Marriage Equality Will Come Soon?

Marriage equality will arrive in Utah soon

On Saturday, a editorial was printed in the Salt Lake Tribune, penned by Paul C. Burke, John W. Mackay, and Brett L. Tolman.  This editorial gives the opinion that equal marriage rights for all people, whether they are in a homosexual relationship or in heterosexual relationship, will happen in the state of Utah soon by way of the judicial system.  The three attorneys cite quotes from Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, passages from Utah's Constitutional Amendment 3, as well as the acumen of the justices that currently sit on the Utah Supreme Court as a part of their argument.

While marriage equality is something that I personally support, I must put on my skeptic hat for a moment.  While I personally support marriage equality, I do not think that it will happen in the state of Utah soon.  I'd like it to but I don't think it'll happen.  This is why I feel this way.

Prop. 8 protest draws thousands in Salt Lake City

On the night that California's Prop 8 passed, a large group of people gathered to protest the LDS Church's involvement in the passage of that proposition.  I remember seeing these protests on the news as I followed the nationwide election coverage.  I watched these protests and one thought came to my mind: Where were these people when Amendment 3 was passed?  Where was the outrage then?  Were was the mobilization then?  Why couldn't these people have been as organized back then at they are now?

Sure the gay community in Utah has grown, not just in size but also as a collective force in politics.  The problem is that the gay community in Utah still does not have anything close to the influence that the conservative establishment has.  Liberals in Utah have not even made much of a dent in the state of Utah in recent years.  The reason that I am not currently a member of the Utah Democratic Party is that I don't see it as having any influence in the state.  That lack of influence is what gives me my sense of skepticism.

It is my honest belief that when marriage equality comes to the state of Utah it will come after the conservative argument for marriage equality takes hold.  The argument against government control over who we associate with and how we conduct our private affairs is the argument that will have a chance of swaying the overwhelmingly conservative people of Utah.  Unfortunately that argument has yet to really take hold in America, much less in the state of Utah.  If the judiciary does overturn Utah's Amendment 3, I have no doubt that, under the current circumstances, that a new law denying homosexuals marriage rights will be passed within months, if not weeks.  I don't want to see this happen but I cannot deny the skeptic in me that tells me it is so.

Red Rant: Beware Of The Eagle Forum

On Saturday, an article posted on GamePolitics revealed that Jack Thompson is set to make a speech at the annual Utah Eagle Forum Convention on Saturday, January 17th. It also revealed that Mr. Thompson was working with the Utah Eagle Forum on video game legislation for the upcoming session of the Utah Legislature. What they are trying to do is revive a piece of legislation that was ultimately discarded after many people raised objections over it. Most prominent was Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who said the law was unconstitutional. This is a bad omen. Not because Jack Thompson is involved, because the Eagle Forum is involved.

The Utah Eagle Forum is a hard line conservative lobbying group in Utah. They blatantly back legislation and politicians that are racist, sexist, homophobic, and other kinds of hateful and catch no public flack for it. The Eagle Forum is very powerful. When they put their minds toward something, it gets done. Whether it's protecting a politician, getting a piece of legislation through, or killing a piece of legislation or a politician's career. The Eagle Forum gets shit done.

I'm not saying the two issues are the same, but I'm going to draw parallels between the gay marriage issue and the legislation of video games issue. In 2004, Utah Amendment 3 was proposed. When this law was put to a public vote, it was backed by, most notably, the LDS Church, in much the same way they backed California's Proposition 8. One of the early backers of this legislation was the Eagle Forum. Despite objections from many minority groups, and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, this amendment made it through committee, was passed by the legislature, and ultimately passed by the people of Utah with a 66% majority. The Eagle Forum got shit done.

As I said earlier, this is a bad omen. The Eagle Forum is a wide reaching and powerful group that can enact legislation that is only meant to further their agenda at the expense of those who object to them. I am afraid that their involvment will ultimately mean that video game legislation will ultimately pass into law, no matter how unconstitutional it is. I fear for us all.

Oblivion Review

Everyone of a certain age experiences something magical. They're sitting there, just going along in their life, then it hits them. Or rather, someone hits them. Their first crush. A person's first crush can be a fleeting thing or it can affect their romantic relationship for the rest of their life. My first crush was with a girl named Delany.

Delany remains the archetype for the kind of woman I pursue today. Delany was smart, my intellectual superior. Delany was beautiful, classically beautiful but not overtly sexy. Finally, Delany was kind, after all, she actually spoke to me.

For years I pined over Delany. Admiring her from afar, occasionally getting close, but never actually making my feelings known to her. Eventually, as many things go, we went our separate ways. In the years since, I thought that I had fully purged myself of feelings for Bethany and moved on to women I could actually approach romantically. Recently all of that was proven false.

Not too long ago, I joined Facebook. One of the first things I did was look for people I might know on Facebook. Among the first people that popped up was Delany. Again, I was awash in feelings for this woman. Along with these old feeling was a new internalized hatred over not pulling the trigger and not getting to know Delany romantically. I was thoroughly and utterly depressed.

This depression caused an alteration in my everyday routine. My life became a pathetic pattern. Work, home, TiVo, video games, sleep. Among the many video games I own is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In my mind, I began to draw parallels between my relationship with Oblivion and my relationship with Delany. I had long wanted to play this game. I was aware of the great aspects of this game, and thought I might thoroughly enjoy it. Unlike my relationship with Delany, I pulled the trigger and experienced an enjoying life with Oblivion. This experience caused my spirits to rise, and my depression to fade away.

There is another way my relationship with Oblivion is different from my relationship with Delany. The further I delve into Oblivion, the more I enjoy it. The same can't be said of Delany. On her Facebook profile, Delany prominently displays her support for California's Proposition 8, something that I greatly oppose. When I read this I thought to myself, "Maybe it's a good thing I didn't pursue this woman."

Oblivion: A-

... and now I care

First they came...



First they passed the federal Definition of Marriage Act, and I did not care because the federal government does a lot of weird things.

Then they passed similar laws in the deep South, and I did not care because the South is crazy.

Then they passed Amendment 3 in Utah, and I did not care because Utah rarely matters.

Then they passed Proposition 8 in California, and I ask myself why I did not care before.