“The separation of church and state is a legal and political principle derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .” The phrase “separation of church and state”, which does not appear in the Constitution itself, is generally traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, where Jefferson spoke of the combined effect of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. It has since been quoted in several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court.”
Thomas Jefferson had more integrity than most government officials do today. There is no place in government for church. It is to be a place where laws and bills are made. It is a place where IMPORTANT decisions are made for the country. Unfortunately, all the wrong decisions seem to be made lately. The equal rights of one are taken away because government officials are thinking and talking with religion in mind.
One has to put a stop to religion in government or more rights can be taken away from the entire company. How would you like it if someone told you that you enjoy a few drinks after work, therefore, you are not fit to be a parent or because you follow a different religion that is not something everyone approves of so you can no longer practice that religion or be a parent?
Gay adoption is just the same. Kids that are raised by gay parents do very well in the world and they do not “turn out” gay because they have loving gay parents. Since a Florida judge overruled Florida’s gay adoption ban, some feel a need to make it a state law of the state constitution. What will this do to the children that need loving homes?
The people that will suffer are the kids. These kids are placed with families that want to raise them and love them. The kids are the ones that need special care and love. The kids that gay people get to foster or adopt are the ones that no one else has the time for.
Here is a video of what the Arkansas Amendment will do to gay and straight couples or singles wanting to adopt or foster children. You need to stop this amendment to protect everyone. You might have a grandchild or a foster child you love so dearly and you will never be able to adopt if you are single or have a live in partner. This affects everyone. You must not vote for this amendment.
Although one case has been won against Florida’s gay adoption ban, there are still many cases to go. Just because one person won his case does not cause the same ruling to be good for the next couple. The court has a few other cases that need to be heard. It seems as if other cases where gay parents want to adopt will have to take the case to court to have the same ruling.
The cases should see a ruling overturning gay adoption bans, but that does not say that people or officials are not going to try to ban gay adoptions again. Florida is in for a long bumpy ride, but there should be enough people to keep gay adoptions open to gay persons. Florida has a ban against gays adopting since 1977. Mississippi is the only other state to have a gay adoption ban.
For the last five years, gay and lesbian couples have marched across the New York Brooklyn Bridge in hopes of New York passing a bill that would recognize same sex marriages. Although the bill has passed the New York Assembly, it still has to be passed by the mostly dominated Republican Senate. Governor David Paterson was instrumental in presenting the bill to the Assembly.
Paterson believes that same sex couples that marry in other states or countries should be recognized in New York as being a legally married couple. The Senate just needs to vote on this bill for it to go into the law books. Will the Republicans agree with Paterson and the Assembly or will they once again shoot down equal rights for all.
The wedding march across the Brooklyn Bridge will continue every year until New York reaches an agreement that same set couples should have equal rights that other married couples have. Although Paterson backs a bill recognizing same sex marriages, he may be the only one. The state of New York needs to agree to vote the bill into law so that their citizens can count.
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A Circuit Court judge has ruled the gay adoption ban unconstitutional and has issued an order that will permit an openly gay foster father to adopt a teen that has been in his care since 2001. The judge concurred that the adoption would be in the best interest of the teen boy.
Judge David Audlin, Jr. has said that banning gay and lesbians from adoption in Florida is against the constitution because it is singling out a certain group of people for punishment. The only other state to forbid gay adoption is Mississippi. This is not the first time the ban was deemed inappropriate in Florida. The two other cases were in 1991.
There is another gay adoption to be heard in circuit court in Miami next month that could prove to be another challenge of the same law.
In the case before Judge Audlin is a boy with learning disabilities who is thirteen years old. He has been in the care of a now fifty-two year old man since 2001. The Department of Children and Families placed the boy with his foster father. Judge Audlin made the foster father legal guardian of the boy back in 2006.
The boy testified that he wanted his foster dad to be his forever dad just like other kids have. The boy said that he loved his dad and that was why he wanted to be adopted. A home visit by social workers revealed a loving and nurturing home by the foster father and his life partner. The social service worker recommended that the father be allowed to adopt.
The recent polls done in Florida are not predicting what some lobbyists have hoped. It is looking more like a landslide in favor of leaving the current marriage law the way it is. The current marriage law in Florida does not define marriage as being between a man and a woman. The vote on November 4 would define marriage between a man and a woman and prevent the recognition of gay marriages.
The way the polls are going, it looks like more people are not going to vote to change the current marriage law. This means that the current law would remain. This would be a step forward for the state of Florida, known as the anti-gay state. The people seem to oppose defining the marriage law. Florida should listen to the people and stop fighting against gay marriage and gay families.
Not to long ago, a lesbian couple were preparing for a family vacation with their kids when one partner became ill and was hospitalized. The hospital denied the other partner visitation with her partner who died as a result of the illness. This sparked a new concern for residents of Florida. The lawsuit filed would show people that a family is a family and the woman should have been allowed to visit her partner and she should have been told about updates on her condition. They had kids together.
Maybe people of Florida have read the story about this horrible injustice and have had enough. Maybe they feel an injustice was done and never want to see it happen again. As of today, the polls are still saying that Florida residents will not vote the marriage amendment into law. This is good for everyone, not just Florida. People are starting to realize there is no winning in the fight to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to be happy and recognized as a family unit.
Gay adoption is a gay issue that will continue to create talk and heated discussions. Why is it that gay couples who have everything to offer are not considered fit parents. If you look at some of the parents in this world, a child would be blessed to have a parent that can love them and teach them acceptance and right from wrong. Isn’t it better to have a parent that loves a child rather than an alcoholic, drug abuser or an abuser in general. Not all straight parents are loving to their children. Many parents teach hate and see no problem with this way of parenting.
Gay marriage is another hot issue. Why do people insist that their straight marriage will mean less if gay couples get married. The only way a straight marriage can mean less is if they screw it up themselves. This means cheating, abusing, swinging and lack of communication. If a straight person has a marriage that is strong, they stay married, if not, they divorce. Gay couples will have no impact on the meaning of a straight person’s marriage.
Hate crimes towards gay people is another gay issue. Why is it that people that are straight think that they can beat or kill someone because they are different from them? This topic has never been addressed the right way. Why do straight people feel they have the right to harm someone that is gay? Who taught them that gays should be beat or killed?
Since I did say that we had to keep religion out of this conversation, there are no answers to these issues.
Although this happened a while ago, it is still important that everyone realizes the stupidity and discrimination of anyone whether they are gay or not. Just advertising a website called lesbian.com on her shirt got a young woman ejected from a Los Angeles courthouse by a private security guard. He said the shirt was inappropriate and kicked her out. Her mother called Los Angeles police and complained and the girl was allowed into the courthouse. The police said that they would contact the security guards employer and have the matter taken care of.
The Family Institute of Massachusetts will not collect signatures to appeal the ban lifted on out of town gay marriages because they feel that they would not win anyway. If they had collected enough signatures, the law would have been voted on in the 2010 vote for that state. This means that the new law stands. Same sex partners from out of state can marry in Massachusetts.
The courts of New York say that Governor David Paterson was within his right as a governor to issue the order making it mandatory for government agencies to recognize same sex marriages preformed in other states or countries such as Canada. The State Supreme Court justice Lucy Billings upheld the ruling that Paterson was within his right to issue such an executive order.
This means that people living in New York who marry in Canada, Massachusetts or California as well as any other state that may allow same sex marriages, are a married couple in New York, their home state. A suit was filed in June opposing the order and the court has upheld the ruling that would ban same sex marital status for New York residents.
New York Governor David Paterson is working with his state to make it possible for same sex couples that marry to receive the same status of heterosexual married couples. His stand on equal rights for married same sex couples should be applauded and not opposed.
Judge Lucy Billings said with confidence, “When partners manifest the commitment to their relationship and family, by solemnizing that commitment elsewhere, through one of life’s most significant events, and come to New York, whether returning home or setting down roots, to carry on that commitment, nothing is more antithetical to family stability than requiring them to abandon that solemnized commitment.”
Congratulation New York and Judge Billings and David Paterson on moving forward into the twenty-first century.
Could you imagine if there was no discrimination, hate and politics for just one day? The world would be such a nice place to live. It would be a beautiful day in the neighborhood. People would smile and say hello to everyone they meet. Hand gestures would be a wave of kindness and not something hateful. Politics would seize to be heard and life would revolve around love and peace. Gays, heterosexuals, blacks, whites and every being on earth would mingle and mix with society and be accepted.
There would not be one word about anti-this or anti-that. There would not be a bad word said about the way people live or what people do. A day without politics would be peaceful and enjoyable. No one could say a bad word about anyone or anything. There would not be any discussing about marriage or pregnancies. There would not be anything said about boycotts or God. People would go about there days with joy.
A day without politics would be a picnic in the sun. Everyone would be talking about his or her families and how much fun they have. People would be talking about upcoming social events and gatherings instead of watching television to see what he said, she said.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see everyone getting along without discrimination and hate towards everyone who is different? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a day without politics and so much turmoil?
