Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"My middle sister, the one I call Young James Dean, was one of the happy women who took the hand of the woman she loved and promised [before Proposition 8], legally, to stay with her forever.

[...]

"Look: I can appreciate the religious angle. I can appreciate saying 'my church says this isn't cool.' But my church does think it's cool. My church thinks it's awesome. And the separation of church and state means that giving my sister a marriage license and a big box of legal protection to be used on the day when, Great Pumpkin forbid, something happens to Bride of YJD...that didn't do a thing to change the churches. Individual churches can perform same sex marriage, or not, as their scripture demands.

"Young James Dean's marriage has not damaged my relationships, or the relationships of our youngest sister. They have not undermined the lives and loves of those around them. The only thing gay marriage has done to my family is bring us more love, every day.

"The world needs more love."

  -- seanan-mcguire, 2012-11-02

[Legal recognition of same-sex marriage is on the ballot in Maine, Maryland, Washington, and Minnesota. This should be a question of fundamental rights, not a whim of the majority, but since it's on those four ballots, do the right thing. A vote in favour of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is: a vote for basic fairness and decency; a vote in keeping with American values of equality under the law and not having the state tell you what you can't do any more than necessary; a vote for greater security for families headed by same-sex couples^[1]; and a vote in favour of not being a jerk to your LBG^[2] friends and kin. Note that this is all about civil marriage, not about who is eligible for what sacrament. If your church does not believe in sanctifying same-sex unions, it still won't have to sanctify them. This is about the state, which should not have a religious test, no longer discriminating ... or, if you like, "no special rights for het couples; equal rights for all".]

[1] If ever there was a time to non-ironically say, "Think of the children [of same-sex couples]," this would be it. But I doubt most readers would "hear" it as seriously as it's meant, due to how often the meme has been first abused then parodied, so I'll leave the thought in footnote-land.

[2] Actually, this affects T folks as well as L, B, and G (though perhaps less obviously), because different states have different rules about changing one's legal sex, some states have different rules for amending one's birth certificate than for changing one's drivers license, or what counts as one's "legal sex" in what context, and different trans people desire different steps as far as medical transition goes. As a result, even whether a transgender person can marry someone of the opposite gender can get hung up on a state's "het marriage only" laws depending on the rules of that state and the state where the trans person was born. There has been at least one case where a trans man was barred from marrying a trans woman because one was born in a state where birth certificates could be amended after a sex-change, the other was born in a state that would not amend a birth certificate, and they lived in a third state where who-can-marry-whom was determined by the sex listed on their birth certificates. Simply making it so that sex and/or gender is not a factor in allowing marriages undoes a lot of that sort of muddle.

A few extra quotes for Election Day, mostly from Twitter:

"The Noise circles my camp - teeth bared, haunches raised. I toss the final Gallup poll onto the fire. Dawn approaches." -- @fivethirtynate, 2012-11-06

"We just pinpoint landed a 2,000 pound SUV on Mars. I bet we could figure out how to let everyone quickly vote if we wanted." -- @pourmecoffee, 2012-11-06

"Every single person take a second to note the people and party who are making it harder to vote and remember." -- @pourmecoffee, 2012-11-06

"So, is something supposed to happen today?" -- @dcist, 2012-11-06

"I should have guessed a tweet saying poutine is gross would be the most controversial thing we post on Election Day." -- @indecision, 2012-11-06

"That was longest line I've been in in years that didn't have a special-effects-laden blockbuster on the other end of it." -- drglam, 2012-11-06

[For me, voting to sixteen minutes from arriving at the no-electioneering boundary to getting my "I Voted" sticker. For my ward, that's a long time, implying heavy turnout. From what I've been hearing, some folks had much, much longer lines.]