(Long Island, NY) I have no idea what Arnold Schwarzenegger’s politics might be, aside from the fact that he is a Republican. I do know this–he came into politics out of the Hollywood system. I tell myself, chances are he’s much more liberal than he lets on. I don’t know and I don’t care. What I DO care about is California’s landmark Supreme Court decision declaring same-sex unions to be legal and constitutional. It is about damn time. Why shouldn’t people who want to get married do so? Conservatives argue that it’s about the sanctity of the wedding union and all that baloney–the same people who are often against abortion claiming the sanctity of human life.
Funny how those jackasses are nowhere to be found when it comes time to argue against the death penalty or the war in Iraq for the SAME EXACT REASON. But I digress.
Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
I think maybe Governor Schwarzenegger just might be a genius–if my assumptions about his liberal thinking are correct. There can be no doubt that at least some pro-gay activists consider Arnold an enemy of gay rights; according to the Associated Press Schwarzenegger vetoed two pieces of legislation that would have legalized same-sex unions. On its face, that seems to be pretty cut-and-dried antagonism towards gay marriage, right?
Not if Schwarzenegger vetoed those bills for one good reason—the fact that they could easily be overturned by a more conservative state government later on down the line. If the man some call the Governator wanted to force this issue into the California Supreme Court, shooting down those bills makes sense. After all, it would seem to require a far greater effort to snatch back the COURT GRANTED right to marry for gay people in love who want to be happy–OFFICIALLY happy.
Personally, I don’t know what all the fuss is about on either side—I always say it’s never too late to decide you aren’t going to get married and spoil everything. But if you WANT to get hitched and start having fights about who left the snotty handkerchief on the kitchen counter or who left the lid of the toilet seat up, go right ahead. Why should straight people have all the fun?
And why these bubble-headed conservatives (especially the ones who hide behind the skirts of God) can’t just live and let live I will never understand until I suck in my very last breath. Why do they waste our time trying to legislate morality? Since when did the “sanctity” of marriage become any of their business anyway? Oh, right—you have to bring Mister God into it and make about who gets to be miserable the longest.
Again, I digress. Check out this quote from the Associated Press. “Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has twice vetoed legislation that would have granted marriage to same-sex couples, said in a statement that he respected the court’s decision and “will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.”
That sounds like someone who had this in mind all along. Arnold knows it will take an act of Herculean stupidity to go and try to overturn this ruling. Not to say that brain-addled organizations like the conservative Alliance Defense Fund haven’t already started flexing their big, dumb muscles. Again I quote from AP. “We’re obviously very disappointed in the decision. The remedy is a constitutional amendment. The constitution defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.” That according to Glen Lavy, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, by way of AP.
I must confess to being shamefully ignorant of what our beloved Constitution says about this matter…can somebody PLEASE point out to me where the Constitution says “All are created equal, except for those gay people. Screw them!”
The Alliance Defense Fund won’t listen. They are too busy trying to cram their ideas down the rest of our necks, Taliban-style. If this bunch went out into the desert and stopped shaving, chances are you couldn’t tell the two groups apart by much. Just like the Taliban, this bunch wants you to believe that you must color ONLY INSIDE THE LINES or Mister God will get VERY IRATE.
I am tired of having to endure organizations like the Alliance Defense Fund reminding me every second of the day that there’s a group of people in America who want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all–except for this one group of people over here. See them? They’re GROSS! They’re doing things WE DON’T UNDERSTAND! They probably even eat RAW FISH.
It’s a damn good thing we have people like Schwarzenegger, who show up knowing how to play the game, refuse to take the easy route and dig in for the long haul. Of course, I could be all wrong. Maybe he DIDN’T have a plan, maybe I am so clueless about California politics that people there who might stumble across this screen are peeing their pants with laughter at the very idea. But I really want to think that this guy had ulterior motives and that they’ve finally come to fruition.
Otherwise, it’s just business as usual, right?
I really hope California manages to hang on and defeat the conservatives in any attempt to thwart this. Schwarzenegger might one day be viewed as the LBJ of gay rights, and that would not be a bad thing at all.
