I've been away for far too long. It's fitting that I'm posting on the 4th of July, on our country's 235th birthday. Last Saturday, Tom and I were in San Francisco for the first time. It's a gorgeous city; lots of old buildings, pretty streetcars, great food and lots of hills. Lots and lots of hills. We arrived Friday night and were set to go out to the Castro but Tom and I were waiting in our hotel room. Waiting on the New York State Senate to approve gay marriage. After a while, we left and headed into the Castro. And then it happened: New York State passed gay marriage. For those of you who don't know, the Castro is the gay district of San Francisco. And needless to say, it was a party.
A very big party.
As Tom and I walked hand-in-hand (something we rarely do, out of sheer safety), a stranger ran up to us.
Stranger: Did you hear about New York?
Me: Yeah! It's amazing.
Stranger: Oh yeah! I'm moving there next week. Good timing, huh?
Me: Oh yeah.
Stranger: All I gotta do now is find someone to marry!
And he ran off. The party mode continued all night, which included a karaoke bar, some drinks, and a very happy streetcar driver. It was a great place to be for us; good timing, indeed.
One thing that stunned me at the time (and still does, to a certain extent) is that the New York State Senate is Republican controlled, and passed a gay marriage bill. Here is the money quote:
With his position still undeclared, Senator Mark J. Grisanti, a Republican from Buffalo who had sought office promising to oppose same-sex marriage, told his colleagues he had agonized for months before concluding he had been wrong.
“I apologize for those who feel offended,” Mr. Grisanti said, adding, “I cannot deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife.”
Senator Grisanti made the realization that he cannot fundamentally discriminate against his fellow citizen based on sexual orientation. The idea that we have laws to go against gay people getting married is a way of expanding government, not limiting government. Expanding rights to LGBT people is a conservative (small c, not Conservative with a Big C) notion. If you let people be themselves and give everyone equal access to rights, schools and the marketplace, this is a conservative notion. How funny that this basic concept is considered leftist in some circles. In the most recent Republican presidential debate, 5 out of the 7 candidates were in favor of a federal amendment banning gay marriage. No matter that the concept of self-determination is an inherently conservative idea.
One of the many reasons why this country is great is because not only is a place, it's an idea. We are always striving to form "a more perfect union." Not Perfect, not Utopia, but a more perfect union. It's the idea that we as a country aren't done, and we'll never be done. If you look at how the GOP used gay marriage as a wedge issue in 2004 and now how some Republicans now made gay marriage legal in one of the largest states in the union, we've come a lot way. And we've got a long way to go. Democracy in a republic is a messy business. It happens in fits and starts; two steps forward, one step back. But, the good thing is, the world only spins forwards. If we keep on pushing, progress will win out.
Happy 4th of July.
It makes me sad you had to go to the Castro just to hold hands. I love you, Jon. (And Tom. :)) I hope that someday not too far away, you are finally free to be yourselves without having to worry about a******s. xo
Posted by: katied | July 04, 2011 at 11:12 PM