Focus on your family

We at BTL are used to the unexpected, and we love when the unexpected is actually good news.
So when we heard that a huge gain in the marriage equality movement happened this week in Nebraska we were pleasantly surprised. Nebraska's anti-marriage amendment, which blocks all recognition of same-sex couples' relationships, was struck down as being unconstitutional. Of course, this set off the anti-gay right on another "activist judge" tirade and made Sen. Bill Frist's finger on the nuclear option button twitch even more. But Nebraska is good news and clearly illustrates that just because the majority of folks vote for something doesn't make it right. Majority rule and constitutionality are not the same thing.
And, of course, LGBT people and allies are celebrating the one year anniversary of legal marriage for same-sex couples in Massachusetts. In this issue of BTL Bob Roehr takes a look at the marriage landscape across the country one year after this monumental event.
For those who think all this marriage stuff is too much too soon and think the LGBT community would be better to lay low and wait for folks like Sen. Frist and Rep. Tom Delay to hand us equality on a silver plate, Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, has a message for you. Never a man to mince words, Foreman gives compelling reasons why LGBT folks need to push forward, not pull back in the face of right-wing reactionaries.
We're not dealing with regular folks here. The anti-gay right have a lot of power right now and Bush & Co. have no desire to cut them loose any time soon.
In the too-weird-to-be-true department we have the perfect example of what kind of political climate we're up to our necks in. Dr. W. David Hager, a Bush appointee to the FDA panel that makes decisions regarding reproductive drugs, has been accused by his ex-wife of rape and has a history that could quite comfortably be labeled misogynist. And he's fully expected to be reappointed June 30. See the story on p. 7.
For those readers who invest in the stock market, maybe it's time to invest in a company making hip waders and rubber boots. Because the creek is rising. Paddle like crazy and learn to swim.
And don't forget to invest in your family. On p. 8 we visit Family Lobby Day, which had LGBT families visiting Lansing to advocate for equality and ask for support for Rep. Condino's (D-Southfield) bill to legalize second parent adoption, a process that would keep Michigan children safer and healthier, and make families more stable. Which is exactly what the right-wing claims to want.
Whether you have a partner, a beloved pet dog or cat, children, or a close circle of friends, the real battle is over our families. And when it comes to the people we love, there is no such thing as too much too soon.