I'm just your average Thundercats ho' ([info]misplacedmind) wrote,
@ 2008-11-05 14:45:00
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Current mood: disappointed

I'm happy about Obama winning, yadda yadda yadda. Historic day blah blah.


NOW!

WHAT THE FUCK, CALIFORNIA?!?!?!

I am so unutterably annoyed right now. It's like the country took one step forward, and two steps back. How can two - TWO! - states that voted for the Democratic presidential candidate ALSO have voted in initiatives to ban gay marriage?? Oh, and CA. Ugh. This back and forth thing is so damned frustrating!


THIS is what I don't understand about all of these constitutional amendments to define marriage as between a man and a woman:

Marriage, in most - if not all - religions is a *sacrament.* Right? Now, in the U.S., even things that are otherwise illegal are often legal when they are religious sacraments. If I understand it correctly, that is. If Native Americans can smoke peyote sacramentally, and Rastafarians can smoke marijuana in a religious context, then shouldn't it also be protected for anyone who is allowed &/or encouraged by their church to get married, to be able to do so? With absolutely NO secular penalties? Meaning, they should be able to enjoy all secular benefits applied to the term elsewise?

I don't know. I was thinking about that today. I'm no lawyer or anything, but wtf, srsly. You can't amend your damned state constitution to PREVENT people from participating in their religious sacraments (unless people are being ACTUALLY harmed - I'm pretty sure Satanists can't sacrifice babies, hehehe!)


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[info]weemadharold
2008-11-05 11:30 pm UTC (link)
As far as I'm aware Rastafarians cannot legally posess marijuana. There's a church which is allowed to use ayahuasca, and of course the Native American Church can use peyote (incidentally, I'm pretty sure peyote is never smoked, always eaten), but it's largely because these are relatively small-scale that they've had legal success. The only relevant case I could find addressing Rastafarianism was a case where the Court of Appeals ruled that three Rastafarians should be retried and allowed to present a defence based on their religion, which was previously denied. One of the men involved in this case, Calvin Treiber, is now serving 29 years for cannabis offences. His wife is serving 11 years and their four young children are now being 'cared for' by the state. The name of the FBI operation which caught them was 'Operation Reggae North' which says it all, really.

I really don't understand the vote against gay marriage (according to CNN's site the California count isn't finalised yet, so maybe there's hope there...) either. A Jewish church will not recognise marriage between two non-Jews. Which is fair enough. But there are other churches that will, and the state recognises marriages between people of all religions, and of none. I don't see why gay marriage should be any different. If you're a Christian or Jewish church and you believe that the bible is correct when it says that gay men should be stoned to death then don't recognise gay marriages as valid within your church. That's perfectly reasonable. But don't impose your religious views upon the state.

I think I'm even more shocked with Colorado banning abortions than with all the states who banned gay marriage. 73% yes on giving a 1-minute old foetus the same legal rights as a 1-year old child. Wow.

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