My First Activism

274 words.

I’ve never been much of a political activist, but this Marshall/Newman Amendment proposal here in Virginia annoys me. You know, the one that supposedly amends the Virginia constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

I actually think this is a more important vote than the one for Senator. If it were just about defining marriage, I wouldn’t be so annoyed (though I still wouldn’t vote for it, since gay marriage is already illegal in Virginia, activist judges are a conservative myth, and I don’t like government nosing into the citizenry’s private affairs). However, this proposed amendment is intentionally worded very deceptively, such that it will most likely affect anyone who isn’t married — gay, straight, young, old, black or white. Without even getting into the issue of gay rights, disguising a sweeping change to the legal status of so many people behind a seemingly straightforward gay marriage amendment is a reprehensible breach of public trust, and for that reason I would ask any Virginians reading this to please consider voting against it. (See, I’m such a bad activist that I have to ask politely. :)

I’m going to put a little unobtrusive blurb about it in my signature line until November, and I’ll also be putting some blurbs at the top of my page. For the record, nobody is paying me, I’m not paying anybody else, and I have no connection whatsoever with any lobbying groups. If you’re interested, the Commonwealth Coalition page has some good summaries on the “extra” ramifications of the amendment.

Thomas Krehbiel writes The Krehbiel Strikes Back, a moderate commentary on news, media, politics, and culture.

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