DGrant - thank you so much for your post.
My partner and I live in Michigan... we've been "married" for 2 years (tomorrow the 7th is our anniversary!) and we have preliminary documents in place for our health care and such. We have bank accounts in both of our names, etc... We don't have a lot... and neither of us can afford a lawyer for the other protections that we feel we need. It was announced two days ago that an appeals court in Michigan is requiring a petitioned amendment to the state constitution denying marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships and all benefits to the GBLT community to appear on the Nov. 2nd ballot. This is after the election committee deadlocked on the petition. The two democrats said that the amendment was misleading and should include that rights currently granted by the state and some cities would be taken away from those receiving them. For example, the city of Kalamazoo where I live currently provides domestic partnership benefits. If this amendment passes, they will be striped away from the few who do take advantage of them. The two republicans wanted it on the ballot as is. Our conservative courts have said it will appear as written. (The same court system that has let a conservative judge refer all cases of gay adoption to himself... and not letting these cases come before any court... a clear violation of power and constitutional due process) while our state government does nothing to stop this abuse of power.
In light of this and the probable passage of the said cursed amendment... my partner and I don't know what to do. Our documents that we have made may become void... we don't know... and cannot consult a lawyer for lack of $$$. We are seriously considering moving to Canada. Although we haven't really looked into that option and the logistics of it (moving costs, citizenship, jobs, etc). It's a scary world out there right now. It is hard to not think of these as dark times. We do what we can... volenteering our time and energy to the GLBT organizations in town... but that is not what seems to talk in this state. Money is the message. And how can we compete with that?
I was watching a cable access feed out of Lansing a couple months ago. The program had a representative from a Detroit based gay rights group talking about the amendment. I thought that he did not represent our hopes and our fears accurately. He said that we shouldn't have the amendment because we already have a DOMA in place in this state. What kind of argument is that for taking away people's right to hospital visitation, inheritance, etc? The old argument of polygamy and beastiality came up from some of the conservative members of the panel. He didn't have the tools to fight those arguments either. The big question however was... "How are you going to fight this amendment." And he replied, "through education about how this amendment will effect our families." Then the panel member asked how he was going to do that..."You're organization only runs on $1,000,000 a year... that's not enough to education a whole state." And he did not have an answer to that question. He said that they would do what they could.
This is the scary part for me. These people who hate us have so much money to throw around and spread their lies and hate. I... have nothing. I really don't know how to fight that. Hence... it seems easier to pack up and move to someplace where the situation seems better (i.e. Canada). On the other hand... will things ever get better in the US if we have a mass exodus of gays from the states? I don't know how to answer that. It seems like all of the choices we've been left with are pick the lesser of many evils. It is discouraging to say the least.
From the evil she done Lord
Set her free, Set her free, Set me free
Don't let my sorrow
Make evil of me
