This November, the State of Michigan is to vote whether to hold a Constitutional Convention and completely re-do much of what went wrong during the Bush years, and protect our state's consitution from conservative onslaught in the future.
2004 Was a pretty tough year for Progessives in Michigan. Following a sweep of votes across the country in 11 states, the nation's Progressives were stunned by the successful attempt by the religious christian right to make gay-hate the law of the land. The valley was filled with peals of woe, and in our state thousands of residents, including this diarist, did some serious research to find out how to renounce our US citizenship and become Canadians. Some, in fact, went through with it and live in the Great White North, aghast at what the US has become from a distance to this day.
Voters In Pre Teabagger 2004 Applauding Gay Marriage Ban
The state victories "are a prelude to the real battle," said Matt Daniels, whose Alliance for Marriage has pushed for congressional action. "Ultimately, only our Federal Marriage Amendment will protect marriage."
For a lot of us on the left, this is really the day when it all started to go to hell in a hand basket in Michigan. And I guess I don't have to tell you, it's just been going downhill from there ever since. We never thought for a moment that a state as blue as ours would throw this collossol cocktail in our face. Sure, we figured it might be too soon for a vote to make marriage for gay folks legal. But we figured it would just be a few years, popular opinion was moving in our direction. And the concerted effort by the religious, many of the most vocal and organized weren't even FROM here, took us completely by surprise and off our game. The state was in mourning for months. But now there might be wedding bells of liberty and equality clanging on the horizon.
One of Michigan Govern Jennifer Granholms last major efforts of her administration will be to convince the state to have a looksie at whether we're actually happy with what the State Constitution has become, or whether it's merely in a state of religious right limbo, trashed by christian lobby dollars and GOTV energy headquartered out of our christian right Capital, Grand Rapids.
It's not just a "Save Our Gay Souls" campaign by the Govnernor although she's made her support of a Constitutional Amendment over the christian gay ban well known.
"Having a constitutional convention would help set the stage for a streamlined government that moves Michigan forward," Granholm said.
(...)
John Axe, a Grosse Pointe attorney who looked at constitutional reforms four years ago with a group called Citizens for Michigan, said he's not ready to cast his lot with a full-bore convention. But he's not ruling it out, either.
"On the upside, if a lot of provisions in the constitution ought to be changed, as many believe is the case, it would be better to do it in a constitutional convention than try to do it piecemeal," he said.
"I'd be happy to see the Legislature deal with the changes that need to be made. But I must tell you, we made 15 to 20 recommendations four years ago and nothing has happened." Their proposals included lengthening term limits, allowing local governments to levy taxes for roads and reforming school finances.
One thing we've learned from all of the gay-hate votes, and the creationism as science votes, is that neither a city nor a state can defend itself from the crush of a Christian Goliath on their own. Their mega churches simply take in too much money to go up against them with any sort of normal canvass effort. And christian hate groups are simply willing to give whatever it takes to wipe Difference off the planet. They have stopped, are stopping, and will stop at nothing to impose their will and make each city, each state, and finally the country a puritanical Church State vote by vote, year by year as incrementally as they have to. This will be huge for us in defeating them.
If we get a Constitutional Convention, it's a given that christian right money is going to pour into the state from all four corners of the bible belt to make DAMNED sure gay hate is never exponged from our State Convention. So, this is an appeal to those with means.
Please watch this story, and thank you in advance for standing by to help financially, or with whatever support you can offer, to help delete religious law from the Great Lakes State if the Con-Con gets approved and Michigan goes into self-audit mode.
Thanks for keeping your eyes open and helping us defeat the Church State stain past votes have left on our Constitution, and helping us to move the Great Lakes back into the Free Zone.