Same Sex Marriage Bill Passes!

[eumelia]

Hells Yes, Argentina! You're better than the majority of the other Democracies out there today.

I find it very interesting that over the past few years (I think) many, if not most, of the countries pushing progressive legislation of this nature - Same Sex Marriage - is gaining momentum in Latin countries, which are also very Catholic.

I mean, earlier this year Portugal legalised same sex marriage, and a year or so ago Mexico City did so as well (with other states soon to follow from what I understand). Spain has had same sex marriage on the books since 2005.

What do you make of this?

Of course with Catholics come Priests, who are always with the times, don't you know?
Apparently, Argentina passing this bill is the work of the Devil.
Seriously?. Why do people believe this shit?

I'm glad that not all men of the cloth are like this, it is heartening to see. Though, honestly it is fucking obscene that by being a decent human being and saying that the official stance of the RCC is, you know, backwards, this priest may be separated from the institution he loves.

Good riddance, but that's me.

On a more personal note, I'm not generally speaking a supporter of marriage as an institution, I don't think the government should have any say about what people's relationship choices are - nor do I consider the extra rights and privileges that come with marriage to be beneficiary when many people would rather not be monogamous or, heaven forfend, single!
However, queers are a vulnerable population because we are denied various rights and privileges that are awarded automatically to straight people, so I think anything that levels the playing field is a good thing.
I will never get married, but I know many who would and denying that want and need would just be privileging relationships arbitrarily that in my opinion are "better" than marriage. To get to a point where all relationships are equal... we need to work towards that.

Speaking of! Remember how a couple of weeks ago I wrote how the Jerusalem Police were axing the Pride March Route to the Knesset(JL/DW)?
Well, they OK'd it in the end! We'll be marching out in the open in a central street to the place where the supposed democracy is kept.
Yeah.
I'm happy about that, I wasn't relishing the idea of going with a few other dozen people, disrupting traffic and being arrested.

My BFF is always telling me that zie isn't worried about me getting arrested, but is worried whether I'll get out of these things alive.

I've also been listening to Country music, which may have accounted for my melancholy state yesterday... or the other way around? Feh, I should just put on my Sarah McLachlan CD's. Or just listen to some more Dixie Chicks!

Comments

[silveradept]

Hooray for the original route! And cheers to Argentina for sticking the landing on that vault.

If you dig a bit deeper into those heavily Catholic countries that are nonetheless passing marriage equality bills, I think you find that most of them that have also had socialist or socialist-leaning governments in power as well. Those governments tend to be sensitive to equality issues and work toward fixing them, even if they have prelates shouting at them that it's the work of the Devil. (We think it's because Europe already got the "ruled by religion" thing out of its system and has figured out that it's bad mojo to go that way.)

And this is speculation, but it's nice speculation - the official Catholic position on homosexuality appears to be "love the sinner, hate the sin." instead of "Burn all the queers and send them to their richly deserved hell.", which has to help. Combined with the "electing socialists" bit above, and it might be that those Catholics have picked up the compassionate, poor-helping, hypocrisy-stomping Jesus and are running with him instead of trying to make Republican Jesus reconcile with Actual Jesus.

[lilacsigil]

Yeah, my view on marriage is exactly the same - we shouldn't need it as a function of the state, and people shouldn't be treated differently because of it, but while it exists, everyone should have equal access.

In Australia, de facto couples (any sex) and married couples are legally treated the same, which is nice. But we should still be able to get married if we want.

The Catholic Church in South America, particularly, is a long-time force for social justice in a way that it certainly isn't in many other countries. I suspect that their relative lack of in-country opposition at lower levels of the church may have something to do with that. (Of course, upper levels are more closely connected to Rome, hence the condemnation from them.)