unusualmusic_lj_archive (
unusualmusic_lj_archive) wrote2008-09-16 10:17 pm
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Bigots.
Couple fight gender-neutral language in wedding license
I didn't realise that we had the right to oppress other people. I'll keep that in mind, though.
Last month, Rachel Bird exchanged vows with Gideon Codding in a church wedding in front of family and friends. As far as Bird is concerned, she is a bride.
To the state of California, however, she is either "Party A" or "Party B."
Those are the terms that have replaced "bride" and "groom" on the state's new gender-neutral marriage licenses. And to Bird and Codding, that is unacceptable.
"We are traditionalists – we just want to be called bride and groom," said Bird, 25, who works part time for her father's church. "Those words have been used for generations and now they just changed them."
...
Bird and Codding have refused to complete the new forms, a stand that has already cost them. Because their marriage is not registered with the state, Bird cannot sign up for Codding's medical benefits or legally take his name. They are now exploring their options, she said.
Bird's father, Doug Bird, pastor of Roseville's Abundant Life Fellowship, said he is urging couples not to sign the new marriage forms, and that he is getting some support from congregants and colleagues at local churches.
"I would encourage you to refuse to sign marriage licenses with 'Party A' and 'Party B,' " he wrote in a letter that he sent to them. "If ever there was a time for the people of the United States to stand up and let their voices be heard – this is that time."
...
And Rachel Bird described her position as "personal – not religious."
...
"We just feel that our rights have been violated," she said
I didn't realise that we had the right to oppress other people. I'll keep that in mind, though.