Links Roundup: Dec 24-30 (2012 Tops Lists, Marriage in ME–will IL be next?)

Happy End of 2012, everyone!  The Holiday Related section this week is fairly predictable with every queer site and blogger on the Web posting their “top 10″ or “top 50″ or “2012′s most important” et ceteras.  A couple which stood out to me were Josh Goodman’s “queer wish list for 2013″ and Richard Rosendall’s article which breaks the mold a bit by hitting the highlights but lingering a bit with each and combining them with quiet reflections on personal experiences.

In Political news, I continue to be confused over what the big deal is about Chuck Hagel’s 15-year-old characterization of an ambassador as “openly, aggressively gay” President Obama reaffirms that Senator Hagel’s 1998 comment on the sexuality of a U.S. ambassador does not disqualify him from consideration as Secretary of Defense.

If you’re looking for sheer off-the-wall hilarity in your Opponent Watch, you need look no further than the reports which claim that increased LGBT equality is somehow literally “killing our children” and that (according to a church in VA) properly supervised horse petting can “cure” homosexuality.  If you’re interested in something a bit more thoughtful, I heartily recommend Wayne Self’s reaction to the recent outflowing of hate speech from (the ironically-named) Pope Benedict in which he discusses the power of the message behind the story of Jesus’s birth and lays out the essential queerness of Christianity’s second-most central celebration.

We have an absolute treasure in this week’s Indiana/HJR-6 Specific section from the Indiana Interfaith Coalition on Non-Discrimination.  They have written a letter signed by clergy from all over the state (and still taking signatures! alert your religious leaders today!) to the state government which beautifully states their opposition to a constitutional marriage discrimination amendment.  A standout passage:

The Indiana Bill of Rights guarantees the free exercise and enjoyment of religious opinions, and prevents the giving of a legal preference to any creed. Preferring and codifying one particular religious view of marriage in the Indiana Constitution flies in the face of both of these guarantees.

A new section was created just for Illinois marriage-related news this time around as it begins to seem more and more likely that our neighbors to the west will be the next to vote on same-gender marriage in the next few months.  Contained therein:   a link to President Obama’s two cents in the Sun-Times exclusive.

A personal favorite this week is Gary Carter’s “Notes on a Marriage” which can be found in the International section, following the article on Dutch Catholics going online to ‘de-baptize’ themselves over the Vatican’s recent anti-LGBT outbursts.  Mr. Carter was raised in South Africa and was deported to the Netherlands in his 20s after refusing to join the apartheid army.  He offers up a fascinating insider view of secular-yet-individually-isolationist Dutch culture and explains why he views his decision to marry his husband and their decision to raise a child as aspects of his attempts to break down both his personal and the larger societal tendencies toward selfish non-involvement.

-Megan
megan.walsh@ieaction.org