Friday, November 14, 2008

Love is ... equal, not separate

Last weekend my friend K in Illinois sent me the below video. It is of a short speech made by the Mayor of San Diego on marriage equality. Upon watching it, I was moved to tears. Not only by what he said, but how he said it.



"I have close family members and friends who are members of the gay and lesbian community. Those folks include my daughter Lisa, as well as members of my personal staff.

"I want for them the same thing that we all want for our loved ones—for each of them to find a mate whom they love deeply and who loves them back; someone with whom they can grow old together and share life’s experiences.

"And I want their relationships to be protected equally under the law. In the end, I couldn’t look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationship—their very lives—were any less meaningful than the marriage I share with my wife Rana."

(
Excerpt from his speech)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this, E.

It is a beautiful example of courage and a change of heart.

Proposition 8 did pass in California which means that the 18,000 marriage licenses granted to devoted same-sex couples there may now be null and void. This is a disappointment.

Tomorrow, across the United States, there will be protests against this new law. A similar law was passed in Arizona and Florida.

~Kim

Lynn Cohen said...

Bravo for this man to stand up for what he truly believes and the courage to change his mind for the better in my opinion and to support gay marriage! His emotion was powerful too, I can just imagine his daughter and staff members feeling his love and support finally coming through to them. Long over due.