Professor Michael Avery has an interesting interpretation of the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision on gay marriage. It can be found on his site.

When I drove into school this morning, it was raining. 45 minutes later, it is now snowing. Winter has officially begun with the first snow.

I listened to the Diane Rehm Show (Real Audio archive of the show) during the drive to school this morning. The topic was the Mass. Supreme Court ruling concerning gay marriage. Some of the guests included Dan Savage and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

What really got to me wasn't the rhetoric of the FRC, but the question that one caller asked. He stated that he was somewhat obese and then asked when he was going to receive special protection under the law like GLBTQ people are requesting.

This just set me off because the issue isn't about religion or special rights. This is about a contract between two consenting adults who to establish a caring and beneficial relationship and the government. Churches are not being forced to recognize or perform the marriages. This isn't a social issue, but more of a civil law issue. The constitution does not prohibit marriage between same-sex couples, not does it specifically grant it. But, it does grant equal protection to all and under that clause, we should be able to marry. I would be agree with passing laws for obese people if they were prohibited from getting married or denied employment, but currently that is not the case.

Gay and lesbian couples are prohibited from marriage and benefits of marriage. A couple that has been together many years can be denied the right of hospital visitation, access to joint property after the death of a partner, and much more. This isn't a moral issue, it is a civil issue and we should keep our churches out of the argument.

Dan Savage's article, I don't, gives an interesting perspective. He sums it up by saying that he would like the right to marriage if he chooses to.

Using the Population Clock, I've estimated the per capita cost of the $87.5 billion that we are sending to Iraq to be about $299. This does not take into account those people who are not actually paying any taxes. That would inflate the figure by quite a bit.

After not going to yoga for about a month and then going for two days in a row, it can make you REALLY SORE. At the same time, it does feel really good to start getting back into yoga. I actually have free time now that the Youth Summit is finished. Who knows, I may even do my school work. God forbid!

This Halloween, Jason and I carved his and his pumpkins and then put them outside. It was the first time that I have carved pumpkin since I was a little kid. it was a bunch of fun and our pumpkins came out way better then I expected. One of the eyeballs fell out of my pumpkin so I had to use a nail to put it back together.

In honor of Halloween, we went to see Dracula at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival. It was totally awesome with a few creepy moments. Afterwards, we went to Shooters to meet up with my neighbor in drag. She looked great. Halloween pictures can be found in my Halloween 2003 picture album.