Saturday, May 20, 2006

Bullies

My own impression of the history of this great nation is that the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were all written with the underlying principal that everyone was entitled to some basic rights. There are provisions in all 3 documents that provide protection for the weakest (politically) among us, those who are different and those who may be scorned by some factions within our society. One must believe that there were gays and lesbians around even as these documents were being created.

But now there are some among us who no longer wish to protect some factions of our society - they wish to single them out, harrass them and segregate them from the rest. In high school these same people were the bullies who preyed on the weak. Assholes.

From the Center for American Progress - click here to read more....


Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, and likely prohibit civil unions and other forms of domestic partnerships. S.J. Res 1 -- the so-called "Marriage Protection Amendment" -- passed the committee on a 10-8 party-line vote after Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA), who said he was "totally opposed " to the bill, voted for it. The vote took place in a room just off the Senate floor that was closed to the general public. Instead of acting on the issues that most Americans indicate they are concerned about -- Iraq, gas prices , and stem cells among them -- the Senate is moving ahead with a divisive bill that growing numbers of Americans oppose . Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the committee's ranking member, said the measure is "part of an election-year political agenda" to satisfy the right wing. "The Constitution's too important to be used for such base partisan politics ." The Constitution has been amended to eliminate slavery, to give women the right to vote, and to secure for every person the equal protection of the laws. It has never been amended to mandate discrimination .

No comments: