Well, it appears that once again I have not made my intentions clear when contacting a company for event information.

I would like to plan a wine tasting event that would utilize Girl Scout cookies as  a pairing feature. But instead of saying just that - I contacted the wine company and rambled on and on about how great both their wine and Girl Scout cookies were - and wouldn't it be great to merge the two and it would be great a promotional opportunity for both their wine company and for Girl Scouts. That's just as clear as mud, right?

So they company responded and thanked me for my inquiry but said that they were unable to accommodate my request because of federal regulations that prohibit serving alcohol to minors.

They thought I wanted to get a bunch of Girl Scouts drunk and steal their cookies!!!

I responded today to clear up the confusion and suggested a phone conversation. We'll see how far I get. 

Well, it was ruled unconstitutional... again... let's see if I can get married anytime soon.

It's sad to think that this fight has been going on since well before 2008 when Prop 8 passed. It's been going long before Prop 22 passed (which was long before Prop 8). 

Anyway, the arc of the universe is long - but it bends toward justice.

A friend sent me a question via Twitter today: “Do provisions in gay marriage laws that allow churches to deny bug you? Or are you ok with just being recognized by the gov't?”

I have no problem with religious exemptions in marriage equality measures. Do I get slightly offended that these exemptions keep coming up? Yes – but only because I don’t think they are necessary. Here’s why:

The government shouldn’t get involved when it comes to deciding who can get married in a specific church. That should be up to that specific church – that’s the reason we have the separation of church and state. In fact, certain churches and pastors actually deny some marriages to straight couples if they have been divorced or some other reason that conflicts with their religious views. And that is their right. And I would fight for that right to exist. (I read an article about this that had some specific examples. I looked for it – but haven’t found it yet. I know it’s out there. I’ll keep looking.)

I want a legally recognized marriage. My problem with these “exemptions” is that lawmakers hide behind them to maintain their close-minded views and deny me of my civil rights. If these religious provisions aren’t “strong enough,” we gays might just come and shut down their churches! Which – I’m sorry, but if you belong to a church that doesn’t want to host weddings for gay and lesbian people – chances are we don’t want to get married there anyway.

But, these religious freedom exemptions are also flawed in that they fail to hold water when the side is flipped. Religious freedom actually should push the need for marriage equality. Think about it this way: certain churches (especially here in LA) want to be able to host weddings for LGBT parishioners. (The Hollywood United Methodist church for one.) (http://www.hollywoodumc.org/) But they are denied that right of RELIGIOUS freedom because of STATE law. (Slight Tangent: I would propose the same argument about the “prayer in schools” debate. Christian fundamentalists are usually at the forefront of this battle – but would those same people stand up, fight, and defend a Muslim student trying to pray in the classroom? It just always seems to me like the religious freedom argument is only employed by one side.)  

(Here’s a video that goes into a bit more detail about the religious liberty arguments used by the anti-equality side: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0dKMhYSX20)

So in a long, round about answer – I want to be married. And even though I would like to be married in a church or at least with a spiritual aspect to the ceremony, I want to be married “by law.” There are over 1,100 rights, privileges, and benefits that go along with a civil marriage – and I want each and every one of them.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights_and_responsibilities_of_marriages_in_the_United_States)