Prop 8 Protest in Milwaukee

I stood out in the cold on November 15th to join in the protest against Prop 8 and discrimination(Wisconsin has an amendment that bans gay marriage and civil unions). Unfortunately Kip had to work so I had to go alone, but I did put our picture on my protest sign that said "Our Love is Stronger than Your H8".



The organizer said there were 400 people there. I estimated about 200 and the article in the newspaper said "more than 200". There were a few speakers and we did some chanting.



The protest didn't last too long though because of the temperature(40 degrees) but after the bulk of the crowd had left 20-30 of us stayed after to stand in the median of the street for a couple of hours. We got a lot of supportive honks and I only saw one driver do a thumbs down sign and one driver slowed down and held a Bible up to the window. We all had a good laugh about that one. Interestingly two missionaries drove by. I found it fitting that they had a McCain/Palin bumper sticker on their car. Someone called out after them, "They lost!"

It felt really good to be out there with other people supporting the cause. I really want to be able to marry Kip legally one day. I hope I don't have to wait too long.

Election results

Let's start with the positive-Barack Obama is the new President! I am so happy and can hardly believe that we actually have a Democrat back in the White House. I'm confident that things will be better in this country, generally and for GLBT people. I'm hopeful for an end to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, passage of ENDA and the Matthew Shepard Act. Ad what a commanding victory! Indiana? Are you serious? I'm happy that it was Ohio that made it clear that Obama would win.

Other positive things as reported by HRC-A Democratic majority in the New York state senate bringing the possibility of same-sex marriage in New York. Connecticut didn't approve a constitutional convention(which could have made same-sex marriage illegal) and same-sex marriages begin next week. The Democrats have made major gains in the U. S. House and Senate as well.

Now for the negative-Obviously the biggest disappointment is that although No on 8 hasn't conceded it looks like Proposition 8 will pass. What was half of California thinking? Did No on 8 supporters stay home and not vote because Obama was clearly going to win? I am so angry with the Mormon church for what they did to help this pass. They need to stay out of political issues or at the very least not help spread lies in order to get their agenda passed. Constitutional bans on same-sex marriage were also passed in Arizona and Florida. It leaves me sickened that we still live in a society filled with such hate and discrimination. I'm tired of being marginalized by society.

Unfortunately my dad lost his Utah state House of Representative race by 60% to 40%. He was the best candidate by far and he worked so hard to get support. The only reason why he lost is because he was running as a Democrat in Utah County and the majority of people there think that voting Democrat is evil I'm convinced(again the fault of the Mormon church). My dad did get 4500 votes though so that's pretty impressive. Can you believe Chris Buttars was re-elected? I guess I shouldn't be surprised...after all it is Utah.

Maybe now I can get back to my normal sleep habits.

Another Word Perfect co-founder donates...unfortunately to Yes on Prop 8

Connexion.org reports that Alan Ashton of Utah recently donated a million dollars to Yes on Proposition 8. He was one of the co-founders of Word Perfect. I've been in his house when he lived in my grandparents neighborhood. His daughter was in my high school class. It's disgusting that this man would donate all this money to promote discrimination.

Another Word Perfect co-founder Bruce Bastian who is gay donated a million dollars to No on Prop 8. He lives in my parents neighborhood. I bet Ashton just wanted to negate his former business partner's donation. What a terrible person.

Countdown to the election

We are so close now, I can't believe it. Just a few more days left now. I can't hardly wait. I'm feeling pretty confident that Obama will win, though I don't want to jinx things. But the way the polls are going up to now it seems pretty clear that Obama is favored. I'm so happy that soon we'll will have a Democrat in the White House again. I'm feeling good that things will really change for the better in this country in the next four years especially with regards to the war in Iraq, health care and GLBT issues. I have a feeling we'll know Obama has one pretty early on in the night when he wins Virginia. I just hope that this doesn't keep the No on Prop 8 people from going to the polls. It really shouldn't though because Californians should be used to the fact that their electoral votes will go to the Democratic nominee no matter what anyways.

Now that I think the presidential race is all but over, my attention in these last few days is squarely on Proposition 8 in California. I am sick over this. I will be so disappointed and sad if Prop 8 passes. On the other hand I will be so happy if it fails. It will be such a great feeling knowing that the people of California support our rights and that we are accepted. It will be so amazing that we stood up to the Mormon church and won. If Proposition 8 fails it will help our cause so much throughout the country. I hope I'll be able to stay up on Election Day long enough to find out that Proposition 8 didn't pass and that same-sex couples will still be able to marry.

There are a lot of other exciting races I'll be following as well. Of course I'll be interested in the same-sex marriage bans in Arizona and Florida. I emailed my little sister in Arizona and asked her to vote no on Prop 102. Maybe she'll listen to me but it looks like this amendment will pass. The Florida amendment has to get 60% of the vote to pass so I'm hopeful that it will fail. I'll also be following my dad's Utah state legislature race. I think it'll be pretty hard for him to win as a Democrat in Utah County but a lot of people like him so we'll see. Maybe they'll but their silly superstitions about the Democratic Party to rest and realize he is the best candidate. I'll also be keeping track of the Senate races to see how many seats the Democrats can pick up. Hopefully two of those will be Senator Stevens and Senator Dole's seats. The Washington governor race is going to be a close one, a rematch of the really tight 2004 race. I think people might punish Gregoire for the way things are going since she is the incumbent. Also important is the Delaware governor race because when Joe Biden becomes vice president the governor will pick his successor, so it needs to be a Democratic governor to pick a Democratic replacement. I think the Democrat is favored though. Democrats are also favored to pick up the governorship in Missouri.

Other things of importance to watch: If Connecticut votes to have a constitutional convention, they may be able to add an amendment banning gay marriage which was recently legalized there. Also if New York gains two more democratic seats in the state legislature they will likely approve some sort of same-sex recognition.

It's going to be an exciting night on Nov. 4th. Here's hoping things turn out the way they should. GObama and No on Prop 8!