It will be really hard, but DEAL.

Can you help me find a place to BLOG the data where it will be helpful?

Take care, you have given me hope... Thank you!

My bro is a computer nerd and I KNOW he has all the best places to support
Gay Rights.

Let me pick his brain & I'll get back to you!

Dear Mr. Allen, (and recipients)

I received your response in regards to the US Marriage Amendment not
blocking states from acknowledging Civil Unions or Partnerships. Mr.
Allen, your supporters may feel this is true, but it's not. I would like
to share with you my personal reasons I don't support any Amendment
regarding Marriage. One reason this is so personal to me is because this
will be on the ballot in November. It has implications that hit very close
to home for me. Why should the majority vote on the freedom/rights of a
minority; how is that justice when the outcome is nothing short of
hopeless?

Here is my history; my partner and I have been together nearly 5 years now.
We live in the same way an engaged couple would. We have a joint checking
account, we purchased our home together, we purchased our cars together,
and our wills reflect our wishes and commitments to each other as life
partners. You might think, that is all well and good, so why are my
feathers in a ruffle? It is because this new amendment states that marriage
can only be between one man and one woman, and that any arrangement
approximating marriage is null and void...

So, as you can imagine, if I were to pass away, any one of my greedy family
members to walk in under this law and take everything away from my partner
(or vice versa). Since I have checked into this with multiple lawyers and a
judge, I know it to be a fact. Then if I were hospitalized for any reason
and could not express my wishes to the staff, my partner would not be
allowed in to see me. The one person that I would want with me, would be
kept from being at my side in case of an emergency because he is not
"related to me" or married to me. These are just a few of the reasons my
blood boils over this subject. We live a very quiet life, we volunteer time
to our community and do our part as good citizens. I even hold an office in
our community's government and work for a major worldwide company, and so
does my partner. Regardless, our commitment to each other is very personal.
We don't run out and kiss in public or any other offensive act. We are very
private and show the public at large, the utmost respect. It bothers me
because these laws and amendments make our commitment to each other null
and void in many cases especially under the law. Our contracts and wills
are of a legal nature and no amendment or law should block something so
personal and private. It is simply no one's business, or it shouldn't be...
I hope this helps you better understand my personal feelings now.

My parents are long gone, both passed away years ago. My brother is a
devout Southern Baptist and struggles with my lifestyle; my sister is a
drug addict in your fine state and would take any opportunity to get
anything she could of value in light of my death... It simply isn't
right... I just want to live my life in peace. Surely you can understand
that? I hope. I am not saying my life style is right or natural. I am not
even asking for you to agree with it or approve of it. I just want people
to respect my life as an American and as a fellow human being. My partner
and I hurt no one, we don't bother anyone. We deserve a little better
treatment by our government and by others. We only ask for the same respect
and tolerance that we show everyone else. Nothing more, nothing less. I
think if you spoke one on one to other gay people that are in committed
relationships they would tell you the same thing. I will be the first to
admit we are just as human as heterosexuals; we have people that live in
the bars and clubs that represent our community poorly, like every other
community. The hard part is looking beyond those that stand out and seeing
the honest hard working people in each community, if gay or straight, good
people that just want to live the American dream and be happy. So many
people make this a religious issue, which I understand and actually
respect. To them, I ask, please allow me the same freedom you have, and
allow God to be the judge. I'm not harming you in any way. Besides the
first amendment is supposed to give us all the right to worship or not, as
we see fit.

Please Mr. Allen, stop the lies; you can't really be that naive. You know
as well as I do that this amendment will strip any connection I have with
my partner, short of roommate status. This is nothing short of
discrimination and evil. I know you want to run for President, but first
your have to act like one. You can't go around calling people names, and
taking people's rights away by refusing to allow the law to protect them
through contracts, beneficiaries, and other legal arrangements. It's not
American or Virginian, its bigotry at it's finest. I am sorry for being so
angry. Put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel?

People say Love is Blind... I say Religion is...

Following any religion so blindly and placing it before the very freedoms
that allow that religion to exist is DANGEROUS. If you doubt it's
happening, look at history around the world. Look at Iraq, look at the
crusades. Now look at the evangelical uprising here in the US. It is of
things to come... We must stop judging each other and remember what
America is all about... FREEDOM & LIBERTY.

VA BALLOT QUESTION NUMBER 1 November 2006

Shall Article I, the Bill of Rights, of the Constitution of Virginia be
amended to state "That only a union between one man and one woman may be a
marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political
subdivisions"

"This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or
recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that
intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of
marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create
or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is
assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of
marriage."?


Dear Family, Friends, Associates and Neighbors:

I send this message to you as a plea. Above is the full text of the
amendment that you, as a registered voter, will be voting on this November.
This is a plea because this amendment will deeply affect my life in a
profound way. Please note the section that is bolded and underlined in
red above. It states that no agreement or even contract, such as a will or
beneficiary will be valid between any two individuals, other than those
that are legally married. This impacts contacts with people that have
jointly purchased homes, listed others as beneficiaries, will agreements,
joint bank accounts and many other legal agreements that you might take for
granted.

This entire subject is very personal and private to me. I would never
discuss something of this nature with anyone other than my partner, for
those that know me, you already know even writing this email is extremely
uncomfortable for me. While I might agree and respect the sanctity of
marriage, I do not agree with the wording of this amendment. It restricts
me from legally securing my personal and financial affairs in my life.
This is extremely humiliating to me. I have confirmed with three different
law firms and even spoke with a retired judge to confirm the implication of
this amendment to all unmarried individuals. This amendment simply goes
too far.

I sincerely ask you to vote against this amendment in November. Virginia
already has at least 2 different laws in place that protect marriage. This
amendment not only goes too far, but it is simply unnecessary.

As your relative, friend, associate and neighbor. I respectfully ask you
to vote against this amendment in November. Please vote "NO" and encourage
your friends and family members to also vote "NO". I rarely ask anyone for
anything, this time my plea is very important.

Honorable Elected Official:

I am writing you today because of this cultural war that seems to have
broken out regarding the marriage amendment. I have taken the time to
speak with both extreme sides on the matter and the results are always the
same and surprisingly consistent.

The deeply religious people always want, "to protect the sanctity of
marriage and define it as a union between one man and one woman"; which is
fine from a religious point of view. However if you look at and speak with
homosexual people they say, "They want the same rights and protections as a
married couple."

Both of these arguments are valid in the Liberties outlined in the
Constitution, specifically the preamble. Where the opposition comes in is
when the argument becomes one-sided. When you have the deeply religious
pushing for an amendment and the homosexuals pushing for equal marriage
rights you cause this cultural war. This is understandable if you take a
moment to understand both sides of this situation.

The answer is simple. While passing this legislature to define marriage,
also attach or push through legislature to protect the rights of
homosexuals. If you don't want to call it a Religious Marriage and a Civil
Marriage, you could just call one Marriage, and the other a Civil Union.
The catch is, when it comes to legality the word marriage is already on all
legal documents between two people, if you change the wording to Civil
Union, all the documents have to change to accommodate the new status.

This is a topic that many people take sides on. I think if we all tried to
understand each other and tried harder to meet in the middle agreements
could be made to protect both. However, this could not be done separately.
These laws need to pass together as one amendment, and need to be reviewed
by both parties to ensure the wording isn't so loose that you could drive a
bus through the loop holes. This is the same issue facing Virginia's
amendment.

I ask everyone that reads this letter to put down the stones, take a deep
breath, understand the deeply religious aren't going away, and the
homosexuals are only growing in numbers. It is time to find a peaceful
solution that makes everyone happy. Please remember that "respect does not
require approval." We live in the United States of America; we must all
start being American's first and everything else second. We need to treat
everyone with respect and dignity despite if we agree or disagree with what
they are asking for; as long as it does no harm to anyone else then there
is no reason not to accommodate their liberties and equal rights under the
law.

In memory of Coretta Scott King, please remember "justice is indivisible",
not long ago she spoke on this issue and was very plain spoken about it;
please work toward a solution that represents everyone, not just the
majority in this case. Remember, what the homosexual people want doesn't
hurt anyone; if it did, then pass all the laws you want to, but what they
want is respect and liberty like every other American.

Dear Elected Official:

I found an amazing statement recently I wanted to share with you.

To be a person of faith is to have the world challenge that faith. Was the
universe designed by God? Should marriage only be between one man and one
woman? That's up to everyone in this country to decide for themselves,
because the Framers of our Constitution believed that if the people were to
be sovereign and belong to different religions at the same time, then our
official religion would have to be no religion at all. It was a bold
experiment then--as it is now. It wasn't meant to make us comfortable. It
was meant to make us FREE.

This statement expresses the very fabric of what it is to be an American.
It is our most essential imperative that protects all of us in the first
amendment. I fear our country has lost sight of this. So many seem bent
on protecting the sanctity of marriage.

This entire controversy contrasts our freedoms in this country. I simply
ask that each and every person remember the freedoms our framers worked so
hard to protect and cherish. In the times of modern conveniences and fast
food we have forgotten these most basic imperatives and are writing things
into our constitutions that would make the Framers of our Constitutions
faint.

We all need to be very careful and much less reckless in regards to our
Constitutions and most sacred documents.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the government for a redress of grievances.
It seems that all the different states are attempting to sanctify marriage
by using the state constitutions. This goes against the first amendment.
It amazes me that our leadership is getting away with this (probably
because they are mostly Christian...) raising an entirely new issue, but
still the same dangerous lack of regard and respect for these documents.
It's time to draw the line again...

I would simply like to ask you to think before you act so quickly.

"To be a person of faith is to have the world challenge that faith. Was
the universe designed by God? Should marriage only be between one man and
one woman? That's up to everyone in this country to decide for themselves,
because the Framers of our Constitution believed that if the people were to
be sovereign and belong to different religions at the same time, then our
official religion would have to be no religion at all. It was a bold
experiment then--as it is now. It wasn't meant to make us comfortable. It
was meant to make us FREE.'