Election/Gay Marriage/Adoption notes
I never really posted anything serious about the election, and I'm not really going to write anything too long about it right now. But, I was watching the news this morning and actually tuned into Fox news, which generally has a more conservative bent than the other stations I would normally watch, such as MSNBC. Every once in awhile I like to hear what other people are thinking.
Anyway, they did a short interview with Mike Huckabee regarding the proposition that passed in Arkansas that banned adoption by unmarried couples. Of course, since gay people can't get married in Arkansas, that means gay people can't adopt in Arkansas. As expected the piece had a decidedly conservative slant and tended to come down on the side of agreeing with the idea that gay people should not be allowed to adopt.
Of course, this got me all riled up--and curious. Because, despite how great I think it is that Obama was elected, I, like many gay people and gay supporters, felt that the election was a little bittersweet. It was great that we have our first African American president, and it's great that the neocons and religious right got booted out of the White House and much of the Congress finally. But, for gay rights and its supporters, we got slammed at the election. Gay marriage was banned in 3 states, and gay adoption was banned in Arkansas, all through a democratic, direct election. And, for a lot of gay people, I think it felt very much like we were being personally told that we were less than human, that we were not worthy to have a happy life filled with love and family like our straight counterparts. It felt like a personal, very hurtful attack, despite the progress made with the rest of the election.
Today, the interview with Mike Huckabee brought many of those feelings back, and made me feel a little down. I also saw on Fox's ticker at the bottom of the screen, that conservatives outnumbered liberals by a 2 to 1 margin in the United States. Considering the circles that I hang around in, I always find it odd to see things like that, because the vast majority, probably around 90%, of people that I know probably fall into the liberal category. So, it's always a bit of a surprise.
As I said, it got me curious, so I started googling liberal vs. conservative to see if it was really true, or at least to do a little fact checking. It seems that Americans do tend to self identify more as conservative than liberal. But, that sentence, is and of itself, is a little more misleading than it appears on the surface. After all, if conservative = Republican, then how did Obama get elected? Why are the Democrat and Republican party memberships practically split down the middle? Well, I don't know the answers to all of this, but it seems to me that you can't really make a blanket assumption about people based on this self identified label. Most of us already know this. I know conservatives who are pro gay marriage, and liberals who are not. I know people who are pro gay marriage and anti-abortion. Does that make them a liberal or a conservative?
Well, I have gotten off onto a tangent from why I originally began writing this entry. I found a Pew Survey from 2006 that covered American opinions on various social issues such as gay marriage and abortion. What I'm zeroing in on here, since I was most interested in gay issues, was the following paragraph:
"Opposition to gay marriage is most pronounced among older Americans, while younger people express relatively high levels of support for legalizing same-sex marriage. Among those 65 and older, three-in-four (73%) oppose legalizing gay marriage, while more than half (53%) of adults under the age of 30 favor this position."
Not only do 53% of 18-29 year olds (from 2006) directly support gay marriage, but only a mere 38% directly oppose it. This is a clear majority, when I'm assuming the other 9% simply don't give a shit. Compare this to the next age bracket of 30-49 year olds where only 38% favor gay marriage, and 55% oppose it. That's really quite a huge change among consecutive age brackets. It's also, in my opinion, extremely hopeful. The older the age bracket, the higher the opposition to gay marriage. This basically means we just need the old people to die off.
Okay, perhaps that's a little harsh. But, my point is this. Yes, this past election was a direct blow to gay rights. However, the truth, as I see it, is that it's only a matter of time. Gay people will earn the right to love, and get married, and have children, just like the rest of American society. And, we'll get it even if we have to get it through direct popular ballot elections. And, I believe we'll get it during my lifetime. So, there's some good news.
Now, I just gotta find me a man.
Anyway, they did a short interview with Mike Huckabee regarding the proposition that passed in Arkansas that banned adoption by unmarried couples. Of course, since gay people can't get married in Arkansas, that means gay people can't adopt in Arkansas. As expected the piece had a decidedly conservative slant and tended to come down on the side of agreeing with the idea that gay people should not be allowed to adopt.
Of course, this got me all riled up--and curious. Because, despite how great I think it is that Obama was elected, I, like many gay people and gay supporters, felt that the election was a little bittersweet. It was great that we have our first African American president, and it's great that the neocons and religious right got booted out of the White House and much of the Congress finally. But, for gay rights and its supporters, we got slammed at the election. Gay marriage was banned in 3 states, and gay adoption was banned in Arkansas, all through a democratic, direct election. And, for a lot of gay people, I think it felt very much like we were being personally told that we were less than human, that we were not worthy to have a happy life filled with love and family like our straight counterparts. It felt like a personal, very hurtful attack, despite the progress made with the rest of the election.
Today, the interview with Mike Huckabee brought many of those feelings back, and made me feel a little down. I also saw on Fox's ticker at the bottom of the screen, that conservatives outnumbered liberals by a 2 to 1 margin in the United States. Considering the circles that I hang around in, I always find it odd to see things like that, because the vast majority, probably around 90%, of people that I know probably fall into the liberal category. So, it's always a bit of a surprise.
As I said, it got me curious, so I started googling liberal vs. conservative to see if it was really true, or at least to do a little fact checking. It seems that Americans do tend to self identify more as conservative than liberal. But, that sentence, is and of itself, is a little more misleading than it appears on the surface. After all, if conservative = Republican, then how did Obama get elected? Why are the Democrat and Republican party memberships practically split down the middle? Well, I don't know the answers to all of this, but it seems to me that you can't really make a blanket assumption about people based on this self identified label. Most of us already know this. I know conservatives who are pro gay marriage, and liberals who are not. I know people who are pro gay marriage and anti-abortion. Does that make them a liberal or a conservative?
Well, I have gotten off onto a tangent from why I originally began writing this entry. I found a Pew Survey from 2006 that covered American opinions on various social issues such as gay marriage and abortion. What I'm zeroing in on here, since I was most interested in gay issues, was the following paragraph:
"Opposition to gay marriage is most pronounced among older Americans, while younger people express relatively high levels of support for legalizing same-sex marriage. Among those 65 and older, three-in-four (73%) oppose legalizing gay marriage, while more than half (53%) of adults under the age of 30 favor this position."
Not only do 53% of 18-29 year olds (from 2006) directly support gay marriage, but only a mere 38% directly oppose it. This is a clear majority, when I'm assuming the other 9% simply don't give a shit. Compare this to the next age bracket of 30-49 year olds where only 38% favor gay marriage, and 55% oppose it. That's really quite a huge change among consecutive age brackets. It's also, in my opinion, extremely hopeful. The older the age bracket, the higher the opposition to gay marriage. This basically means we just need the old people to die off.
Okay, perhaps that's a little harsh. But, my point is this. Yes, this past election was a direct blow to gay rights. However, the truth, as I see it, is that it's only a matter of time. Gay people will earn the right to love, and get married, and have children, just like the rest of American society. And, we'll get it even if we have to get it through direct popular ballot elections. And, I believe we'll get it during my lifetime. So, there's some good news.
Now, I just gotta find me a man.