From Pink News Wednesday:
A US House of Representatives panel has rejected a bill that would have ensured that same-sex spouses of veterans receive benefits regardless of the state they live in.
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs rejected the bill on Wednesday by a vote of 12-13.
(snip)
The Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act, introduced in June 2013, would have amended the definition of ‘spouse’ in Title 38 of the US Code to reflect the definition of spouse in the Supreme Court’s ruling in Windsor v US and the Department of Defense post DOMA.
Guess they are good enough to die for our country, but not good enough to let them have all the benefits, huh?
Whatever happened to the pledge of allegiance and the last 6 words of it (especially the last 2)?
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all
More ranting, er, ideas below the orange noodles
Race is to racism, as sexual orientation is to what?
Good question or bad request? How can we fight for something that we cannot name? It shouldn't matter, as we are all equal, right?
How long before we, as a society, see that we are all on this planet together? How much more intolerance and hate are we going to have to endure? I would like to rant on all the issues today, but I will focus on this one thing - EQUALITY.
Why do we have to have groups that have to fight for "special" rights that should be nothing more than equal rights? What ever happened to this gem:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
(in case anyone doesn't recognize it, it is the fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution)
When are we going to fight back? We need a new generation of scholars and lawyers, skilled in the art of oral argument that can put in more eloquent terms, a giant "eff you" to the conservatives on matters of equality. We need lawmakers with a stiff enough backbone and enough character that they can withstand the attacks from the right (and the left), and that will rewrite and introduce legislation with nothing more than word substitutions from days gone by, those laws that have been struck down for being unconstitutional but still happen today to unprotected groups. Or maybe to propose laws that explicitly allow for discrimination to show the absurdity at work; to put into writing the unsaid allowances for discrimination against same sex marriages, against the LGBT spectrum. Identify the group, make them be recognized as such, and then force equality for all.
Some say we need to fight it in the courts, but do any of the cases meet the test for strict scrutiny? any scrutiny? I got nothing. I am not a lawyer, I have no oratory skills, heck, I can barely write stories. I lack the charisma to excite people, and lack the money to buy votes, so how can I, as one lone voice, be heard above the roar of so many? How can this mouse roar?
/sigh