Monday, July 5, 2010

Arizona's a mixed-up melting pot of political goo

Unfortunately, not much is happening in our world of marriage equality pursuit. Is everyone on vacation? Are they too busy chasing Mexicans out of Arizona?
Many gay rights groups are boycotting Arizona because they feel that "SB 1070 essentially declares an entire class of people to be inherently criminal on the basis of their race and appearance."
The chairman of the the Greater Phoenix Gay and Lesbian Chamber of commerce, voiced his concern because the boycott could hurt their own members.
The Human Rights Campaign feels that SB 1070 has the potential of discriminating against any type of group, including LGBT.
Worst case scenario: What is you were a transgender Mexican dressed as a female and were stopped by Sheriff Joe's crew because your brake light was out (supposedly)??? Ay dios mio!
National news is so busy with SB 1070, it has gone unnoticed that last year Gov. Jan Brewer stripped away earned health insurance benefits from same-sex domestic partners of state employees." What will Jan "brew up" next?
We don't even have state parks or rest stops open anymore (nothing to see and nowhere to pee). It's looking like the "Wild West" again. The guns are loaded with political darts shooting in all directions, and nobody benefits but the politicians.
And here we wait and wait for marriage equality. No doubt, Gov. Jan Brew-up will screw up that too!

3 comments:

  1. As residents of Phoenix, AZ I can attest that this state is not feeling very "warm" towards people of the LGBT community and the Hispanic community (US Citizen or not).

    I've got the double whammy since I'm a gay man and I'm of Hispanic descent. Although I'm 100% U.S. Citizen born in San Diego, CA.

    My concern with SB 1070 is that if I'm stopped by the police for whatever reason, they will "detect" that I'm Hispanic and ask me to prove that I'm here legally. How the hell am I supposed to do that? Our driver's licenses alone don't tell anyone whether we are in the country legally or illegally. It just tells the cops that we are allowed to drive a car.

    So, am I required to carry around my birth certificate on my person at all times? Because you don't just have to be driving a car. The police can also question anyone walking down the street.

    So, will white skinned, blond haired, blue eyed people also have to walk around with their birth certificates on their persons at all times too?

    If this SB 1070 law were applied to 100% of ALL human beings, then I would say that's fair. But, that's not the case. It only applies to people whom the police "suspect" are in the country illegally. And whom do you think these people will be? Just look at the color of their skin.

    And lets not also forget that Jan Brewer's administration also eliminated "ethnic studies" programs in Arizona. It seems they don't want kids to know anything about other cultures.

    http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/05/brains-behind-arizona-ethnic-studies-ban

    And then there was the elimination of teachers who have an English accent:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/arizona-ethnic-studies-cl_n_558731.html

    All my husband and I can hope for is that as we struggle to pay off our debts, we plan on moving to California as soon as financially possible.

    Putting up with triple digit heat during the summer months was bad enough, now we have to put up with anti-gay, anti-Hispanic politicians that have taken over what used to be our "live and let live" state.

    I'll get off my soap box now.

    Next!

    - Louie
    Phoenix, AZ

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  2. Louie,
    My son's life partner is from Mexico City. Fortunately, he was able to get a green card finally, or we would all be living in fear. Luckily, they live in New York City now and the attitude is more liberal than what we face in Phoenix. If he didn't have that green card, I'd tell them not to come here and visit.
    My son and daughter--who used to be proud 5th generation Arizonans of hispanic decent--are now embarrassed of Arizona and our politics and find it hard to explain to their fellow New Yorkers what the "real" Arizona used to be like. I'm ashamed as well.
    Don't get off your soap box, Louie. You have a lot to say, and more people should hear it!

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