In a heart warming letter to the editor, in Quad Citians, Joyce Wiley, wishes for a Mother's Day when her GLBT children can receive equal protection under the law and marry the partner of their choice.
Mothers want equal protection for gay kids
Letters such as this make me wish our Democratic party leaders would speak in a more unified voice and demand equal protection under the law for all American citizens. But sadly, some prominent Democrats, such as Mark Warner (VA), oppose both civil unions, marriage equality, and other domestic partnership benefits for the GLBT, in a position that is well to the right of even many GOP political leaders, such as Rudy Giuliani and George Patacki, whom both support civil unions.
The right wing, GOP, has announced their intention to make the regressive, anti-GLBT Family Protection Act legislation a key theme in the November elections, and have proposals to do so in eleven states including Virginia. Will our party stand up and respond with a unified voice and as a champian for the GLBT on these issues?
Wiley's Letter
Please keep this question in mind as you read these passages from Joyce Wiley's Mother's Day wish.
Your editorials concerning same-sex marriage and domestic partner benefits were a perfect topic for Mother's Day. I am among thousands of mothers in the Quad-Cities who are proud to have raised children who happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
When politicians and hate groups attack equal protection for gay people, we mothers feel the sting as well. Like other mothers in the Quad-Cities, we want all of our children to be happy and to enjoy equal protection from the laws. Our children who happen to have been born straight are granted these rights and are able to secure a marriage license. Our children who happen to have been born gay are denied the same rights and equality.
In that spirit, the best gift I and thousands of other mothers across the Quad-Cities hope to receive one Mother's Day in the very near future, is to have all of our children able to enjoy the equal protection of the laws and be able to marry the person whom they love.
I believe those in our party who wish to sweep this issue under the rug to avoid "offending" right wing voters are missing a powerful opportunity to stand up and maintain our parties hard won five decades long struggle defending equal rights and civil liberties for all Americans.
What a demeaning and tragic shame it will be, if we now convince voters, including some of our most loyal Democratic and progressive voting blocs that our last five decades of struggle, were really only about woman and people of color who had sufficient votes to make the battle worth it. And were not about the constitutional principles of equal rights guaranteed to all Americans in the 14th Amendment.
1967 Supreme Court Banned Laws Against Inter-racial Marriage
I believe I just read recently somewhere on Daily Kos that when the Supreme Court overturned laws banning inter-racial marriage in as recently as 1967, it was among the most unpopular SCOTUS decision ever. Now only 49 years later, such prejudicial feelings and laws seem bizarre and repugnant. I believe history will show the same progress and evolution with regard to marriage equality for the GLBT.
In fact, a poll just a months back showed opposition to same-sex marriage fell 12% in the last two years. What a shame and strategic blunder it will be if those few in the Democratic Party who are still behind the curve in understanding these issues leap to support the wrong side of history, just as a majority of Americans are seeing the light and moving in the right direction.
Fortunately,. The Courts Keep Leading The Way On Protecting and Applying Rights Of Privacy And Equal Protection Under the Law
Thank goodness we do not have to rely on the courage of politicians to lead the way on this issues. Although, we do have a number of excellent leaders such as Al Gore, Russ Feingold Hillary Clinton, Wesley Clark and many others, who have been strongly supportive of GLBT issues. But it has been the Judicial Branch of our government that has consistently led the way in protecting minority rights in these regards.
Tim Talley, of the Associated Press, writes, Judge Strikes Down Okla. Gay Adoption Law
OKLAHOMA CITY - A federal judge struck down a 2-year-old law that prohibits Oklahoma from recognizing adoptions by same-sex couples from other states and countries.
U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron ruled Friday the measure violated due process rights under the U.S. Constitution because it attempted to break up families without considering the parents' fitness or the children's best interests.
Gay-rights organization Lambda Legal had challenged the law on behalf of three same-sex couples.
"Gay and lesbian parents in Oklahoma can now breathe a collective sigh of relief because their relationships with their children are no longer threatened by the state of Oklahoma," said Ken Upton, an attorney in Lambda Legal's Dallas office.
One of the plaintiffs, Heather Finstuen, said the ruling will allow her and partner Anne Magro to focus on being parents to their 7-year-old twin girls rather than worrying about the adoption law.
"This is really good news for our family," she said. "It's a huge relief."
The couple said the law endangered the legal relationship established by a New Jersey court between Finstuen and her adopted daughters. The girls were born to Magro.
The ruling was attacked by supporters of the law, which was passed by the Legislature with bipartisan support in 2004.
"It's another case of an activist court trying to legislate from the bench," said Republican Rep. Thad Balkman. "It's unfortunate that a single judge is trying to rewrite the law."
I ask everyone here to please look into your hearts and minds and think about the plight of the millions of American citizens still yearning to be free and have the same civil rights and equality the rest of us take for granted. And also, to put on your strategic electoral thinking caps and consider the benefits to the Democratic party in keeping our commitment to the fundamental principles of equal rights and protections for all Americans that has been at the heart of our five decades long struggles for civil rights for all citizens.
We are the party who stood up with Martin Luther King Jr. and fought for the Dream. A Dream many have yet to achieve but still aspire to. And if you reread the words, it is clear MLK Jr. was not just Dreaming for one minority racial group, but all Americans. And eventually, all people of the world.
Conclusion