burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness

Virgina passes "Marriage Affirmation Act" banning any "partnership contract or other arrangements that purport to provide the benefits of marriage," to take effect July 1, ratified over the governor's intent to veto. (Also, PlanetOut article.)

This does not make me want to move to a desert island or some nation that has across the board legal benefits for same-sex unions. Rather, it reminds me how much i want to do work doing education around queer issues.

I mean, why leave the telling
up to everybody else?
This may be god's country,
but it's my country too;
move over mr. holiness,
and let the little people through.

Where is the blogosphere on this? I want Andrew Sullivan, Eugene Volokh, all them to weigh in.

The bill says:

A civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited. Any such civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable.

penknife says:

The governor of Virginia tried to amend the bill to remove the worst parts. He said the bill as it stands could mean "business partners of the same gender being unable to enter into a business partnership agreement outlining the division of property if the partnership dissolves" and "could void medical directives designating a close friend of the same sex to make necessary health decisions." His attempt to amend the bill failed.

sabby_darling(at)hotmail.com is doing a compilation zine about bisexuality.

I'm looking for essays, stories, artwork, etc. about bisexuality. The topic is very open, as long as it has to do with bisexuality, I'll most likely include it. I'm willing to look at poetry involving this topic too, but I'm picky about poems so these are less likely to interest me.

Contact me via email if you need more a narrow focus.

Submission Deadline: open, I'd like to get everything by August 2004 though

Carol Christ scored serious points with me at the diversity luncheon today. In her opening remarks she talked about diversity which sounded like she was talking about racial diversity, and i was unsurprised, and then the other thing she talked about in her opening remarks was about diversity of ideas and respectful lively debate and suchlike. I was mad impressed. Later she talked about the fact that there exist “issues on which people of integrity and principle disagree” and that it’s good to have debate that’s debate about ideas, not personal attacks.

Responding to a question, she talked about how it is problematic to think of only certain groups of people as being diverse, it creates an “us versus them” mentality which usually ends with the “them” walking away. I’m a big fan of acknowledging the ways in which we are all “diverse” (though that sounds so weird, to be like “you’re diverse”). Fletcher Blanchard (current director of the Office of Institutional Diversity) pointed out ... damn, i should have taken better notes at this.... something about how that’s true but that there are also groups who are more oppressed than others and that should be acknowledged and dealt with appropriately, i dunno, something like that, that sounded sensible and intelligent and with which i rather agreed. (This is why i take notes when i go to these things. Because when i trust myself to remember -- like i did today -- i so don’t.)

Most of the questions focused on racial diversity, but one student mentioned the treatment of Republicans, an Ada i had seen at one of the fat talks mentioned women of size (she said that one woman, upon visiting Smith, said “Oh, you have regular-looking people here,” because the college literature presents a very specific image), and one student mentioned economic diversity (as deeply connected to racial diversity, but still).

So yeah, not awesome, but i was rather pleased.

Please attend a Diversity Lecture, Video, and Panel Discussion at 4:30 on Friday, April 30 in the Neilson Browsing Room.

Brenda Allen, Associate Provost at Brown University and former Director of Institutional Diversity at Smith College, will speak about the diversity challenges that came into focus during the spring of 2002 and introduce a showing of the Grassroots Video. Panelists Amelia Kegan, SGA President, Eva Haldane '04, and Maureen Mahoney, Dean of the College, will comment and Jennifer Walters, Dean of Religious Life, will moderate discussion involving panelists and members of the audience.

I think i’m actually going to that.