Loving and loving

This week marks the fortieth anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia decision, in which Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws were struck down. It seems obvious nowadays that there is no good reason to prohibit members of different "races" from marrying. After all, as we probe into understanding the human genome, we have come to the inescapable conclusion that race is a purely artificial construct.

Also, June is Gay Pride Month. So it seems like the perfect time to talk about marriage equality!

I always end up in a state of awe when I read the insights of the ever-brilliant Terrance of The Republic of T on just about any topic he sets his mind to. His posts on gay marriage are no exception. Of course, the topic is near and dear to his heart, as he is a gay man. But he still has the remarkable ability to remove himself from the equation and examine both the motives of the gay community in desiring marriage equality and the motives of those who oppose legalizing his relationship with his true love, just because they have the same equipment between their legs. (Those are just two of his many amazing posts.)

It's depressing to think that because of their rigid viewpoints, intolerant people are trying to prevent someone from having their loved one at their side when they're on their deathbed, costing taxpayers money by not allowing gays to adopt children out of the costly foster care system or boosting the economy by a cool billion dollars by allowing same-sex marriages, forcing people to, as Terrance so eloquently puts it, "settle for their second-best life,"etc. These people repudiate their own humanity when they deny the existence of true love, just because the lovers in question share similarities in their reproductive system.

I was talking to my younger sister about her future the other day. She will soon graduate with a doctorate in Religious Studies, and she'll be on the job market. I was asking her where she'd like to end up, and I was saddened to realize that if she does what's best for herself, Anne, and any children they might end up having, it won't be anywhere near me.

In Virginia, where she lives, they voted in a new law, prohibiting same-sex marriage from ever even considering being valid in Virginia, even if the marriage is valid elsewhere. My own state is no better, with 80% of the voter turnout showing its ugly, bigoted side by supporting a measure almost as vile as that enacted in Virginia. If it were only our two states complicit in denying people's rights! Alas, it is not. They are but two of the latest casualties to homophobia.

Yes, I am angry. There is no room in this society for bigoted homophobes to ruin the lives of decent people. Tennessee badly needs an influx of creative, dynamic, energetic people to revitalize its economy, pay for needed improvements to its infrastructure, and improve its educational system. But bigoted measures like anti-marriage-equality amendments only repel people the very people we need!

And I'm not just talking about gay people. Until there's a critical mass of diversity, it will be hard to attract anyone who doesn't fit into the white, "Christian" mold. Only the strongest (or perhaps the craziest) misfits will be brave enough to inhabit this state. I am one of them and I'm not going anywhere. This is my home and I have a right to it. And if I wait long enough, I know that rational thought and decency will prevail.

Some insights I have gained from Terrance have given me hope. In particular, he talked about what made the Loving v. Virginia ruling possible. Quoting from this Washington Post article that Terrance cites in his most recent post on the topic,

"Nowadays everyone agrees that bans on interracial marriages are unconstitutional, and even if they weren't, few people would support them. But Loving illustrates something important about the evolution of constitutional law.... At one point, [anti-miscegenation, segregation laws, and discrimination against women] were seen as legitimate reflections of the world, not as invidious attempts to impose inequality. When the court held these practices unconstitutional, it was neither enforcing a rule that had existed since 1868 nor creating a new rule. It was recognizing that social attitudes had shifted, and with them the understanding about what is reasonable and what is invidious."

So maybe we are currently in the depressing middle installment of the gay-marriage saga trilogy. Maybe at this moment, The Empire Strikes Back, but soon, we will mark The Return of the Jedi. Public opinion is shifting towards agreeing that love can bloom in all places, even between two members of the same sex.