Earth sucks.
Oct. 20th, 2009 08:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
megwritesIn case you hadn't heard about the case of a woman being denied the right to stay by her same-sex partner's deathbed, in which a court found in favor of the hospital that denied the woman's rights you can read "Ask Nicola: Trembling With Rage" to learn more. You can also see a clip of a news story that has aired about the case
This makes me beyond angry. Angry that people are denied basic civil rights because some people are freaked out about them.
It seems to me that the issue here is respect, and how respect is only flowing one way. The people who oppose equal marriage rights say they have a right to have their beliefs respected, to have their family units respected, to have their idea of marriage respected.
Yet they feel absolutely no obligation to respect anyone else's beliefs, family, or ideas of marriage. They feel no need to respect that other people's marriages aren't their goddamn business.
More than that, it makes me angry that even if certain states do the right thing and grant equal marriage rights, other states can completely deny those rights. There needs to be a federal, nation-wide, legally binding equal marriage act in which EVERYONE has the right to marry the partner of their choice and have that marriage respected.
There is no "reasonable people can disagree" on this issue. There are only those who believe in oppression and those who don't. You may not like same-sex couples, you may not like GLBT folks, but if you say that they should be denied legal rights then we have nothing to talk about. Because you're wrong. I don't care about your religion, your beliefs, your ethics, your morals, or how squicked out you are. You do not have the right to dictate someone else's rights according to your beliefs.
Colleen Lindsay has also done a great service by providing the phone number for Jackson Memorial Hospital where the woman was denied her rights. I would STRONGLY recommend calling and letting them know that this sort of thing is not acceptable - that all human beings deserve compassion, respect, and EQUAL RIGHTS.
This makes me beyond angry. Angry that people are denied basic civil rights because some people are freaked out about them.
It seems to me that the issue here is respect, and how respect is only flowing one way. The people who oppose equal marriage rights say they have a right to have their beliefs respected, to have their family units respected, to have their idea of marriage respected.
Yet they feel absolutely no obligation to respect anyone else's beliefs, family, or ideas of marriage. They feel no need to respect that other people's marriages aren't their goddamn business.
More than that, it makes me angry that even if certain states do the right thing and grant equal marriage rights, other states can completely deny those rights. There needs to be a federal, nation-wide, legally binding equal marriage act in which EVERYONE has the right to marry the partner of their choice and have that marriage respected.
There is no "reasonable people can disagree" on this issue. There are only those who believe in oppression and those who don't. You may not like same-sex couples, you may not like GLBT folks, but if you say that they should be denied legal rights then we have nothing to talk about. Because you're wrong. I don't care about your religion, your beliefs, your ethics, your morals, or how squicked out you are. You do not have the right to dictate someone else's rights according to your beliefs.
Colleen Lindsay has also done a great service by providing the phone number for Jackson Memorial Hospital where the woman was denied her rights. I would STRONGLY recommend calling and letting them know that this sort of thing is not acceptable - that all human beings deserve compassion, respect, and EQUAL RIGHTS.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-20 12:21 pm (UTC)