I just have a few election-related things to get off of my chest before I return to the much more important field of comics.
First, I’m thrilled that I can type “President Elect Obama.” I’m thrilled by the scenes of international delight and celebration after eight years of criticism and anxiety, which I shared completely. I hope the Democrat leadership in the legislature takes the opportunity to be gracious and bipartisan, because it’s just time. Because that’s the equivalent of separately burying the head of Rove-style political divisiveness now that a stake has been driven through its cold, shriveled heart.
Second, I’m depressed by the apparent success of gay-marriage bans in California, Florida and Arizona. I hope the couples that missed the very tiny window of equality sue everyone they reasonably can, and I’ll happily donate to whatever legal support organization will help them. (Edited this to reflect Lori Henderson’s note that the measure isn’t retroactive.)
But I’m even more depressed by the passage of the adoption ban in Arkansas, designed to prevent gay couples from adopting or fostering a child but also excluding heterosexual couples who, for whatever reason, decided not to marry. (I can’t quite tell if it excludes single people from adopting or fostering.) The only outcome I can see from this is that it will become that much harder to place kids in loving homes. (Speaking of adoption, I was happy to see a clip where the Obamas said they would be selecting a rescue dog as payoff puppy for their kids. Many purebred dogs are adorable, but I really want to see a First Mutt in the White House.)
And I remember being barely out of the closet in any meaningful way and being horrified that the citizens of Colorado had successfully passed a horrible piece of anti-gay legislation, Amendment 2. It was subsequently overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, and now the citizens Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District has elected a gay man to represent them.