An open letter to The Gays.
Dear Gays:
You look fabulous. Have you been working out? Your hair is amazing right now, did you know that? Anyhoo.
We've been through a lot, you and I. I've been your loyal Hag for as long as I can remember. I broke with the Church after a long and very pointed conversation with my priest about the condemnation of gays in the midst of the AIDS crisis in the 80s. I've helped you in your coming out process. I've walked the walks with you. Attended the parades with you. Occasionally been a beard for you. Gone to the fundraisers and political rallies with you, and made my voice a very vocal one in support of your civil rights to retain affordable health care, decriminalize the intimacy you share with a partner of your choice, solidify the punishments for violence against you, ratify the right to raise a family how and when you would like, and recognize that, quite simply, you are equal under the law, and entitled to live your life as an intelligent person who makes the right choices for him/herself.You know what, gays? All your Hags need that same support from you, RIGHT NOW.
Our legislature has passed, or at least attempted to pass, laws that essentially criminalize women for deciding to have control over her own body. Example: denying all funding for Planned Parenthood - not just for abortion (the legislature already took care of that), but for pap smears, birth control pills, routine mammograms, anything to keep a woman healthy at an affordable price. Also: the bill in Georgia which states that, essentially, miscarriage of a fetus is punishable by the death penalty. Let's not forget the ol' chestnut of practitioners "practicing their conscience", instead of following concrete medical guidelines (and let's get real, no one uses "conscience" for anything except terminating a pregnancy). The "rape rape" argument was finally abandoned, but not until after it was brought to the House and actually argued.
In the last few weeks, there have been more attacks on women's health than ever. It is patently clear that our legislature has an absolute hatred of women that goes way beyond any sense of decency. Women's intelligence in making her own medical choices are being questioned. Her motivation for suffering abuse, questioned. Her ability to think outside of a "housewife and mother" lifestyle, questioned. And questioned heavily, with significant bias.
I ask you this, Gays, because this is what your Hags are up against, right now, in 2011. Obtaining affordable health care, the legality of my intimacy with a partner of choice, punishment for violence against me, the right to raise a family how and when I would like, and the recognition that, quite simply, I am equal under the law, and entitled to live my life as an intelligent person who makes the right choices for herself.
We can't do this without you. Payback's a Hag.