}

Friday, May 29, 2009

Marriage equality buffet

More and more videos that illustrate different aspects of the marriage equality debate are popping up on YouTube. So, I thought today I’d show three of my favourites among recent videos.

First up, one of my favourite folks on YouTube, Rob Tisinai. This is actually the third of his videos I’ve posted, and he’s deserved every one of those postings. He puts thing better than any blogger I know.



Next is the latest video from YouTuber Keith Hartman, who’s launched a series of videos to educate people about what the opponents of marriage equality aren’t saying: What their insistence on forcing their religion on everyone else would lead to.



Finally, “’Fidelity’: Join the Movement to Repeal Prop 8”, the latest commercial from the CourageCampaign seeking to restore marriage equality in California. A short video, it quickly calls out some of the arguments used by the opponents of marriage equality. Marriage equality will be restored to California sooner, rather than later.

4 comments:

Mark said...

Thanks for those links. Those videos are spot on. I especially love robtish's video. I'm surprised he hasn't had more views. I love how calm and rational he is. If I were making a video directed at the homophobes I would be screaming.

Arthur Schenck said...

The robtish videos often says what I wish I'd said. But I'm with you, I just couldn't remain calm when talking with the far right!

Sandra said...

I didn't realise until recently that in the US, a Civil Union was an option for same (or opposite) sex couples. In NZ same sex couples can opt for a civil union - but we don't seem (at least from what I can tell) to have as much controversy here in terms of marriage vs civil union as there is in the US. Why is our gay community (seemingly) vocalising less concern about whether they are married or whether they are 'unionised'. Why is the US gay community pursuing marriage equality when ours don't appear to be? Thoughts?

Arthur Schenck said...

Thanks, Sandra.

Marriage equality matters in the US because each state recognises marriage and, arguments over definitions aside, they all know what it means.

Some states have an alternative structure—civil unions, domestic partnerships, etc—but the definition varies widely from state to state. Because there's no standard definition, the benefits aren't transferable from state to state. Plus, some states just operate a registry with no benefits at all, while in others it's more like New Zealand—marriage in all but name. Some states have even expressly outlawed any legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

So, a couple in a civil union in one state may have no recognition or fewer benefits if they move to another state. Currently, fewer than ten states recognise same-sex marriages performed in other states, but ultimately they'll all have to due to the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the US Constitution (which requires states to recognise each others' official acts, like marriages). A Supreme Court victory is probably 10-25 (or maybe even more than 40) years away.

People don't fight over the word in New Zealand because Civil Unions convey the rights and privileges of marriage, but that doesn't mean that marriage equality is off the agenda here—it's just not a priority.

New Zealand society is evolving quickly, from the black-shirted fundamentalists marching against the bill in 2004, the country has now grown used to civil unions. Most people I know call it "marriage", they say that a same-sex couple in a civil union is "married" and they call the ceremony a "wedding", even though, legally, none of that is true. So I think that full marriage equality in New Zealand is inevitable, and sooner rather than later.

Many people assume that the fight over the word is simply that "separate but equal" is unjust. While it's certainly unjust, it's far more basic: Forbidding same-sex couples to marry says that no matter what, their relationship will never be as good or as "real" as a heterosexual's, including Britney Spears' 55-hour marriage. That's unjust and wrong on its face, and declaring some citizens to be less equal than others is even worse.

So, one day both the US and New Zealand will have full marriage equality. If I was to put money on which country has full national recognition first, I'd say New Zealand by at least a decade.

If any of that wasn't clear, just ask!