be of a different race or whatever -- our young see that, and they adopt that attitude, which then often regresses into hate.

by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 18:43:28 PM CDT

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You've got to be carefully taught n/t (4.00 / 1)

by: elwood @ Mon Apr 20, 2009 at 05:54:34 AM CDT

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