After a long day of meetings in preparation of lobbying, my husband, Glen Retief, takes a little cat nap.
Yesterday as I joyfully toiled away at editing episode 29 of Climate Stew, the Supreme Court of the United States passed down a ruling that made marriage equality the law of the land in all 50 states. When I emerged from my study, my husband, Glen Retief, turned to me and said:
I can’t keep up with the anniversary list! June 24, meeting at Friends General Conference. July 21, Quaker wedding. April 23, domestic partner contract. September 13, legal wedding in Lake Huntington. And now finally June 26, all 50 states.
I suggested loved ones can help us continually celebrate our various anniversaries by signing us up for Harry & David’s Fruit of the Month club.
I stood in front of the Supreme Court this week knowing that the court was about to rule; I assumed good news. It is about time–past time. So much energy, money, time, effort has gone into this moment. I am very very grateful to all of the people–LGBTQ activists, straight allies, affirming church folk, lawmakers, and those in the media who contributed to this moment in history. Rejoicing and thanksgiving are in order.
Just like our Capitol building here in the USA, LGBTQ rights and issues still need a lot of work.
But once the confetti settles and we wash off all the glitter, then what? This is a huge win, but marriage discrimination has by no means been the only issue making life hard for LGBTQ people. We still have work to do. To name a few:
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LGBTQ youth homelessness
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Employment non-discrimination in all 50 states
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The plight of transgender immigrants and inmates
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LGBTQ senior citizen issues
Then there is the Queerest Issue of them all: Climate Change. No seriously, I see Climate Change as an issue that desperately needs attention from LGBTQ people, in part because of how we can think outside the box. We also have a unique set of skills to face crisis and experience in doing so. We also need to consider that LGBTQ not only are affected by climate change, but in some ways are affected more than non-LGBTQ people. I know it sounds weird. But the way the world is set up it almost seems that climate change is racist, sexist, classist, and possibly even anti-LGBTQ. So there is work to do.
Here I stand in front of the Supreme Court musing over my own person queer agenda and my next steps as a super married gay man.
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