Miss Georgia, Why Do You Treat Your Chillens So Mean?

Miss Georgia, Queen of Dixieland, I am the son of your free-thinking, progressive sister, Maryland, Queen of the Chesapeake.

I left her to be graced by your Southern hospitality, charmed by your genteel manners, enamored by your rustic beauty, schooled in your rich history and welcomed into your warm embrace.

After four laps around the sun with you, I must ask you, “Miss Georgia, why do you treat your chillens so mean?”

But your son, Ray Charles made a song for you, I know. He did this despite how you treated his people in Albany back in 1961.

100 years before this, when a petition arose among your rebel sisters to divorce the rule of a President who threatened the legacy of human servitude, you were the fifth to raise your hand against him and sat second-in-command of this revolt. Are you still mad cuz Ol’ Sherman with his War of Northern Aggression burned a gash across your face from your hills of Atlanta to your shores of Savannah because of it? Talk about unconditional love for you, your children Ray, Brook and Gladys have, for you have not deemed yourself worthy.

But that was so long ago. Was it? What’s this I hear about you wanting to secede from the rule of a twice-elected Black President you tried everything in your powers to defeat? You turned down the volume on your black children’s voices and muted the screams of your poor children unable to ID themselves to you as if you didn't know them on Election Day. Anything you would do to have your way, Miss Georgia, and still your children sing your praises.

Your chillens are beautiful, white, black, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, indigo and violet. They’re colored and colorful. I see their true colors shining through like a rainbow. I don’t know why you cherish them not, this radiant and vibrant bouquet of humanity and spirit. Their brilliance has been steadily glowing and growing for 42 years, and how many times have you tried to rain on their parade? Yet, without your Georgia thunderstorms, there would be no rainbow for your lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered children. In 1996 you slapped them with a state statute and a federal act to devalue their love and nullify their identity. For many of them, their love and identity were the only things that made life worth living and put the sweet in your bitter tea of bigotry you serve to them from the Gold Dome on an annual basis. Yet, they went on anyway, stiff-necked as they are to create families of their own to have something to love which would love them back and you attack even that in 2004 with a harsher slap of an amendment. You cruel, bitter ditch at the bottom of Appalachia, bless your devout, Protestant-Christian heart. We all know you mean well.

Now in 2013 as our nation moves with hellfire speed toward justice and equality for those you deem sinful, I find you thumping your bible in a fit of Southern Belle Meltdown, steadfastly promising to enforce your little mean-spirited laws against your own people. Are you afraid that it no longer holds water should we come for it? Miss Georgia, don’t you have greater evils to oppose…if we must call love evil? Your Queen City is mired in poverty in homelessness. Human trafficking and slavery still holds strong within your borders. Your chillens are scraping the bottom of the stock pot for jobs. Your sweet families have lost their homesteads at alarming rates over the last 5 years. You won’t ensure affordable healthcare. In fact, I find you fighting it tooth and press-on nail. Your traditional marriages you hold so dear now has the 8th highest divorce rate in the nation. So much for protecting traditional marriages by making trouble for LGBT families. Your Yankee sister, Massachusetts' divorce rates have dropped to the bottom in the union since she decided to be fair in 2004. I'm not superstitious, but...I'mjusayin'. 

I know it’s a peculiar question to ask, but why do you treat your chillens so mean? Tell me, what does it do for you? What has it done for you? I don’t know why they just don’t up and leave you to live free where they can now, and let you rot in your state of hate. I guess, they love you too much to give up hope for a freer, kinder and more compassionate Miss Georgia.

At the ripe old age of 281, aren't you tired of being so mean? If not, it doesn't even matter now because we’re putting your ways into retirement and soon the grave. Then we will make our Southern Paradise right were we stay were everyone can live peachy-keen. I have seen the future and it is fast-approaching. We will live free and equal for all those who couldn’t be.

-Branden G. Mattox

Taking What's Yours!

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours." -Cesar Chavez

14th Amendment to the US constitution section 1, established 1868:

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.

Article. IV.
Section. 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Constitution of The State of Georgia
ARTICLE I. BILL OF RIGHTS SECTION I.: RIGHTS OF PERSONS

Paragraph I.
Life, liberty, and property. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law.

Paragraph II. Protection to person and property; equal protection. Protection to person and property is the paramount duty of government and shall be impartial and complete. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws.

Paragraph VII. Citizens, protection of. All citizens of the United States, resident in this state, are hereby declared citizens of this state ; and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to enact such laws as will protect them in the full enjoyment of the rights, privileges, and immunities due to such citizenship.

Life, Liberty, Property, Rights, Privileges and Immunities afforded by marriage:

A short list of list of 1138 federal and hundreds at the state level
o Employment assistance and transitional services for spouses of members being separated from military service; continued commissary privileges
o Per diem payment to spouse for federal civil service employees when relocating
o Indian Health Service care for spouses of Native Americans (in some circumstances)
o Sponsor husband/wife for immigration benefits
• Larger benefits under some programs if married, including:
o Veteran's disability
o Supplemental Security Income
o Disability payments for federal employees
o Medicaid
o Property tax exemption for homes of totally disabled veterans
o Income tax deductions, credits, rates exemption, and estimates
o Wages of an employee working for one's spouse are exempt from federal unemployment tax[3]
• Joint and family-related rights:
o Joint filing of bankruptcy permitted
o Joint parenting rights, such as access to children's school records
o Family visitation rights for the spouse and non-biological children, such as to visit a spouse in a hospital or prison
o Next-of-kin status for emergency medical decisions or filing wrongful death claims
o Custodial rights to children, shared property, child support, and alimony after divorce
o Domestic violence intervention
o Access to "family only" services, such as reduced rate memberships to clubs & organizations or residency in certain neighborhoods
• Preferential hiring for spouses of veterans in government jobs
• Tax-free transfer of property between spouses (including on death) and exemption from "due-on-sale" clauses.
• Special consideration to spouses of citizens and resident aliens
• Threats against spouses of various federal employees is a federal crime
• Right to continue living on land purchased from spouse by National Park Service when easement granted to spouse
• Court notice of probate proceedings
• Domestic violence protection orders
• Existing homestead lease continuation of rights
• Regulation of condominium sales to owner-occupants exemption
• Funeral and bereavement leave
• Joint adoption and foster care
• Joint tax filing
• Insurance licenses, coverage, eligibility, and benefits organization of mutual benefits society
• Legal status with stepchildren
• Making spousal medical decisions
• Spousal non-resident tuition deferential waiver
• Permission to make funeral arrangements for a deceased spouse, including burial or cremation
• Right of survivorship of custodial trust
• Right to change surname upon marriage
• Right to enter into prenuptial agreement
• Right to inheritance of property
• Spousal privilege in court cases (the marital confidences privilege and the spousal testimonial privilege)
• For those divorced or widowed, the right to many of ex- or late spouse's benefits, including:
o Social Security pension
o Veteran's pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, and nursing home care, right to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing
o survivor benefits for federal employees
o Survivor benefits for spouses of longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad workers
o Additional benefits to spouses of coal miners who die of black lung disease
o $100,000 to spouse of any public safety officer killed in the line of duty
o Continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits
o Renewal and termination rights to spouse's copyrights on death of spouse
o Continued water rights of spouse in some circumstances
o Payment of wages and workers compensation benefits after worker death
o Making, revoking, and objecting to post-mortem anatomical gifts

These are YOUR rights bought for you by the lives, blood, sweat and tears of countless brave and principled Americans before you. Now come take them. Happy Independence Day!

Love The Sinner, Hate The Sin

Auntie,
 

I hope you can imagine my life experience of the living on the cross streets of Black, Gay, and Christian is not an easy existence. The title of this letter, "Love the Sinner, Hate The Sin" you can also imagine I have heard often from those I share the Black and Christian streets with. While no one of these descriptors tell the whole truth about who I am, being Black, Gay, and Christian have tremendously shaped the trajectory of my life. When I look in the mirror, strong remnants of my African ancestry is written all over my face. The notion that there is a GOD, Christ is my Lord and Savior, and that there is NOTHING, "that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord", is the only empirical truth I know. So, maybe it could argued that I choose to be Christian, however 30 years of life experiences have given me very good reasons to holding fast to this truth.

My identity as Gay is not a preference, it is not a lifestyle, it is my reality. My preference is for natural scenery over an urban one. My preference is for vanilla ice cream over chocolate. Running is my lifestyle. Activism is my lifestyle. Serving is my lifestyle. Ministry is my lifestyle. Meditation is my lifestyle. Writing is my lifestyle. Gay is not a lifestyle anymore than straight is. As we have discussed, there are so many options to living life as a gay person, so you can imagine what might go through my head when I hear people say, "I respect you, but I don't approve of your lifestyle." First: "Who asked for your approval?" Second: "Which lifestyle are you talking about? You don't like that I run to keep myself young, fit and strong? You don't like that I volunteer my time to serve people? You don't like that I try to give a true word to lift people's spirit whenever I am called to? You don't like that I take moments to clear my mind and my nerves of the BS I must incur from people like you on the regular basis? You don't like that I put my thoughts into words so that I keep myself sane and don't go crazy?" Usually this comes from people who have no idea whatsoever about what my lifestyle really looks like. What they don't like is an idea they have in their heads which probably looks something like "You sleep around. You recruit little boys in public bathrooms. You do drag shows. You parade around in rainbows and you don't take life seriously." As I have matured, I have learned, "That's their stuff." There are those who see my black face and are certain that I rap, play basketball, eat fried chicken, drink kool-aid, have no college education and I like to snatch white women purses and then claim they're not prejudice. LOL!

My attraction to men has been my reality as far back as I can remember having an attraction to anyone. It's been a reality I have tried to run away from almost at the cost of my sanity and my life. So when I hear "I love you and I respect you, but I don't approve of your lifestyle." What I am also hearing is, "You're a lovable and honorable person, but in order for me to be true to my Christian beliefs, I must look down on and be disgusted by your reality." If this is my reality, what am I suppose to do with that kind of love? My reality is not up for debate. Your opinion is just as important as those who complain about January for being cold. It is what it is, just as certain as the Black person I see in the mirror or the fact that I am left-handed. I am sorry if my reality causes many Christians to have a cow, but is it my reality which is causing the distress or is it their own prejudice, self-righteousness, hatred or failed understanding of what the gospels are really teaching? When they are done having a fit and foaming at the mouth in prayer, I'm going to be just as Gay as I was yesterday. So they might as well have a seat. It is not about me being stubborn. If my reality causes people to go deeper in their understanding of GOD's love, than I can no more have a victim's attitude toward my reality of "Why me?" It is then a gift and a blessing. I should cherish this experience. Many will not have it. I hope that those who are close to me and say they love me, will cease to judge me and cherish the experience of having someone like me in their lives, in their family. Not everyone will have this experience either. Many will try to understand "the gays" by reading about them or watching fictional characters about them on TV. I am one of you, and I hope that you see me as such. When you hear people talking out of the necks about gay people in the media or in real life, they are talking about me. They are talking about your people that they probably do not understand.

I don't let people get off the hook so easily having demeaning conversations about fat people. I have never been morbidly obese, but I have loved people who were and have watched their struggles. I have pushed my mother in a wheel chair. I have bathed her, set up her oxygen tanks. I have watched people mock her and make fun of her, reject her and look at her with disgust and see what that did to her self-esteem. Each time I have seen her pick herself up, put herself together and affirm that she is SOMEBODY. No wonder I am so strong and think so much of myself. I learned it from her. Luckily for her, diet and exercise might have changed her reality. I know no remedy for my reality except for self-acceptance. Please do not try to take that away from me. It is truly all I have. It is what has been keeping me alive through some difficult times. Think about this, the next time my self-acceptance is called "flaunting".

Given my reality, what do I want? I want what probably anyone wants. I want to love someone and I want to be loved back. Am I not a human? I want to share my life with someone and co-create magnificent things I could not create on my own. Am I not a human? I don't want to be alone at old age. Am I not a human? I want to be treated as equally and as fairly as anyone else, especially by any institution of government I help and contribute to support. Am I not a human? Am I not an American citizen? I don't want to live my life as a second-class citizen. When I lose love ones, it hurts me deeply as it might anyone. Is it right that I should then be treated as a stranger and lose everything? If you say that you are Christian, then you must believe that we are to treat everyone as we would like to be treated, for the law of the prophets is summed up in this one commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. My love is as good, is as strong, is as beautiful, is as worthy of your respect as any out there. Am I not a human? If you too are human, then nothing human should be alien to you. If you really get this, then you should be ready scream at the fact that all this year my humanity has been up for debate, not "gay marriage". This is not about "gay marriage" or "same-sex marriage" or redefining marriage for what 52% of the population doesn't seem to respect and honor. Whenever we use these terms we then lose sight of my humanity and we regress to a debate centered around people's attitudes toward my reality, which is for me, irrelevant. It is about marriage equality. You can not say that you are for equality for some and not for others. Either you are for equality or you or not. That is the debate that we should be having, if we should be having a debate at all.

Love only happens when see ourselves in another person and then desire for them all that we would want for ourselves. The emprical definition of "Sin" is the absence of love. For GOD is love. In Spanish, the word "sin" means without or not whole. It is love which makes humanity whole and one with GOD and the universe. If we have not love then we have not GOD. GOD will still be for us even when hate, but without love, the living, active, spirit of GOD does not dwell within us. The 10 commandments are just evidence of what happens when we do not love each other. Love then is the only commandment. Judgement belongeth to the Lord and not to any of us. How will the Lord judge? By how well we loved each other. I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. It is with this I say, instead of loving the sinner and hating the sin, love me, and hate your sin.

If you really want to take the time to understand a glimpse of my experience before judging, I encourage to watch the true story of a religious mother struggling to love her son, powerfully portrayed by Sigourney Weaver. What was getting in the way of her loving her son? You probably wouldn't have guessed, The Bible. I believe it makes an excellent Christian film because it is a true story and an issue we can not continue to ignore.

 

 

 

 

Almost Home

ALMOST HOME

Nearly 90 years of LGBT struggle for basic equality and human rights

 

Intro:

 

Opening:

 

Part 1: 1 hour 26 minutes

 

 

Part 2: 1 hour 20 minutes Click to watch

 

 

Part 3: 1 hour 26 minutes

 

 

Part 4: 2 hours 22 minutes Click to watch

 

Now:

 

 

The Future: Monday March 25th 2013, walk into the pages of history, Click here

 

 

FORWARD MARCH!: CONCLUSION

                                                           Continuing after Part #3


To those who draw inspiration from the African American Civil Rights Movement, take note that their efforts failed to gain traction until they arrived at the notion that, "I would rather die on my feet, than to live on my knees." Our nation was only able to break the chains of Great Britain, the superpower of the day, and assert itself after one Georgia Colonist straightened up his backbone and declared, "Give me liberty or give me death." In both cases, their oppressors though larger and more powerful could not conquer such a resolution and was brought to their knees in surrender after so long. If we are waiting in hopes for some organization director, some mayor, some judge or some president to come along and do this for us, we will be waiting for some long untold time to finally reap what we are owed. Lately, we have already seen this initiative and self-determination on the move with Alex Wan, openly gay Atlanta City Councilman in spearheading a resolution within the city government to endorse marriage equality. Then we saw very shortly how quickly it snapped the stubborn mayor to his senses. Yes, we can make a decision to number the days and set the timeline for the end of marriage discrimination in Georgia this very moment.

Well, why haven’t we? Because cowardice comes along and ask the question, "Is it safe?" Expediency comes along and inquires, "Is it politic?" Vanity comes along and begs the question "Is it popular? And then greed comes along asking "Is it profitable?" Sloth and Habit wants to know if it’s convenient and comfortable. Mediocrity wants it easy. Moderation doesn’t want to make enemies. And Ego jumps ahead of all these and demands to know who’s going to get the credit before the work is even done. Rev. Dr. King has reminded us numerous times over his career against the injustice of his day, "Conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular..." It may not even be profitable or comfortable. You might piss some people off and then you might not even become famous, celebrated or remembered for your troubles. "but one must take it simply because it is right." He concludes. "The time is always ripe for doing right." He answers to those concerned about the best timing for taking action.

With cases like DOMA and Proposition 8 now on the docket of cases to hear by US Supreme court, many may ask, "What’s the use of investing so much time, money and energy into capsizing an already sinking ship? Wouldn’t it be easier to just sit back and wait for the ship to finally go under?" My response to this is yes, Marriage Discrimination on the national stage is a sinking ship. This is evident by the last election. Right now, it’s like watching the Titanic go under. However this is not the time to let up off the gas now that we’ve worked so hard to get this far. No, we must keep up the momentum to wear down our opponents to the point of collapse. When driving uphill, what happens if you let up off the gas too early? You roll backwards. And with 38 states still with marriage discriminatory amendments and marriage equality now in only 9 states and the District of Columbia out of 50 states, our movement has not yet crested, but it is getting close. We should be excited and elated about this. But the hopes that this could all be over for us nationally by June is a little far fetched than most people realize. This very well may happen to be our Brown Vs. Board of Education, Loving Vs. Virginia, or Lawrence Vs. Texas. If it did, I couldn’t be more happier. However, we have to be mindful that the setup of conservative judges are not in our favor by a slim margin. Nevertheless, I do believe they will sweep DOMA into the trash heap of history on our country’s mistakes and declare Proposition 8 unconstitutional by a close and reluctant decision. I cannot imagine them doing otherwise in reading the 14th amendment to our constitution for equal protections under the law. To hope that they will go the extra mile of a sweeping move, which is currently uncalled for, to invalidate all marriage discriminatory amendments nationally is unlikely and shooting for the stars. Right now with 51% nationally supporting our movement is not a strong enough mandate to require them to do such a thing. This would suffer them a tremendous backlash from states like Georgia where Marriage Discrimination is still sailing strong and unthreatened. But why not shoot for the stars? I am hopeful myself. If you play the lottery, you may very well win, but it would be foolish to quit your day job. This is the same expectations we are to have have about a SCOTUS decision affecting our laws in Georgia. We have seen what a policy of "sitting back to wait and see" has bought us in 2004. This is not the time to fall back. It is foolish to fall back when we are winning. It would be like quitting in the 8th inning, just because you have just 1 upped your opponent for the first time. Every state which does not currently have marriage equality ought to be starting something like what we are trying to build through the Love Under Fire Campaign. But right now, all we can focus on is the state in which we live. While we can hope for the best results from the 2013 SCOTUS trial, we can not afford to rest on our laurels. We must keep up the fight so that whichever way the courts go, it won't even matter, we will forge ahead regardless and not faint until victory is sealed because it is the right thing to do.

Do not discount the effects of an advance in a Southern state like Georgia, to strengthen the case to those justices and the national psyche that marriage equality is inevitable and this is where America is headed and not turning back. This is a social war of attrition, y’all. We have already seen how advances in 4 states have recently impacted our state. A movement in the South and the Midwest might be the final straws needed to force their hands to strike the matter down nationally. If we are to question the righteousness of our fight, then I might suggest falling back and waiting to see what the courts have to say about it, but I am not concerned about that. A sooner victory than anticipated will just mean the biggest and best, epic GAY PRIDE ever in October of 2013 rather than October of 2017. And whether or not your actions will have a direct bearing on the outcome, wouldn’t you like to be able to say to generations unborn that you played in that game and you fought for what was right and that you just didn’t sit back and watch as a spectator as your state government was harming hundreds of thousands of innocent families? But we will win sooner or later. When it is all said and done, it is most likely that we will still have our fight to wage here in our State of Georgia as with the 37 other states which also have marriage discriminatory amendments. However, a favorable decision from SCOTUS will serve us legal weapons to attack our amendments in ways we currently can not. But it will still be up to us to take advantage of them. At best, our amendment 1 is likely to be made vulnerable after a favorable decision from SCOTUS, but it will be incumbent upon us to close in for the kill. To do that, we need to get into position and begin closing in on it now. If we decide to just sit back and wait to see what happens, we could miss this moment of golden opportunity to turn the tides here in Georgia. And why do all that you can do to end this injustice now without fainting until victory is sealed? Step up your game because the principle of justice is on trial. The notion of equality is on trial yet again. The reality of freedom is on trial. And the law of love is on trial. This is for your life. This is for your self-respect and dignity. This is for your families. This is for generations arising after our kind, and this is for the truth of your country. I’ll let you decide how important all of that is.

BAMIT! If you have paid for that slice of pizza pie, then go take your slice and let those who would be incensed about it get mad. They will get over it, but you will never get over being treated as less than by your government. If you do, then perhaps you are indeed.

                                       ((Visit our Action Plan here and please take part))

               

Q&A with Branden Mattox: Gay Marriage, Polygamy, Beastieality and Pedophilia, Oh My!

 

Q&A with The Love Under Fire Campaign?

Q: If we allow gay marriage, then what's next? Polygamy, beastieality, incestuous or pedophilic marriages? I don't mean to be rude or insensitive, but if we are to be fair in allowing alternative forms of marriage like gay marriage on the argument for the right to marry the person of choice, then we must also allow all other alternative matchups to declare marriage as well. If we do this, than our society is rolling down a slippery slope and unraveling the fabric which has held it together for millenias. I mean where would the logical boundary end with the very concept and definition of marriage? In the same way if we allow a cat to be called a dog, then what does it mean to be a dog? If we are to have the concept of dog it can not include cat. That does not mean that we should be mean to the cat or torture it or not include them in feeding time, we just should not allow it to change the definition of what it means to be a dog.

A: ::eyes glazed @_@:: Ooookay! Because I believe your questions are sincerely set forth and not in the spirit of disrespect, I will try to answer your questions...one at a time. Oh Lord Jesus it's a fire! This is a loaded one: ahem 

• "If we allow gay marriage, then what's next?" Gay people get married and live gayily ever after just like the rest of the married population. THE END.

• "Polygamy, beastieality, incestuous or pedophilic marriages?" Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgendered people are not asking to be involved in polygamy. Or at least the vast majority are not. They are asking to be able to partake in marriage. Now I am aware that in other parts of the world, the concept of marriage does include polygamy. Where polygamy is quite normal it is important to bear in mind, that the cultural motives are vastly different from the reasons people get married in the modern Western world. Polygamy exists for the most part in strictly patriarchal and agrarian societies and the primary motives are toward the acquisition of property and progeny. A man's social status in these societies is based largely upon not only how much land he owns but also how many wives he has who can produce him a tribe of children he would then be the highly regarded father of. While I am not judging this set up, clearly this does not work in our society where our women are equal and it is quite expensive to have so many children. In agrarian societies, having more children to work the field is actually an asset to the production and thus the wealth of a family. Clearly these things are not the concerns of most lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered people in the US and it is a logistical misfit for most Americans. This is because, not only are our women free and equal, we have child labor laws and educational requirements which would prevent our children from being used as assets to fuel production.

Because we have equal protections under the law and women are equal, if we allow men to engage in the traditional polygamous set up, we must also allow our women the same right to hold multiple marriages concurrently, even those already married to a man who is then married to other women. Then what would we have? A whole city married to itself? How would we define our families even for the purpose of inheritence? Could you imagine the brawl over inheritence at the death of a wealthy person married to people who are married to other people. And how would we determine who the children are if he is then stepfather of a whole city? Clearly this is a mess, and just does not work in our society. And this is why marriage in our culture has evolved with our economy to become only between two people partnering in life. Even then, the acquisition of property and social status was still a high motive for marrying a particular person. This has not completely gone away but clearly these concerns in today's world has taken a backseat to love, romance, affection and life partnership. At this level, the idea of polygamy throws of the romantic balance of what we have come to understand as matrimony. How many people would be just fine with their spouse going off for a honeymoon with their new spouse? They might want to retalliate and get them a new spouse and have a honeymoon? Then how are we to define married people from single people, I ask you? We have come to make the distinction by an exclusive, intimate and mutual commitment between two people which are then binded in contract. This contract then affords rights which protect and acknowledge the mutual ownership of property and the legal authority to make decisions on each other's behalf. You would only sensibly enter into such a contract if you were confident that this person is committed to you and has your best interests at heart and vice-versa and it delights you to exclusively share whatever you own with that person. This is love. This is marriage in our culture. And this is what it means to have a spouse which is expected to be the most important relationship in a person's life outside of the spiritual connection with SOURCE. Two men and two women are just as capable of participating in such a relationship as anyone because they are capable of romantic love for one another. They want marriage for the same reasons as anyone wants to be married in our society. This is why we should allow LGBT people to partake in the civil rights of marriage and can not afford to give legal legitimacy to polygamous relationships.

 

Denying legal acknowledgement of polygamous relationships is not discrimination because no one is allowed to legally partake in such a relationship, just as no one is allowed to steal. Now if you feel that exclusive heterosexual marriage is also not discrimination because no one is allowed to engage in same-sex marriage in Georgia, then you fail to acknowledge the findings of professional science of the American Psycological Association giving legitimacy and validity to the natural conditions of the same-sex attractions of those who want to. If you believe that homosexuality is a valid and natural condition which is immutable in most people and that we are citizens, then you can not claim rights for yourself that are not afforded to homosexuals and not consider it discrimination. The 14th amendment outlaws legal discrimination. So not only as a gay man, I am telling you that you just don't get it, I don't need you to get it. The American Psychological Associaton has clinically determined homosexuality not to be a mental disorder, so then it must be natural, I am a citizen, and thus I must have access to every legal right that is available to you. Like it or not. In this case, that right is to hold marriage rights with the person I love and choose as a spouse. Oppose this notion and you are opposing your constitution. Now take that to the courts.

• Beastieality? While some are stricken with the urge, the American Psychological Association has not determined this to be sane disposition. Let's pretend it was though, if you find me a horse who is a citizen who pays taxes, votes and can read, understand and sign a contract, then you might have a point. Until then, case closed.

• Incest? While intimate attractions can occur between siblings or very closely related people on rare occasions, there is no known sexuality which predisposes people to being attracted exclusively to people they are closely related to. What would such a person do if they had no siblings, first cousins, parents or children to be sexually attracted to? So, incestuous attractions are illegitimate as a sexuality and a class of people and thus the 14th amendment does not pertain to such relationships. Because no incestuous relationships, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or otherwise can gain legal marriage rights, this is not discrimination either. Also if heterosexual siblings or parent and child were to mate, they are very likely to produce genetically disordered offspring. They would have to be barred from mating which would not make for a functional marriage. And while homosexual siblings can not mutually produce offspring, it is discrimination to allow homosexual siblings to get married and not heterosexual siblings. So, no closely related people should be allowed to marry. Nevertheless, find me a class of sibling-lovers, those who clinically can not be attracted to others unless they are known to be their siblings and you might again have an argument which holds water. Until then, case closed.

• Pedophilic marriages? Minors can't sign contracts. When it comes to understanding and accepting the commitment of marriage, this is for good reasons. Case closed.

• "I don't mean to be rude or insensitive, but if we are to be fair in allowing alternative forms of marriage like gay marriage on the argument for the right to marry the person of choice, then we must allow all other alternative matchups to declare marriage as well. If we do this, than our society is rolling down a slippery slope and unraveling the fabric which has held it together for millenias." If LGBT couples are allowed to partake in marriage rights, straight people will continue to get married just as they did before and society will march on. I promise you.

• "I mean where would the logical boundary end with the very concept and definition of marriage?" Two adult citizens, unrelated who are commited to each other as intimate life partners.

• "In the same way if we allow a cat to be called a dog, then what does it mean to be a dog?" Now this is your best rhetorical question yet. The reasons we have names for things is to differentiate between those things when referring to them and not as an instrument of discrimination. Just like you said, "That does not mean that we should be mean to the cat or torture it or not include them in feeding time. We just should not allow it to change the definition of what it means to be a dog." I agree. A definition of marriage that can fit all loving and intimate couples is exactly what I stated above, "Two adult citizens, unrelated who are commited to each other as intimate life partners." Now if you want to make specific reference to heterosexual spouses than just say husband and wife, and we will know exactly what you mean. If you want to make reference to LGBT spouses than say husband and husband, wife and wife or simply, same-sex spouses and we will get the picture. Allowing LGBT couples to marry can never change the specific definition of what it means for a man and woman to be married to each other. So in that sense, we are not trying to call a cat a dog. But when it comes to legal rights and feeding time, both cat and dog, straights and gays get treated equally. In 2013, there is still a distinction in the notion of what it means to be a white person and what it means to be a black person but the persons shall be treated fairly and equally under the law and they can now be both described as citizens, so says the constitution. When Blacks gained citizenship rights, they did not change the definition and the obligations of what it means to be a citizen. They got included in the definition. Nor did they change the definition of what it means to be White, other than a superior race. The institution of marriage itself is not defined by who it is denied to. 

Have anymore burning questions? E-mail to Dir.LoveUnderFire@aol.com

FORWARD MARCH! Part #3

                                                            Continuing after Part #2


I personally once believed that just by the intrinsic fact of living in my truth as a gay man, I would automatically bring upon myself the curses of loneliness and disease. "You will never get married. You will never have a family. And you might not live to be..." My careworn aunt expressed to me with tears in her eyes, her deep-seated concerns about me carrying on in life as a gay man. I once believed her, seeing an older cousin of ours expiring before the age of 40 to AIDS in the early 90’s. I believed I too might share the same fate if I continued to be gay. It terrified me, let alone the fear of a hell my pastor told me awaited me when this earthly hell was over.

There is an old-adage, "As a man thinketh, so is he." Had I not dispelled for myself these myths early on and began hoping for a better life as a gay man, I shudder to think of what my life might be like now at age 30, believing I have only 10 more years to live. Would I be concerned about getting tested, regularly and often? Would protected sex be just a matter of sex period, or would it be an option or disregarded altogether for the thrill? Would I still work hard to keep my body in shape and eat the right foods as if I’m trying to live pass age 90? And would I steer clear of any recreational drugs whatsoever, Crystal Meth or whatever which is widely abused among my peers? Would I be screwing my brains out with anyone who wanted me without the care of wanting to develop a deep, meaningful relationship with those who are qualified?

What saved me? Television saved me. For the first time about the beginning of the millennium as a young man, I began to see positive examples of gay men in the media. I saw those even who look like me, leading healthy, decent and productive lives with gainful and respectable careers, great friends and loving partners. I began to want that for myself once I believed that I too could have that. My aspirations, expectations and standards in life automatically heightened. These were not the feckless, one-dimensional, cartoonish and flaming caricatures who were always the stereotypical hairdresser I failed to identify with. These were not the tragic and sad stories about single young men wasting away to AIDS in the prime of their youth. We must then begin to beg the question if these unhealthy disparities found amongst the LGBT population have their roots and initial causes in a society which has long refused to acknowledge us, to affirm us, to teach us that our deepest yearnings for romantic love with those of the same gender are not disgusting. It is valid, natural and has real meaning, beauty and value for the rest of the world which so needs stories about those who are fighting to love each other. I believe our story to be an inspiration for marriage itself, while many others have taken their marriages for granted with skyrocketing divorce rates. This is what I’m fighting to undo. I believe once more LGBT couples are allowed to solemnize their relationships openly under the protections of the law, more young LGBT lives will be saved and have brighter prospects for their lives and healthier concepts of their identity as LGBT people. Love heals. Discrimination kills.

Why then are the hopes of the LGBTQIAP; the "Community of Diverse Gender-Based Sexualities" in Georgia situated upon developments with the federal government and states in which we do not lie our heads and pay our taxes to? The answers I have been given is simply that this is the Bible Belt. It's harder to fight here. These things may be true, but does that excuse us from doing the hard work here to assert justice over inequality? Are we then helpless in Georgia and must allow our state to treat us anyway they see fit without challenge? We are helpless, if we believe ourselves to be so. No one can help us so long as we keep this mindset. Are we to expect progress without struggle? Harvest without plowing and sowing? Or maybe we are expecting strength and fitness by letting others workout and diet for us. The federal government will do what it will and our power to sway its outcome pales in comparison to our power to demand and require justice in our own home state. In the same way that it is the states which elect our President, not the individual, it is the will of the states which sway the federal government. To those who are hoping for the almighty federal government to ride in and rescue us from our Bible Belt oppressors must understand that we have to do our part where we are in order to mandate such a move. Focus on Georgia and then the federal government will respond.

I believe that wherever a fight is most difficult is exactly where the fight should be directly taken to. In 1955, Alabama was known as the Cradle of the Confederacy. That did not deter one middle-aged gentle lady from sitting down on a segregated bus and dare to be moved from her seat of choice. Her solitary act of defiant courage inaugurated the African American Civil Rights movement of the 1950's and 60's. When the Civil War was gridlocked in the Upsouth of Virginia, General William Tecumseh Sherman dared to go deep into the heart of enemy territory. He came straightway to Georgia and choked the Confederacy of its lines of communications and resources to fight which were coming out of its hub, which was Atlanta. Sometimes in order to bring down a beast, you have to go directly for the jugular and Georgia has had a long history as being at the epicenter of the beast of antigay legislation on the national stage. Be mindful our Congressman, Bob Barr authored The Defense of Marriage Act. Our Senator, Sam Nunn was one of the strongest supporters of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Our own Newt Gingrich of Cobb County was Speaker of the House when both laws came into being and was an outspoken advocate. Being that the Defense of Marriage Act was born from Georgia, makes where we are a perfect battleground for this issue even on the national level. People in states like Missouri are looking to us to get moving where we can have the most impact, and that is our own state.

Being that this is the Buckle of the Bible Belt and the fight will be most difficult here, we can not afford to go about this soft, whiney, weak or ineffectual and adopt a slouching victim's posture and a beggar’s voice. No, we must take up this fight with much more poised and bold assertion, dignity, confidence and direct determination than has yet to be seen even on the national stage. We can be a people so decidedly free and so decidedly possessed with love and truth that all who witness our iron-willed march will clap for us, not cry for us. For as we liberate ourselves, we will automatically give others permission and inspiration to do the same. This will reverberate and resonate throughout the pool of human spirit across all boundaries even to our opponents to shake even their conscience to the core. Either the conservative bible thumpers are right and we should then shut up and have a seat forever about all things considered gay, or they are mistaken and there is something else more righteous, enduring and true. The enduring principles of love and equality are calling for leaders at such a time as this to take a firm open stand and dare to be moved or silenced. If we are right, then we don't need to go the roundabout route, sneakingly nitpicking at singular rights as we can get them to finally to get to what we were owed at birth.

It is high time to short circuit and shut down the whole operation of discrimination against our community once and for all and no fight will accomplish this more effectively than a fight for marriage equality which is rightly the third rail and support beam to all anti-gay legislations. This is because marriage itself would be the crowning legal acknowledgement and affirmation to the quintessential idea of what it means to be lesbian or gay, bisexual or transgendered.  Our opponents know this and that’s why they will fight us tooth and nail. But we must be tougher, stronger and more love-spirited than their mean-spiritedness. While we beg for workplace equality and housing protections against discrimination, they already know and fear that one day we will want marriage too and we will soon enough come to demand that as well. If we hope to engender their respect, why not then be open, upfront and honest about this? Unless we are ashamed and wrong for wanting to marry, I don’t understand the present tactic to insult the intelligence of our opponents by covertly aiming to gradually erode their resistance one law at a time. This then puts us in the position of a thief, trying to pilfer their consent while we believe that they don’t see and understand what we are doing. No one likes or respects a thief, even if they are coming to steal a whiff of air in your house while you’re not looking. This is why they call it the “Gay Agenda”. Not that we don’t have an agenda, which is equality, but that the term connotes conniving ulterior motives which their wild imaginations can then run away with and cause people to fear and resist our advances. Let me make this plain. Until we have marriage, our conservative opponents will always have the upperhand. We will always play by their rules and on their terms. Until we erect our postures, look them directly in the eyes and put steel in our voices and gold rings on the fingers of those we love, we will always wrestle with our state from the submissive and weak position of those who are different, of an alternative lifestyle and that of a second-class citizen. Once we are able to protect our families as equal under the law, I tell you the truth, it will be like the crumbling of the walls of Jericho on all issues like workplace and housing discrimination, for all families have need of these resources. But we must first get recognized as families.

Dr. Phil McGraw has often asserted that we are in large part responsible for the treatment that we receive. He states that we often have to teach people how to treat us. How else did the legislators of Georgia come up with the notion that it is okay and safe to do this to us when legislators of similar attitudes in other parts of this country are very cautious about openly antagonizing the LGBT community? Up until now, many in our communities have been more cautious than courageous in setting the fair boundaries of what we will and will not accept as a free people. But then, how can we call ourselves a free people when we have allowed our state to come to this position? If a person has within himself the soul of a slave, will he not become one, no matter what his station at birth even as water seeks its level? If a person has within himself the soul of a free person, will he not become respected and honored wherever he goes in spite of his misfortune as cream always rises to the top? Does not a great King fight his enemies in every way that he can, with every force that he has? The beauty of America is that though we are a nation with no king, we are nation of equal kings and queens with rights to rule over our own destinies as we see fit.

Frederick Douglass argued to his people, “The general sentiment of mankind is that a man who will not fight for himself, when he has the means of doing so, is not worth being fought for by others, and this sentiment is just. For a man who does not value freedom for himself will never value it for others, or put himself to any inconvenience to gain it for others. Such a man, the world says, may lie down until he has sense enough to stand up. It is useless and cruel to put a man on his legs, if the next moment his head is to be brought against a curbstone.

A man of that type will never lay the world under any obligation to him, but will be a moral pauper, a drag on the wheels of society, and if he too be identified with a peculiar variety of the race he will entail disgrace upon his race as well as upon himself. The world in which we live is very accommodating to all sorts of people. It will cooperate with them in any measure which they propose; it will help those who earnestly help themselves, and will hinder those who hinder themselves. It is very polite, and never offers its services unasked. Its favors to individuals are measured by an unerring principle in this—viz., respect those who respect themselves, and despise those who despise themselves. It is not within the power of unaided human nature to persevere in pitying a people who are insensible to their own wrongs and indifferent to the attainment of their own rights. The poet was as true to common sense as to poetry when he said, ‘Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow.”

((Conclusion of FORWARD MARCH! Now Available. In the meantime, we look forward to honoring Mrs. Rosa Parks on her 100th Birthday, Monday February 4th, 2013.))

Q&A: Is Marriage a Constitutional Right?

Q: Is marriage a constitutional right?

A: Yes. One of our most fundamental rights as citizens of the United States of America is the ability to marry, and the ability to marry the person of our choice, providing that they are of legal age to enter into any binding contractual agreement. Courts in this country have determined that the right to marry is, in some cases, more fundamental than the right to vote. It cannot be denied:

• on the basis of an individual's race;
• to those who have shown themselves to be delinquent on child welfare payments;
• to hardened criminals in prison.

Everyday, however, tax-paying, law-abiding and in many cases military serving gays and lesbians who love and cherish each other and their children are denied the ability to protect their families with a marriage license.

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extends "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or imunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

The Constitution of The State of Georgia provides similar protections extended by the federal Constitution. "Protection to person and property is the paramount duty of government and shall be impartial and complete. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws." Georgia's Equal Protection Clause, Article I, Section I, Paragraph II.

Article I, Section I, Paragraph VII instructs that the Georgia General Assembly must enact such laws that will protect the full enjoyment of the rights, privileges and immunities afforded all United States citizens.

The intent of both the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions is distorted when we discriminate on the basis of gender in the issuance of marriage licences and treat some families different than others.

Courts in Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, California, Minnesota, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Iowa, Connecticut, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia have found that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage licenses or the protections that stem from them. Georgian legislators who have fought and have successfully wrote lesbian and gays out of the Georgia Constitution as fully equal citizens are actually recognizing that the ability to marry someone of the same-gender was likely a constitutionally protected right in Georgia--a right they wanted to take away and did with Amendment 1 to the Georgia State Constitution. Otherwise, there would have been no need for such an amendment which directly addresses couples of the "same-sex" as an excluded class.

So what are we left with? We are left with a syntax error, a legal contradiction and a logical incongruency between the equal protection clauses of the United States and the Georgia Constitution and its Amendment 1. This must be addressed and resolved immediately. We cannot have both stand. Either we must do away with Equal Protection for all citizens or do away with Georgia's Amendment 1 or declare removal of citizenship status from all persons declaring themselves gay or lesbian to make the laws then agree. This is exactly why amending the Georgia Constitution undermines and jeopardizes the truth of everyone's freedom. This is why we must abolish the use of our state Constitution to establish discriminatory policies. It is our heritage as Americans which decrees this consciousness.

The Ramifications of Georgia Constition Amendment 1:

• Passage of the constitutional amendment has denied access to the judicial branch of government to a diverse group of citizens. It says to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens of Georgia--and their children--that their love and their relationships are not real and valid, that their families are not real and valid and that none of these are deserving of equal protections under our state laws and that they must accept our state goverment's judgement of them as second-class citizens. 
• The damage has already been done with sending the message that one group can simply change the constitution to bar another group from their rights because of ideological differences. All one group has to do is outnumber the other and run a popular vote. Who's next? African Americans, Latinos, or other religious minorities? If this can happen and has happened, what's the purpose of having a constitution?

As soon as I became fully aware of these implications, I was left scratching my head trying to figure out how Georgia has gotten away with this for 8 years. I now know the answer to that too: Get the discriminated class to accept their defeat or move because it is now THE LAW OF THE LAND. Check! Next, scare legislators from raising the issue any time in the foreseeable future by making it a "third-rail" issue, "If you even speak of attempts of trying to remove the amendment, we the political majority will close ranks and spite you by shutting you out of all cooperation on any legislative measures you need our help with and will then turn the public consensus against you and remove you from your seat come election time." Check! Lastly, let the injustice sit and marinate for 10 years and the people will quiet down, adjust, forget about it and then move on with their lives just as peaceably as they did before the fuss even began within the recent years because of our liberal sister, Massachusetts. They did not foresee Prop 8 coming four years later and the furor it erupted nationally. They did not foresee the Coming of Obama, a President who would fearlessly with determination pull the rug from under antigay policies in the military and then turn his powers to the aim of tripping up the Defense of Marriage Act. They did not foresee that over the last 8 years, 8 more states would remove their barriers to marriage equality. Each time, reminding Georgians, "Oh yeah, what about our marriage amendment?" It does not look as if they are going to be able to check this last measure and they will be forced this confront this contradiction much sooner than many anticipate. This is the most immediate aim of the Love Under Fire Campaign, to not let Georgia off the hook with this.

FORWARD MARCH! Part #2

                                                           Continuing after Part #1:

If this were some totalitarian government, you would never have the right to disagree, for their codes were never derived considering your agreement to begin with. Here in America, even in Georgia, the so-called ‘law’ is no longer a law and is then rendered null and void if a community ceases to agree with it in spirit and in truth. Legislators must then reach a new agreement with their constituents. Conversely, the deal of agreeing upon a code works both ways. Legislators are not the slavish servants of their constituents. They are the public servants of the best interests of their constituency and coworkers with them in that aim. Any good and sensible legislator would never settle upon a bad agreement with their constituents. They would never acquiesce or be afraid to engage with their constituents to help them understand what is right, fair, equal and just and why it must respect the rights and freedoms of everyone involved, even its most numerically vulnerable members. They could very well do this using the same influences and passions they used to sell themselves to get elected. That’s if they stand behind something more meaningful than a hollowed out name.

Personally, If I were to serve in the state legislature and my constituency demanded that I do wrong and I could not manage to help them see the light of day and then desire to do right by all of its fellow citizens, I would publicly resign. I would give my true reasons and leave them to find someone else to represent their evil. My moral integrity is too expensive to be for sale, it is too strong to be bullied and the love in it makes it sweet enough on its own so that it can not be sweet-talked into acting in contrary ways. Echoing one great Georgian, "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."- Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legislators who are worthy of shame and deserving of losing their place as respected leaders are those who make bad agreements and then blame it on the consensus of their constituents when called out on it.

Amendment 1 fails as a law by definition and in purpose. By Georgia now making marriage an institution of discrimination, it has helped absolutely no one and has injured many. It hasn’t given anyone a job in a state hit particularly hard by the recession. It hasn’t helped not one family stay in a home threatened by foreclosure. It hasn’t helped anyone get married or stay married. In fact, after 2004, the census has reported a rise in the incidence of divorce in Georgia. Then the only purposes Amendment 1 has served is to make life harder for its LGBT citizens who wish to engage in loving and stable relationships, build homes and lives together and maybe raise children. It has achieved nothing and has had no effect other than to lessen the status and human dignity of its LGBT citizens. It is hard to imagine in this century, a state wishing to do harm to a segment of its population for no just cause, and for the American people to tolerate this form of tyranny and not fiercely repudiate it. But this is exactly what we have here with Amendment 1.

One who defies unjust or false laws must do so openly, lovingly and with a willingness to accept the consequences. I assert that any individual who defies a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment, fines, social harassment or the termination of his employment in order to arouse the conscience and awareness of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing a greater respect for a higher law; the Law of Love. Forget not that privileged groups seldom share their privileges without determined, persistent and assertive action from the oppressed. 156 years ago, Frederick Douglass said this, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them.” If we all committed to this, I am thoroughly convinced that Amendment 1 would not survive one more year. But this ‘all’ begins with you.

"Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, they send forth a tiny ripple of hope...These ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
-Robert F. Kennedy

The impact of legal discrimination against same-sex relationships has had wide-spread, deep and devastating ramifications. Does Georgia currently prohibit us from forming romantic relationships, cohabitating and raising children? No. But we have to be mindful that sex between same-gendered partners was illegal in this state just ten years ago. What challenges a couple must face if making love to one another is considered a crime in the state in which they live? When love is a crime, the society which makes it so, lives in sin. May we help it to repent. Just the threat of criminalizing the demonstrations of our love was enough to unnecessarily inhibit many of us. We had to express our affections under the cloak of darkness and in secret as though our love was a dirty shame. This is important to note because unless one has accepted their love to be a dirty shame, how could anyone ever comply and conform to such laws? No pun intended, but no one can ride your back unless it is bent. Therefore, just in the often already uncomfortable process for anyone to find a suitable life partner is then subject to another layer of difficulties when it comes to the differing comfort levels and the shame of internalized homophobia. Are we then to be surprised at the epidemic of single LGBT adults who have experienced little if any romantic relationships with someone of the gender they are most comfortable and natural with? Because of these challenges, are we to be surprised at the higher incidence of promiscuity among LGBTs? Because of the higher rates of promiscuity, are we to be surprised at the disproportionate levels of STD infections among the LGBTs? Are we then to be surprised by the disproportionate incidences of suicide among LGBT youths?

At this point, you might agree with me. But then the question might be "Is the fight worth it?" Numerous studies have been conducted to conclude that those who are married, tend to live longer, be more financially stable and earn more. They suffer from far less physical and mental illnesses than those who are single. "It is not good that Man should be alone; I will make him a helpmate." -Genesis 2:18. Those who argue that marriage is solely for the purpose of procreation are missing GOD’s first intentions for marriage before the benefit and responsibilities of parenting. The role of parenting is temporal, while marriage is for a lifetime commitment. Since it has only been in the recent years that our relationships are no longer criminal and no longer persecuted, without marriage rights, some over 100 benefits at the state level and 1138 benefits at the federal level are denied. These include tax-breaks, assuming social security benefits of a deceased partner, waiving of estate taxes upon the inheritance from a deceased partner, the right to make medical decisions and funeral arrangements on the behalf of a partner, the sharing of medical benefits, the power to sponsor partners for citizenship and continuing custody of children after the death of one partner and many other rights.

I have spoken to many married couples who have expressed to me that being and having a husband or a wife, brings with it a completely different set of expectations and societal benefits than having the casual boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. It is not something with which to enter into lightly for there are major financial and life consequences for making a mistake or failing to honor those commitments the law then makes binding. For this reason, couples will work harder to resolve their differences and strengthen their relationships. Before marriage, it was just about love and less about commitment. My own brother has expressed to me the new level of respect he has been given since becoming a married man. It shows that he is capable of commitment and able to take important things seriously. This factor does often give married people an edge above unmarried people in seeking higher paying, stable and respectable employment with high responsibilities. When was the last time we have ever had a single person even get into the primaries of seeking the Presidency? It is indeed a status symbol our society has long respected and valued, to legally call oneself "married". Those who are excluded from this privilege by the government are made to live as second-class citizens, which is evidence of societal abuse. The late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has made it clear, "If America is to remain a first-class nation, she can no longer have second class citizens."

With this long list of denials, the foundational tools to protect one another and what we build together over a lifetime is still directly destabilized and put under jeopardy by the very governments in which we are expected to support with our tax dollars and protect with our very lives through military service.

((Look forward to this conversation continuing with Part #3))

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AQUARIUS!

                                      
             
                                     Happy Birthday Aquarius January 20th-February 18th

Aquarians, the water-carrier are the humanitarians and hippies of the zodiac. Their themed traits are free-thinking, high-minded, compassionate, opinionated and generous. Aquarius is the fixed air sign of the zodiac. Air signs, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius are strongly influenced by the mind, the intellect and communication. When expressed in the fixed mode, the mode of consistency, persistence, determination, rigidness and inflexibility, you are given a very strong-minded individual who is so opinionated, decisive and convinced that they are right, that they will often fight ruthlessly on behalf of their beliefs and they rarely ever change their minds. Aquarians believe themselves to be the most intellectually evolved people of the zodiac, and all those who don't understand their often esoteric or mystical perspectives have not yet evolved or awakened to the truth. This fixed air sign is mostly like a clear, cloudless sky with no breeze. They cherish stillness so that they can meditate and free their minds. To others, they may seem to be spacey and out-there-somewhere almost detached from the reality of day-to-day concerns. Aquarius is also influenced by the planets, Saturn and Uranus. Saturn in Greek mythology, represented the god of agriculture, time, wealth and the written law. Uranus, or Father Sky in this mythology was the ruler of the starry heavens and space. This is different from Jupiter which governs Sagittarius, for Jupiter was also god of the sky, thunder and lightning, or weather which comes from the sky or the stratosphere. The realm of Uranus was higher than that in the space which astroids streak and stars shimmer. These planets give Aquarians their high-minded quality. The high-mindedness attributed by Uranus is co-influenced with Saturn in them to make them concerned with the needs of humanity or the entire earth itself making them a true altruist. Saturn also influences Capricorn which makes them concerned with their own sustenance, growth, and thriving. When mingled with Uranus, these same concerns are then taken to a much higher stage which includes all of humanity, the entire earth and sometimes the complete universe and the cosmos and strict policies which protect the health and wealth of these resources. Thus, in addition to Sagittarius, we have another activist on our hands. But unlike Sagittarius being a fierce crusader for social justice and equality, Aquarians are your eco-crusaders, green-cultured, tree-hugging, bohemian beatnicks. They probably have a lifetime membership to Greenpeace.

Like Sagittarians, Aquarians are visionaries. This particular visionary is always at the edge of the evolution of everything. Any new gadget, new policy, new philosophy which will make the world work better, they are gung-ho for it. They venture out to get involved in its development so that they can bring the new goods back to their people for their collective benefit, just like the water-bearer goes to fetch the life-giving water and brings it back to quench the thirst of their entire community. They are true believers and leaders of the principle of collective work and responsibility and profiting together. They truly see and understand the interrelatedness and connections between everything. What hurts one, hurts all. What is good for one is good for many. For everything is truly one and whole and they believe all of its parts should behave as such. It is this passion which may draw them to the social sciences and the highest levels of politics and goverment, maybe even The United Nations. If there are any sign which is predisposed to being a genius, Aquarians are it. They are true revolutionaries. Though they are rigidly stubborn in thought and in arguments, these are humane and compassionate people who just wants us all to get along and thrive together and that may often involve challenging us to try things a new way. They are very nice people, but not pushovers in the least. Aquarians will stand their ground in a debate quite doggedly.

Aquarians are naturally given to the work of the humanities and social sciences. They may passionately get involved with philanthropy and humanitarian endeavors. They make great social workers and sociologists. Politics may also serve them as an attractive outlet for their grand-scale ideas on how to make the world work better though they are likely to be swayed more toward the progressive factions of government over the conservative factions.

In love, Aquarians are comfortable being the true givers in the relationship. They're just mainly interested in seeing you do better and thriving because of their gifts. With their lovers they are imaginative, witty, candid and friendly. They are loyal and supportive of their partners, yet fiercely protective of their personal space. They detest convention and tradition and are drawn to those daring to reinvent themselves and old orders. They are truly turned-off by selfishness and big egos and they will not hessitate to firmly correct such a mindset to get it to become more concerned about others and then the self will be taken care of. Aquarians tend to have many friends which often come to depend on their generosity, stability and wisdom, but they don't mind it so long as they are progressing. If you are in love with an Aquarius, do not become jealous and try to keep this giver all to yourself, cutting them off from those who need them. They are patient and do not easily give up on strengthening needy individuals. It would behoove you to realize that they have to help others and if you really want to steal their hearts, get involved in their community service. They adore freedom and travel and often to the more remote, off-beaten places of the world like poor third-world countries where people are stricken with disease and do not have enough to eat. Their mantra is "Free your mind and the rest will follow!" Aquarians are best compatible with Sagittarius, Leo, Gemini, Libra and Aries. In mind, intellect and vision, Aquarians are kindred spirits to Sagittarius though will differ with them when it comes to ego, and their brash, reckless nature. Aquarians will be compatible with Leo as they are both strong, determined and decisive in their leadership but again, will challenge Leo on their big egos. Gemini will be much fun for an Aquarians as they both love to try new things and reinvent themselves. An Aquarius will be attracted to the fair, just and diplomatic morals of Libra. And when it comes to blazing trails and being pioneers on the frontier of development, Aquarians will love to run with an Aries, but will challenge their selfishness, impatience, hot temper and combativeness. There will be no more dramatic combination though than the romance struggle between an Aquarius and a Leo as they are mirror signs. The Leo will dominate, but an Aquarius will lead them without the Leo being aware it is being led. When it comes to correcting their arrogance, an Aquarius will be time enough for a Leo when putting them in their place as among the universe not the center of it, as an Aquarius' debate skills are often unmatched in its strength, vigor and power.

2013 Love Forecast:

The year 2013 brings for the Aquarius individuals good news. There will be enough scope for new friendships and relationships for you in this year, foresees Ganesha. Jupiter is transiting through the fifth House from your sign and due to this planetary transit, love is simply in the air for you. You may fall head over heels in love and world may suddenly turn out to be fresh and beautiful and life worth living for. And the ones already in a relationship may fall in love again with the same person and thus rejuvenating your relationship.


You shall be extremely loyal and supportive towards your partner. However there are some points to ponder upon. If you have begun a relationship this year or started one recently, then there is no need to go full steam so abruptly in this new relationship and take it to the next level of marriage. You need to pause and reassess. On the other hand, you should do a complete review of your relationship and assess it from all the angles keeping in mind the pitfalls as well as the advantages of it before you take the final decision. This will surely help you in strengthening your relationship.

Those of you who are already committed will find that their relationship has strengthened due to this year’s planetary transits. However, things are not so rosy for the married couples. You would need to set aside your domestic differences. Ganesha reminds you that if you keep in your mind constantly the petty or important domestic issues and keep finding faults in your partner, you will not be able to enjoy the bliss of unconditional love. Thus, in order to strengthen your relationship you will have to play your part to perfection.-www.ganeshaspeaks.com

　

With the burning Mars in Aquarius and the magnificent Jupiter in Aquarius' house of eroticism, you'll start the year 2013 in a fabulous sexual shape! Mars and Jupiter are connected by themselves to physical vigor and carnal lust, highly underlined now by the houses they will go through.

Against the background of setting instincts free will naturally grow passion, the urge to conquer and the desire for adventure. There can be sudden sentimental outbursts, waves of fervent romanticism, wishes that require to be fulfilled, even if it involves risks and rash deeds.

The top feverishness will last all month in January 2013, while Mars stays in Aquarius. Falling in love will now become the easiest thing in the world. And it'll stay easy for the whole period in the first half of the year 2013 because Jupiter will make sure it provides you with favorable opportunities by June 26th.

Meanwhile, February 2013 promises happiness and achievements, and June 2013, with Jupiter, Mars and the Sun in Aquarius' house of love, will reach its peak! June will be the most dynamic and sensual, the hottest and craziest month in 2013. Afterwards, there'll be some peace. No spectacular events are foreseen by the end of the year.

The last six months in 2013 will not lack action, but the most significant events and the moments that will have the greatest impact on the sentimental life will happen in the first part of the year.

In the second half of the year you can peacefully enjoy the sweet transit of Venus through Aquarius' house of couples in July 2013 (harmony, tenderness, understanding, reconciliation) and you can experience a sort of stability, acknowledgement and fulfillment in August 2013, when the Sun crosses the same house.

Following its predecessors, Mars will cross Aquarius house of couples in September and the first part of October 2013, lighting again the flame of passion and ardor, but risking storms out of too much haste and impulsiviness. -www.eastrolog.com


Blessings are for you this year. Challenges are less and good time-periods are indicated more for you. During starting phase of this year, your pious desires or wish will come true. You will love this time and will maximum enjoy all colors of happiness. Your sorrows or pain of past time will go off. Someone very special will reach to you. And, the person will be like angel or gift of God for you.

Don't ignore true feelings of your heart. Special colorful time merely comes in life. If you find some one is truly in love with you, don't let that person go out from your life.

Aquarius, you are smart enough to know how to sustain a relationship long. However, this year may take the actual taste how you put best efforts to protect your love-relationship. If favorable time is for you, the challenges and obstacles are also waiting to bother you.-www.astrocamp.com

Famous Aquarians:
Oprah Winfrey, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Jennifer Anniston, Susan B. Anthony, Michael Bloomberg, Christie Brinkley, Levar Burton, Natalie Cole, Sam Cooke, Bessie Coleman, Phil Collins, Sheryl Crow, Charles Darwin (Father of Evolution Theory), Angela Davis, James Dean, Ellen Degeneres, Thomas Edison (Father of Tapped Electricity), Farrah Fawcett, Roberta Flack, Sara Gilbert, Gregory Hines, Langston Hughes, Alicia Keys, Carole King, Ashton Kutcher, Bill Maher, Bob Marley, Sarah McLachlan, Toni Morrison, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Huey P. Newton, Lisa Marie Presley, Christina Ricci, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Shakira, Cybill Shepherd, John Travolta, Kerry Washington, Elijah Wood,  

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