Lets Go On Vacation or Marriage and the Constitution

I came across an article awhile back which kind of struck me as interesting.  It's something I knew, but really didn't know why, but remembered learning about it in school. probably in 7th or 8th grade, when we studied the constitution.  The article references Article 4 Section 1 of the United States Constitution, or otherwise known as the Full faith and credit law. 

Section 1.
Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Section 2.
The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.

This was put into our Constitution, by our fore fathers for the sole reason, to unify our nations laws. It recognizes that there are numerous jurisdictions involved in just about every aspect of our nation, ie:federal, state, county, city, and that each jurisdiction may have different laws, but basically says that if a judicial proceeding happens in one jurisdiction then that proceeding is recognized in another jurisdiction.

Think about how much of a hassel it would be if your drivers license wasn't accepted out of your home state. (wife)Honey where are we going on vacation this year? (you)Well I'm licensed in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Delaware. (Kids) we want to go to Disney world. (you)We can't go to Disney world, because I only have a weeks vacation, and I have to get 5 drivers licenses, Divorce your mother, and marry your step mom in 5 states and each one will take at least a day to do.(kids) We don't want to go to Easton's Beach againnnnnn, (you) well kids it's either that or I get a drivers license divorce your mom, and marry your step mother in Massachusetts, and we can do the freedom trail in Boston, Oooorrrrrr we do a sta-cation, in the back yard.....(kids)aaallllllllllll right, lets do the beach againnnnnn.

Do you see how absurd that is?  How is it though when it comes to gay marriage, this law seems to not apply?  With few exceptions, if you are married in a state that performs same sex marriages, that marriage is not recognized in the other states, as well as by the federal government. Until the Supreme Court struck down all laws banning interracial marriage in 1967, a number of states banned interracial marriage and did not accept interracial marriage certificates issued in other states.  Is this where we are today, 1966?  Almost 50 years later and were still "banning interracial marriage's" not literaly, but figuratively. Are we that stupid, that were going to allow our government to continue this? I bet everyone reading this knows at least one interracial married couple, and is probably even good friends with them. Would you go out and protest against their right to be married or support denying their right to be married, because "your state doesn't allow interracial marriage"? Or even better, in the 60's black men were murdered because they were living with or were married to white women. How about we go back to that?

In my opinion, who you marry, shouldn't be a Liberal or a Conservative, Democrat or Republican issue.  It should be a personal issue.  If I want to spend the rest of my life by myself so be it.  If I want to marry a man, so be it. If I want to marry a woman good for me. But the issue comes down to being true to yourself, if your attracted to someone of the same sex, even if you marry a person of the opposite sex, your still attracted to people of the same sex, you might be able to put aside for awhile, but at some point its going to come to the surface, and at that point most likely it's going to involve others besides yourself, probably in a very negative way.

For myself, growing up in the 60's and 70's in a small farming community, I never even heard the word gay until I was out of high school. I didn't even look at it as applying to me. I had fooled around with a couple of guys I went to school with, but they both had girl friends, and I liked girls, I just thought that was what you did, mess around with your friends, then you get married, have kids, and live your life, I thought that was what everyone did.  I spent 20 years in a marriage that really didn't work. 10 of those years cheating on her. I was in denial about who I was. After we were divorced, I continued to fool around with guys as well as dating women, none of them but one knew I had an attraction to men.  Finally in my last relationship with a women, I realized I liked women for the company, but not the intiment or sexual part. As long as it was hanging out doing things, it was all good, but as soon as it turned sexual, and she wanted more of a relationship....I wanted to run the other direction.

Gay and Republican

I've been listening to the radio and television quite abit the last few weeks, and something that I keep hearing repeated by numerous hosts, on the current political forefront, is if your LGBT, and your voting republican then your an "Uncle Tom", as in being gay but taking sides with the enemy. I heard one radio host on XM saying when he came out to his parents a few years ago, they had always been staunch republicans, and he told them that if they continued to vote republican it was the same as voting against him, as they were supportive of him and his boyfriend.

I take offense to this notion.  Number 1, in my opinion being LGBT, is not and should not be in the political realm.  I'm gay.  Maybe your gay, maybe your straight, or somewhere in between.  It doesn't matter. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean, that I believe in liberal fiscal policies, the welfare state, and taking from the rich to give to the poor (wealth re-distribution), gun control, and most of the other planks in the Democratic platform.  What I do mean is that, yes the Republican party is against gay rights, but for the most part the rest of the platform I agree with.  Do I like it, that they don't support my rights as a human being? No, but that is one of the give and take areas, I choose to give on. 

I doubt that everyone in the Republican party agrees with every plank, and the same with the Democratic party as well. Hell I bet there are just as many Democrats who don't like the party supporting gay rights, as there are Republicans that don't like our party denying gay rights.  To me its almost like saying if your gay then you have to be a Democrat, and if your straight, then you have to be a republican.

No one is ever going to agree 100% with each other, were all different, and in being different, that is what makes us human.  As for me I will remain a Republican, but will try to change the way our party looks at us, by setting an example they can see in a positive way, not the example people see from so many in the LGBT community.  I have lots of friends who are Republican, straight, and know that I am gay, they don't have a problem with me or my partner, and feel that we are getting the shaft...no pun intended, and I believe that in a few short years our party will reverse their stance on gays.