June 26th, 2013: Today is an interesting day; It is the tenth anniversary of Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003), wherein the Supreme Court threw out Texas’ and thirteen other states sodomy laws.  It is also the day that the Supreme Court overturned DOMA, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and annihilated the case against California’s Prop 8 by ruling that the plaintiff did not have standing.

You know, whether one agrees or disagrees with the idea of marriage equality, I don’t really see how anyone can think it is a good thing for governments to decide the legitimacy of marriage between consenting adults.  If a church doesn’t want to marry gay people, fine, whatever.  But that same church enforcing its beliefs on the entire country by engendering a political process which restricts people’s rights…how is that good?  Yeah, if that’s what you want, I have a list of countries you can move to…Iran is at the top.

DOMA was a bad law, and it’s a crying shame that it took this long for the Supreme Court to weigh in.  But, there is a process that is followed and it isn’t necessarily speedy.  After all, all DOMA did was prevent a single class of people from legalizing their relationships and gaining certain benefits we afford those who have entered into a legal marriage.  It did nothing, NOTHING to “Defend Marriage.”  First marriage success rates still hover in the 40-50% range.  DOMA did not a thing to address that.   It’s like having a firebase, in a war zone, and guarding only one side of it against a perceived – but in my opinion over-hyped threat.  While the Viet Cong, the Nazis, and the Jung Horde are assaulting the gates, your C.O. orders you to defend against “the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.”*

It is time to end all the bigotry, and I’m not talking about Paula Deen saying nigger once in a while – and yes, I used the word, why? Oh, I must be a racist? White boy from Pasadena, Texas must be a klansman.  Hell no, I grew up around those assholes out on Redbluff at their “bookstore” in their clown suits trying to recruit on the weekends.  Found them to be the very definition of ignorant redneck moron.  So no, I’m simply being intellectually HONEST… it’s a WORD people, just a fucking word…I find saying “The N-Word” to be stupid, dishonest, and ignorant and a hell of a lot more offensive than the legitimate, editorial or academic use of an offensive term.**  I actually stopped a class discussion once over people using “the N-word” in an academic setting, arguing that it was dishonest and stupid… like saying pee pee and hoo hoo in a sex-education class.  I find it much more offensive that certain elements, on a fairly regular basis try to edit it out of certain pieces of classic literature…as if that can somehow change history.  I find it EXCEEDINGLY offensive that some black preachers chose to stand with the bigots and even used many of the same arguments used to support miscegenation laws before Loving v. Virginia in 1967!***  FYI, Samuel Jackson seems to agree with me on how stupid “the N-word” is.  SAMUEL JACKSON. ****

NO, what I’m talking about are people who feel the need to restrict other people’s rights, people who are willing to use their political power, and their religious dogma to force their idea of what society should be on others and lying, telling half-truths, fabricating evidence to do so.  I’m talking about hating people for their minor, inconsequential differences.  I’m talking about fanaticism, and the evils associated with it.  Whether that be the political fanaticism of the Tea Party, the religious fanaticism of a terrorist or, Gods help us, Westboro “Baptist” “Church” (and yes, the quotes are intentional).  The arrogance of some people claiming to know Gods will… just astounding to me and an indication of their lack of intelligence and self-reflection.

So here we are, moving on.  Today, fifteen states recognize marriage equality.  One more than yesterday. There is a long ways to go, but today the Supreme Court removed at least a few roadblocks to progress towards true equality.  Given the importance of the decisions reached on this day, I think that June 26th should become as big a holiday for the LGBT community as any. In fact, I have created a petition at Whitehouse.gov requesting just that.  Go! Sign it! Forward this link to your friends, to your enemies, to strangers in the street.  We have a month from June 26, 2013 to get 100,000 signatures. Good luck to everyone!

Freedom and Equality Day Petition:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/freedom-and-equality-all-day/Y6ZQv3bW

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* With apologies to Gen. Jack D. Ripper

** I can’t recall the last time I used this word in casual conversation, I prefer the more generic and universal term Ignorant Asshat.  It works on all the idiots no matter what the color of their skin.

*** Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1

****And I’m sorry, when Samuel Jackson tells you to do something, motherfucker you do it!  Louis CK has a great skit on how “the N-Word” is just white people getting away with saying nigger.  I don’t disagree with him.  But this is a side issue; maybe I’ll do an article on “Things We Find Offensive, That Are Really Fucking Stupid, and I Don’t Care If You’re Offended Anyway.” I should probably shorten the title to something like, “Where In the Bill of Rights Does it Say You Have the Right to Not Be offended?”…that’s not really shorter, is it?  Oh well. Look, just don’t expect any overwrought apologies from me for not being culturally sensitive to stupidity.  I’ll just say that white, black, brown, yellow, green, purple; I don’t give a shit about the color of your skin, but I do care about the quality of your soul. If it’s a good soul, we can be friends, I could even possibly love you.  If it’s a shit soul, then you’re an ignorant asshat.  Deal with it.