США - страна торжествующих и победивших извращенцев и извращенок
Оригинал взят у peacetraveler22 в What is Love?
On Saturday I was invited to attend a read through of a play entitled "The River and the Mountain." The play itself is nothing remarkable, but its theme is worthy of discussion and very important to me. The story focuses on a gay Ugandan male trying to live in an extremely homophobic country. At one point, the Ugandan Parliament even heard arguments in support of a bill suggesting that all gays be executed. It became known in global legal circles as the "Kill the Gays" bill. The bill still has not passed and is ongoing revisions, with legal rights advocates demanding that the death penalty component be removed. In real life, the main character of the play was beaten to death.
I'm not a human rights lawyer, but I work with numerous charitable organizations to provide free legal assistance to asylum applicants persecuted in their home countries on the basis of sexual orientation or gender. In my mind there is no question that consenting adults should be free to love whom they choose. And how can "love" be defined or regulated? Yet every country, including America, tries to do so. Perhaps you've heard in the news that the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week in two monumental cases concerning gay rights. I took a quick trip to the Court yesterday to check out the scene.
1. The gentleman in the cover photo is a retired naval officer, waving the globally recognized rainbow flag in support of the community. He stood at the foot of the Supreme Court hoping for change, having faced his own life struggles as a gay serviceman at a time when gays weren't permitted to serve. In 2011, the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" law enacted during Bill Clinton's tenure was repealed, and today gays openly serve in all branches of the U.S. military. Here, a photo of the Supreme Court. More police than usual in the event the protests get out of control.
2. Capitol police.
3. So what's at issue in the cases? I don't want to go into a lengthy legal analysis but the most important case focuses on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996. DOMA defines "marriage" solely between a man and woman. Yet gay marriage currently is legal in DC and nine States (Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Washington and Vermont).
Why does it matter? Because DOMA restricts federal marriage benefits to same sex couples legally married in certain States. Such benefits include social security, tax and pension benefits, etc. There currently are more than 1,000 federal laws that confer benefits of some sort on married couples.
The case currently before the Supreme Court was filed by Edith Windsor, who legally married her lifelong love in New York in 2007. They had been together for 42 years prior to that. When her spouse died the U.S. government, acting under DOMA, required Windsor to pay $363,000 in estate taxes that she wouldn't have owed if her spouse was a male.
The main argument is that DOMA violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees ALL citizens equal protection of the law. I agree and I'm certain the U.S. Supreme Court will hold the law unconstitutional in its final ruling, which probably will not come until June or July. Even Bill Clinton, who signed the bill into law in 1996, advocates for its repeal. Obama also has voiced his opinion that DOMA is unconstitutional. This man agrees:
4. The crowd gathered at the Supreme Court was overwhelmingly supportive of the repeal.
5. What would be the reaction if a guy wore a rainbow coat emblazoned with the Russian flag on the streets of Moscow or some province?
6. The Supreme Court also heard arguments this week on "Proposition 8", the California ban on gay marriage. The legal issues for this case are more complex as they involve the interplay between federal and State law, so I will not go into a long explanation. If you're curious about it there are tons of excellent articles online dissecting all of the issues. However, I will say again that the crowd showed strong support for gay marriage.
7.
8.
9.
10. Both cases have received global attention and there are tons of news crews from all over the world covering the issues. I stood next to a guy doing a live broadcast for Al Jazeera.
11. Honestly I was surprised there weren't more religious zealots or right wing protesters supporting DOMA and traditional marriage. I saw only one man, wearing a microphone and shouting Bible verses. However, note in the photo that he's surrounded by people who totally disagree with his position. The whole crowd was fairly orderly, but this guy was definitely getting heckled.
12.
The views on gay marriage/equality have drastically shifted in the States in the past few years, with more and more Americans showing support. Some religious organizations have even advocated for the repeal of DOMA. My cab driver yesterday grew up in Eritrea but moved to Sweden as a teenager. He's highly religious and doesn't agree with the gay lifestyle. However, he believes they are entitled to equal rights and benefits. A really interesting guy. I will repeat what I always say, that you can learn a lot from cab drivers if you take the time to speak with them. They are almost all immigrants with very compelling life stories.
Personally, I don't understand people who hate merely on the basis of sexual orientation. People are people and all deserve the right to feel and be loved. What someone chooses to do in their bedroom has absolutely no impact on my life whatsoever, and I'll never understand the need to impede on others' happiness. If you're against gay marriage, don't do it. I'm not a religious person, but I'm not trying to shut down churches or prevent people from praying in public areas or restaurants. In the end, we're responsible for our own actions and must pay the consequences for our choices in life.
13.
I concur with this statement, but the government already has created a mess by defining "love" for consenting adults. Now the Supreme Court must decide how to clean it up.
And how is the gay community perceived in Russia? I don't recall seeing any rainbow flags and it's my impression this lifestyle is still considered taboo and generally not accepted in the country.
On Saturday I was invited to attend a read through of a play entitled "The River and the Mountain." The play itself is nothing remarkable, but its theme is worthy of discussion and very important to me. The story focuses on a gay Ugandan male trying to live in an extremely homophobic country. At one point, the Ugandan Parliament even heard arguments in support of a bill suggesting that all gays be executed. It became known in global legal circles as the "Kill the Gays" bill. The bill still has not passed and is ongoing revisions, with legal rights advocates demanding that the death penalty component be removed. In real life, the main character of the play was beaten to death.
I'm not a human rights lawyer, but I work with numerous charitable organizations to provide free legal assistance to asylum applicants persecuted in their home countries on the basis of sexual orientation or gender. In my mind there is no question that consenting adults should be free to love whom they choose. And how can "love" be defined or regulated? Yet every country, including America, tries to do so. Perhaps you've heard in the news that the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week in two monumental cases concerning gay rights. I took a quick trip to the Court yesterday to check out the scene.
1. The gentleman in the cover photo is a retired naval officer, waving the globally recognized rainbow flag in support of the community. He stood at the foot of the Supreme Court hoping for change, having faced his own life struggles as a gay serviceman at a time when gays weren't permitted to serve. In 2011, the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" law enacted during Bill Clinton's tenure was repealed, and today gays openly serve in all branches of the U.S. military. Here, a photo of the Supreme Court. More police than usual in the event the protests get out of control.
2. Capitol police.
3. So what's at issue in the cases? I don't want to go into a lengthy legal analysis but the most important case focuses on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996. DOMA defines "marriage" solely between a man and woman. Yet gay marriage currently is legal in DC and nine States (Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Washington and Vermont).
Why does it matter? Because DOMA restricts federal marriage benefits to same sex couples legally married in certain States. Such benefits include social security, tax and pension benefits, etc. There currently are more than 1,000 federal laws that confer benefits of some sort on married couples.
The case currently before the Supreme Court was filed by Edith Windsor, who legally married her lifelong love in New York in 2007. They had been together for 42 years prior to that. When her spouse died the U.S. government, acting under DOMA, required Windsor to pay $363,000 in estate taxes that she wouldn't have owed if her spouse was a male.
The main argument is that DOMA violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees ALL citizens equal protection of the law. I agree and I'm certain the U.S. Supreme Court will hold the law unconstitutional in its final ruling, which probably will not come until June or July. Even Bill Clinton, who signed the bill into law in 1996, advocates for its repeal. Obama also has voiced his opinion that DOMA is unconstitutional. This man agrees:
4. The crowd gathered at the Supreme Court was overwhelmingly supportive of the repeal.
5. What would be the reaction if a guy wore a rainbow coat emblazoned with the Russian flag on the streets of Moscow or some province?
6. The Supreme Court also heard arguments this week on "Proposition 8", the California ban on gay marriage. The legal issues for this case are more complex as they involve the interplay between federal and State law, so I will not go into a long explanation. If you're curious about it there are tons of excellent articles online dissecting all of the issues. However, I will say again that the crowd showed strong support for gay marriage.
7.
8.
9.
10. Both cases have received global attention and there are tons of news crews from all over the world covering the issues. I stood next to a guy doing a live broadcast for Al Jazeera.
11. Honestly I was surprised there weren't more religious zealots or right wing protesters supporting DOMA and traditional marriage. I saw only one man, wearing a microphone and shouting Bible verses. However, note in the photo that he's surrounded by people who totally disagree with his position. The whole crowd was fairly orderly, but this guy was definitely getting heckled.
12.
The views on gay marriage/equality have drastically shifted in the States in the past few years, with more and more Americans showing support. Some religious organizations have even advocated for the repeal of DOMA. My cab driver yesterday grew up in Eritrea but moved to Sweden as a teenager. He's highly religious and doesn't agree with the gay lifestyle. However, he believes they are entitled to equal rights and benefits. A really interesting guy. I will repeat what I always say, that you can learn a lot from cab drivers if you take the time to speak with them. They are almost all immigrants with very compelling life stories.
Personally, I don't understand people who hate merely on the basis of sexual orientation. People are people and all deserve the right to feel and be loved. What someone chooses to do in their bedroom has absolutely no impact on my life whatsoever, and I'll never understand the need to impede on others' happiness. If you're against gay marriage, don't do it. I'm not a religious person, but I'm not trying to shut down churches or prevent people from praying in public areas or restaurants. In the end, we're responsible for our own actions and must pay the consequences for our choices in life.
13.
I concur with this statement, but the government already has created a mess by defining "love" for consenting adults. Now the Supreme Court must decide how to clean it up.
And how is the gay community perceived in Russia? I don't recall seeing any rainbow flags and it's my impression this lifestyle is still considered taboo and generally not accepted in the country.