No, you can’t marry your partner, but you can marry your cousin in 27 states
Well, today a bill that would have legalized marriage for gay couples in New Jersey failed in the state Senate.
Disgustingly, there were reports of cheering from the balcony in the chamber when the announcement was made.
Because if there’s one thing to cheer for, it’s denying human beings their civil rights. I’m pretty sure something to that effect is written in the Constitution.
If you want to see something that will really make your eyes bleed, check out this helpful illustration:
So sorry, Dwight Panozzo and his partner of 21 years, who hoped they too could share in the rights afforded to heterosexual New Jersyans. You’d have better luck if you were blood relatives.
But I want to offer some good news, too. Portugal is set to legalize gay marriage tomorrow. Also, President Obama appointed a transgendered woman, Amanda Simpson, to the Commerce Department, making her perhaps the first-ever transgender appointment in a U.S. presidential administration.
In an endearingly real moment, Simpson said in response to her fears of being called a “token” appointment, “being the first sucks.”
It sure does, but someone has to do it. Baby steps.
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Wow…first cousins in nearly all the original 13 states…how did they miss that in the constitution?
I think that marriage between cousins was common practice even in the late 18th century. We hadn’t gotten to the DNA effect in science yet. Look through history where royalty had genetically related marriages to keep power in the right hands (the family) and you’ll see some craziness in the regimes. Maybe this accounts for the cheers from the balcony?
Nice that VT, MA, CT, and NJ go both ways! So fun that Iowa has its act together, as long as Steve King and his ilk don’t succeed.
In response to another comment. See in context »Allison…the right to bear arms is written into the Constitution…..why should we have to get permission from the government every time we want to buy a gun….?
Hmm. And andylevinson just said elsewhere:
“A lot of stupid things are Constitutional”
http://trueslant.com/rickungar/2010/01/07/cornhusker-compromise-constitutional/#comment-3564
In response to another comment. See in context »…that’s right…if you want to marry your boyfriend, you shouldn’t have to ask the government for permission…..gays getting married should be like buying guns….non- government interference?
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] the heels of the people of New Jersey voting to not legalize same-sex couples, this map was posted on True/Slant and a few other [...]
God, what a depressing point. But go Portugal!
And yet, their civil union rights remain exactly the same, granting them the same legal rights as any married couple. So I’m pretty sure, Allison, that homosexuals’ civil rights are still protected as per the Constitution. So what’s the fuss about?
Besides, the divorce rate in this country is over 50%-again, what’s the big deal being made over this?
Turning that argument on its head, if they already have all the rights of a civil union, why not let them get married? What’s the big deal? Also, maybe I’m wrong but I don’t believe gays’ rights are protected in the constitution, are they?
In response to another comment. See in context »Not unless you think “the pursuit of happiness” or “liberty” means marrying the one you love.
In response to another comment. See in context »Oh wait, I get it. The point of this article wasn’t to say you thought gay people should be able to get married, but rather you thought we needed to change the laws to no longer allow first cousins to marry. I get it now. Sorry, I was confused before. But I agree, first cousins shouldn’t be allowed to get married-that’s just gross. They’re kin!
You could always move to Portugal. And they have free medical care as a bonus, which might be even more important than a piece of paper that endorses an opinion of what constitues marriage.
By the way, marriage to cousins of the same sex is not allowed in those states, so only marriage to half of your cousins is allowed.
Great discovery! Kind of depressing — though not wholly surprising — that my birth state of Indiana is among the states that allow first-cousin marriage.
Re. Simpson: I always liked the phrase, “First one gets the arrow, second one gains the castle.”
True. Very true.
In response to another comment. See in context »When homosexual’s decided as a group that we truly want the right to marriage, when we truly get serious about it, it will happen.
We have the Clout, We have the Money and the Power.
You know that saying, “Trenton makes, the world takes”? It’s more like Trenton screws up, the world makes up.