Good Saturday to you!
This week the entire nation has followed the progress of marriage equality in the most unlikely of places: our intensely red state of South Carolina.
I would not suggest that it was easy. The issue came down to South Carolina being in the region where federal appeals are handled by the Fourth Circuit Court. South Carolina’s idiot Attorney General, Alan Wilson, has done everything in his power to have South Carolina secede into the area for the Sixth Circuit Court, where, inexcusably, marriage equality has been denied, for the time being. But, sadly for him and his fellow bigots, there is no provision in the law for such a convenient accommodation. South Carolina remains in the Fourth Circuit, and, as of this week, marriage equality EXISTS in the state of South Carolina, and marriage licenses are being issued and marriages are happening!
More below the fleur de kos!
One of the finest stories I can recall reading in our local paper has a photograph of a beautiful female couple, joy ALL over their faces, signing the paperwork to begin their lives as a legally married couple in the state of South Carolina. Copyright precludes me from posting the photo in the diary, but a large copy of the photo (available for purchase - you don’t have to buy it, though, and I counsel against it, unless you just want it. ::smile:: ) may be found here. Aren't they stunning?! Their joy, for me, glows right off the page!
The story (which also appears to be unlinkable, sadly) appeared on the front page of Friday’s The Greenville News. Written by Lyn Riddle, it tells some fine stories, favorably presented. Short excerpt … :
Shortly after 11 a.m. couples started streaming in.
They were older couples, middle-aged, young. Seemingly well off and not so much. Small towns, downtown Greenville. Two were chaplains. A company president. A lawyer. Doctor. Salesperson. Most had grown up in Greenville or at least the Upstate.
They walked to the counter and were greeted by several clerks, all smiling. Some Probate Court workers watched from afar. they were smiling, too.
I think it goes without saying that the beautiful couples were smiling more broadly than anyone!
I was smiling, too, reading the marvelous story. It seems we get too few real victories these days. I cannot exaggerate what a welcome and needed one this was and is. I wasn’t just smiling, there were also tears, as, I am sure, there were for many others.
The smiles seem to me to be what it is all about. Human beings doing what they want to do with the person they love most in the world. But the smiles of those clerks and of the Probate Court staff count just the same. In so many areas we read of workers and staff resigning rather than carry out their duties under the law, such is their hatred. And though it may be that there were workers like that elsewhere in the state, I have not (at least yet) heard about them. And here in the blood red Upstate, our gay brothers and sisters were met with smiles of happiness, acceptance and approval.
Worst for Alan Wilson is the human, humane treatment of the couples in the story. The writer did a fine job of respecting them and depicting them in a fine light, which bigots like Alan Wilson hate most of all. If it’s not the last thing they want to see, it’s close.
These are big, important changes in our world. And they bode well for all of us. Because justice and equality are wins for all of us! Always. Wherever we find them.
Congratulations to the beautiful, married couples. And to those who soon will be. May your lives be filled with the greatest joy!
Thanks for reading tonight!
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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