Civil Rights

[asterroc]

A nice "doctored" video about civil rights. California is facing a ballot question that would make gay marriage illegal, Question 8. The Yes on 8 people put out a video w/ people talking about what's wrong w/ gay marriage, yadda yadda. And then someone took that video and replaced every mention of "same-sex" with "interracial," and "gay" with "black," even re-recording the vocal track.

I am multi-racial, and I approve.

Comments

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

The last quote made me laugh.
I just think that the legal ramifications of marriage are excessive. When you get divorced (the result of the majority of marriages these days) it is a horribly nasty affair. It makes ordinary contract law look downright friendly. Unmarried couples manage to break up without needing to go to court and fight over every little thing. If it is really nasty hire a damned mediator. Fortunately NJ has decided to use mediation as the primary means for doing property settlement as well as child custody. It has been amazingly successful for child custody. Who would have thought that ordering parents to sit down and talk to each other could be good for the kids? Shocking.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

the result of the majority of marriages these days

As I understand it, that oft-quoted statistic doesn't do the real situation justice. Specifically, it's skewed by serial divorcers, and it might be more appropriate to instead look at the percent of *people* who marry who subsequently get at least one divorce.

Mediation: Heh, whoda thunk. Too bad it doesn't work so well for unions.

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

I actually talked with Jeff about divorce statistics waiting for court the last time. Apparently the statistic for first marriages failing is pretty close to the overall divorce rate. The impact of so called serial divorce is washed out by the extremely high success rate of second marriages (more than 80% go the distance). I will ask him if anyone tracks the number of people who have at least one divorce. We need something to pass the time waiting for judges, and I pay him quite well to make small talk. I'll be someone's friend for his hourly rate. Even with the professional courtesy rate I get for having a federal judge as my maternal uncle (not the asshole).

In response to your other comment: What's your opinion about marriage as a legal institution now? I wanted to reply ten minutes after you posted it but I had company come over.
As far as not having a legal contract marriage I think that there is no reason why a religious marriage would not be recognized internationally. The issue I worry about would be benefits, but I think they should be opened up to domestic partners or whatever you want to call them anyway. It's bias against people who choose not to marry. I also think that people who don't marry their partner to keep some kind of benefit (like alimony from a previous marriage contingent on not remarrying). You shouldn't get the best of both worlds in my book.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I've changed back and forth a few times since then. Without any form of marriage/union, spouses would not have legal rights as a next of kin, such as making healthcare decisions when the individual is incapable of making them him/herself. (And healthcare directives are not good enough, as gay couples have been shown repeatedly in the past.) The word "marriage" has religious context, so we should rename it at the federal level to "civil union." But singles get a tax disadvantage.... So yeah, I do not have a well-formed opinion, I just keep waffling around.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

When you get divorced, it -can- be a horribly nasty affair, but not always. Fortunately, my ex and I parted on friendly terms, and did not have children (which would have made things more complicated, though hopefully still not vicious).

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

Oh I know just how nasty divorce and subsequent child custody stuff can be. Child custody issues are like having a nasty divorce that doesn't end until the kids are out of school (which often keeps things like child support payments in the picture even after the child is 18).
I am absurdly jealous of you having a smooth divorce. So very very very jealous.