I have no coherent response to this abomination presented by the current administration and its homophobic lackeys on the 42nd anniversary of Loving vs. Virginia, at least not one that does not require that I explore whole new realms of expletive. (This link, being from an actual lawyer, rather than AmericaBlog, may be more palatable to some; it points out that, among other things, the executive is obligated to defend extant laws if they are legally defensible, though it is not obligated to be an asshole doing it.) (Another link: Pam's House Blend. There are a lot of links around; I'm going to stop snagging them. There are difficulties with the arguments in some of them ('cousin marriage' is not the same as 'incest', for example) but that does not make the whole thing less disgusting.)
I have had a simple response, one that I intend to supplement by actual writing of a paper letter to the White House, but it is a simple and elegant enough response that I would like to suggest it to the broader world.
I went to the White House contact form and sent them this quotation, with my own supplemental commentary:
I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about. --Mildred Loving
Shame on you.
On this day of all days.
I would like to suggest to all my thirty-three and a third readers who care about the administration's reprehensible defense of DOMA that they, at minimum, pop over to the White House contact form and quote Mildred Loving.
"Dw3t-Hthr" (Duat-Hether) is a title of various female temple officials in ancient Egypt. It means "Worshipper of Hathor" or "Adorer of Hathor".
2 comments:
Here's what I sent, based in part on a this comment. Like that comment, I'm posting this so that other people can feel free to copy-and-paste and edit:
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Dear Mr. President,
I was saddened but understanding when I found out that the Department of Justice had filed a motion to dismiss Smelt and Hammer’s suit contesting the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act; I recognize that the DoJ has a responsibility to defend laws in court.
However, I have become deeply dismayed by the shocking and appalling content of this motion, and I feel very betrayed in my initial attempts to be understanding and give the DoJ the benefit of the doubt. Among other things, it compares same-sex marriage to incest and polygamy. It also claims that persons who are deeply in love with a person of their own sex should marry persons they do not love of the opposite sex merely to obtain the benefits of marriage. While the DoJ may have a responsibility to defend the law, there is no call for it to be mean-spirited and disrespectful in its defense. During your campaign, you pledged to work to overturn this Act; how am I to feel about that promise if the Justice Department cannot even be respectful to those harmed by it?
Moreover, can you somehow not have recognized the significance of the day on which this was filed? I shall quote, to remind you of the court case which this is the anniversary of:
"I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about." --Mildred Loving
Shame on you.
On this day of all days.
Your presidency has been compared to that of John F. Kennedy. Like Kennedy, you have promised much to a historically disadvantaged group of American citizens. However, I hope that unlike Kennedy, you actually manage to effect real change during your administration.
I ask you to begin by instructing the Justice Department to withdraw this insulting motion.
Sincerely,
Brooks Moses
I saw this-well, something like this-coming for awhile...maybe I'm just a cynical British git who shies away from putting any politician on a pedestal, but, it's true.
*proffers hugs*
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