Comments on: Voter initiative would allow civil partnerships in Arizona

By: fahrrad

fahrrad — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:33:54 +0000

Dies ist ein gro

By: John Allard

John Allard — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:54:29 +0000

On Monday, January 26, “Yes for Arizona Civil Partnerships” ignored the advice and recommendations of Arizona LGBT community leaders and filed an application with the Arizona Secretary of State for an Initiative Petition Serial Number.

IF YOU ARE ASKED TO SIGN A PETITION TO PUT CIVIL UNIONS ON THE BALLOT IN ARIZONA IN 2010 PLEASE DO NOT SIGN.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD THAT THIS BALLOT INITIATIVE WOULD CREATE A SECOND CLASS STATUS FOR LGBT CITIZENS OF ARIZONA, AND BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE EFFORTS OF LGBT FRIENDLY POLITICIANS RUNNING IN THE 2010 ELECTIONS.

As with every issue once it enters the political realm, we are now in a position where decisions will be made based purely on numbers. At this point it is all about the number of signatures, so here are some numbers for you to consider:

230,047: The number of signatures required to put this proposition on the ballot in 2010.

980,753: The number of votes AGAINST Proposition 102. Every one of these votes is a potential signature for the petition. Many of these votes are from allies who believe that we deserve equal marriage rights, and unless we reach out to them and educate them that this is not ‘a step in the right direction’ they may sign the petition thinking that they are helping the LGBT community. Not even 25% of the people who voted against Prop 102 would need to sign the Civil Union Initiative Petition to put the the issue on the ballot.

1,258,335: The number of votes FOR Proposition 102. These are the voters in Arizona who are motivated to use their vote to ensure a socially conservative agenda is followed, and mandated, in Arizona. These are the people who will be motivated to go to the polls and cast a vote against any candidate they feel would be an ally to the LGBT community if there is an initiative on the ballot which they feel would give our relationships more validation than they deserve, even though in truth the initiative falls well short of providing us with the equality it promises.

?: The number we can not count is how many years it would take the LGBT community to recover from any damage done by the loss of our political allies. We have to support them so that they can support us. Do we really need to do much more than look at what has happened in Arizona since Jan Brewer took over as Governor only one week ago to imagine what we would face as a state, and a community, if we continue to lose political allies?

By: JayC

JayC — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:53:10 +0000

Do these christians know what a disaster they are creating in this country? Since the rise of the religious right, we have so many people putting their religion ahead of their country and its constitution. Have they no clue at all that they are trying to destroy the very thing that makes their religious beliefs safe?

By: Aiden Raccoon

Aiden Raccoon — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:22:17 +0000

Some progress is good progress. I do think that civil unions need to pass. Look at New Jersey, they may be another state to add gay marriage. The state allowed civil unions under the notion that there would be a review to see just how equal it was. It is deemed that it is very unequal and now the people of the state are more comfortable with the subject because they don’t have the fear they once had. I don’t think the gay community will become complacent with civil unions but we do need to take baby steps to get there. Once Prop 8 is repealed we will see things get a lot better. California makes up the biggest portion of the population for one state. It will vastly help set the standard for the rest of the civilized country.

By: Mickey

Mickey — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:10:56 +0000

I don’t think ANYONE should have the right to vote on anybody’s life. Prop 8 proved that! All this crap just pisses me off!

By: Neil

Neil — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:50:52 +0000

Jose, that is good news from the Colombian court. 40 more rights. And how many more rights are there left to go?

Again, ’separate but equal’ means we remain unequal.

By: Jose Ramon Merentes

Jose Ramon Merentes — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:46:23 +0000

Well, the Colombian Constitutional Court has just aproved more than 40 new rights for same sex partners.

By: Neil

Neil — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 01:56:04 +0000

The final two lines are not what makes me mad or sad. These lines are what make me mad and sad:

“If approved, the measure would provide ALMOST all of the rights and obligations of marriage that are covered under Arizona law.” (Emphasis added.)

It is more proof that ’separate but equal’ only produces inequality. And it is more difficult to change than simple inequality because those who vote already figure they’ve done enough and are slow to do more even when what they have done so obviously falls short of equality.

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:23:57 +0000

I live in AZ, I need to sign this! On the other hand, it will NEVER pass in AZ. But at least the more the issue is brought up the more the younger generations accept it. Unless they get brainwashed by the religious right.

By: TJNV

TJNV — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:38:19 +0000

Do onto others as you would have done onto yourself, Miss Cathi Herrod!!!

Separate is not equal, But people like Cathi “lovingly” do not even want that for us.

Tom in Long Beach