Gay Marriage
My home state Iowa legalized gay marriage! According to the Des Moines Register, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled that "We are firmly convinced that the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important government objective... The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification." In addressing the religious debate over same-sex marriage, the court said, "Our constitution does not permit any branch of government to resolve these types of religious debates and entrusts to courts the task of ensuring that government avoids them... This approach does not disrespect or denigrate the religious views of many Iowans, ... but considers, as we must, only the constitutional rights of all people, as expressed by the promise of equal protection for all." The court's ruling took effect April 24. Hooray for Iowa.
I'm still saddened by last November's passing of state constitutional amendments that deny loving, committed couples from marrying and that California's Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of Proposition 8. Hopefully that will change as it is changing with six states now allowing gay marriage: Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire. And New York recognizes marriages from other states.
What I want to know is this: How does my marriage, or anyone's marriage, affect someone else's? How can it weaken or lessen one's commitment to another? Is marriage that fragile? What is so frightening that a seemingly warm-hearted, well-intentioned, caring people should be so cruel to their brothers and sisters?
Marriage is a legal civil status that conveys certain legal privileges. Among these are lower taxes by filing jointly, automatic rights of inheritance and survivorship, next of kin issues, the right of a spouse not to testify against a spouse, to name only a few. How is denial of gay marriage any different, any less wrong, than the denial of bi-racial marriages of the past? To deny these and other legal privileges to a particular class of committed couples seems to me to violate equal protection rights in the U.S. Constitution. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed.
Amendments and laws that deny equal protection for everyone must always be overturned. I don't understand how it could be otherwise.
As Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson said: "The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities... and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the court... (F)undamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections."
jxi
Rape
Rape is a horror, a crime against humanity. It assassinates the soul; destroys its victims over and over for much, if not all, of their lives. It should never be questioned whether rape is a capital crime. Rape is THE capital crime. The Supreme Court is wrong. Too many states' laws are wrong.
In some countries, different cultures, rape is an instrument of war, of genocide. And even there, the perpetrators are rarely put to death; because the victims are perceived in some perverted way to be at fault—to have aided and abetted their ravaging, and are therefore shunned, less likely to marry. Victims are never, ever, at fault.
And here, our society has its own perverse double standard. On the one hand, we tell people that if they are raped, don’t fight back, don’t do anything that might cause the rapist to want to kill them. Then, when they must testify at trial, a defense scumbag asks, “why didn’t you scream? why didn’t you fight?” implying that it is somehow the victim's fault. Victimizing the victim again. What crap! Death may be final, but rape is a constant hell.
[If you've been raped, no matter when, or know someone who has, contact the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline. Someone's always there to help, 24/7]
jxi
Breast Reduction
I never asked to be built like an unmilked Guernsey. Big breasts have been a pain and distraction most of my life. Where's the attraction, the allure? All I get out of it is a bad back, expensive bras and cheap leers. Men may like looking at big breasts, but they don't have to wear them. Not that I'm looking for a man anyway.
Besides, as soon as I've saved enough, I'm unloading my double-H albatross for a much pleasanter, and comfortable, C cup, or, better yet, a B. But saving enough can be a problem too. Being an independent private detective isn't all profit and getting rich. Far from it. And my current insurance won't cover the reduction mammaplasty I crave, so I'll just have to keep putting what I can into my "boob" fund.
jxi
