Lesbian Tux and Interracial Marriages
When I picked up my newspaper this morning, I was shocked to turn to a page with these two stories: "Louisiana Justice of peace turns away interracial couple" and "Mississippi teen fights ban on tux."
Is this not 2009? Are we not done fighting these issues? Haven't interracial couples been allowed to marry since 1967 and Supreme Court case of Loving vs. Virginia? Haven't gay teens been allowed to wear what they like to school at least since the mid-eighties?
Are these cases related? Yes, they're both about someone trying to force their beliefs and opinion of morality on others. The justice of the peace says he thinks interracial marriage harms children. Who knows what the school officials in Wesson, Mississippi think. Ceara Sturgis, the student, just wants to wear what she feels comfortable in.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is clear. It protects our right to free speech and expression, and forbids the government from violating that right. The American Civil Liberties Union has taken Ceara Sturgis' case, as it has fought for the rights of gay students to take same-sex dates to the prom, start gay/straight alliances and fight back against bullies in the schools.
My favorite part about Ceara Sturgis' story is her mom's response, according to the Associated Press her mom said, "The tux is who she is. She wears boys' clothes. She's athletic. She's gay. She's not feminine." It's a non-issue to mom, and apparently to most of the kids at Sturgis' high school, where she is an honor student, trumpet player and soccer goalie.
Chances are, both will win their fights. That's the good news. And in a way, I guess it's good news that they are both making the news. It means the stories are outrageous enough to warrant coverage. So maybe we are making progress.
© Keith Syvinski
Wow and WTH. I just checked my watch and surprisingly it is still 2009. Worst/best phrase from that idiotic judge “I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom.” They use his bathroom?!? Oh, in that case, he’s definitely not racist.
And if they are still his friends after that remark, one can only conclude that they too, are racist.
I live in Louisiana and I’m very upset that this is still happening. The South tries to hold to its old beliefs and does not want to change. I am a lesbian and from a very small Southern town so I know how hard it is. I hope all the best for both parties involved, and wish things would change.
I live in a big city & have seen & known interracial kids for meny years, & don’t know of them suffering discrimination. I’m sure it happens, but it’s gotta be very rare. As for the JP in Louisiana, he shouldn’t do the job.[There was a deal here about pharmacists filling prescriptions for abortifacients and the person being against abortion. I am against it too, so I just won't work at a place that facilitates it. I won't demand they hire me. There certainly are drugstores that don't seel certain products. I guess it's the same in modern marriage. We live in a world of diversity.]
BTW, there are also Blacks that don’t like whites, either. We all have a lot to learn!!
“And in a way, I guess it’s good news that they are both making the news. It means the stories are outrageous enough to warrant coverage.”
Is it really good that they are making news? Don’t we want it to be so normal that it doesn’t make news anymore?
I’m a lesbian who comes from an interracial family. I can totally see the judge’s point of view. My interracial parents most certainly raised my brother, sister and I in harmful conditions. Growing up in a happy home, with both parents who loved us and were very attentive to our feelings and needs and certainly harmed me. My dad working very hard so we had everything we needed and somethings that we wanted, my mom doing everything she could to help us out and give us a happy life is just down right awful. I mean my parents were so bad that all my friends were jealous of my family. My sister is married and her and her husband are both in the military, my brother is married and him and his wife have a beautiful daughter. He has a degree in computer engineering, he’s a licensed paramedic and firefighter and I’m in college….Hmm I seemed to forget how being interracial harms kids. I’m proud of my mom and dad and I love being mixed. Yeah racism is still here, and its not just white on black, its black on white, black on white, white on white, and basically every color against each other.
I was furious when I first read about this in our local paper here in Florida. Still am furious over this. My kid sister is biracial and she’s doing just fine, thank you very much. That justice of the peace is so far off the mark! If he wants to protect children, how about abused children?!?! What so many people seem to forget is that being biracial or having same-sex parents doesn’t make for a bad childhood any more than having two parents of the same race or parents who are hetero insure a good childhood. I’ll end it here to keep from going into a full-blown rant and rave.
I’m a black lesbian, AND i am the aunt of 5 beautiful neices and nephews who are all biracial, and they are doing great. They have never been discriminated against because of their mixed heritage. It is sad that in this day and age, there is such narromindness and intolerance and discrimination. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, regardless of race, sexual orientation, religion etc etc. Sigh.
Blah! Blah! Blah! Why would these two storis surprise me? If you have ever been to either of those two states you would know what it is like down there. I sot of chalk off most of the deep south and even Texas as a seperate part of the USA where we allow those bigots to live. And when the federal government takes a dump it is always there. Tee Hee.
I live in Texas and Im a lesbian mother of two. I would love to think I could some day marry my partner but do I realy think it will happen in this state…… NO! The good ole boys will never allow it because they are afraid of us!