The Anti-Gay What???

It's 7 in the morning, I still have to make my lunch, do my makeup, and finish getting ready for work. Yet here I find myself, writing a blog about a very touchy subject to most of the people I know here in Arizona.

I stayed up rather late last night reading a blog about the "Anti-Gay Law" or SB 1062 from Matt Walsh. You can find the blog post here.

I won't go into much detail about it as Matt does an excellent job debunking most "haters'" problems with the bill, and does it so eloquently. I will merely highlight a few things that I found to be very eye opening and wonderful points.

(And if you don't know what SB 1062 is, you can find that here and here.)

First off, this isn't a law against gay people. This is a law to protect businesses from participating in acts that they find morally wrong. If a gay couple can sue a baker, photographer, and florist for not wanting to participate in their gay nuptials because the find that morally wrong, why can't I sue a Kosher deli for not catering a non-kosher meal? That is something that they follow with their religion. I just don't see the connection in allowing a Christian baker to go down for something they choose to follow with their religion.

Some people are saying that this is combining church and state. While I agree to some extent, not having this is in place is not allowing people to practice their religion freely, which is supposed to be protected in the First Amendment. 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, OR prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

This law is not about Christianity only. This is about protecting every religion to allow them to practice freely. And one thing I don't understand, is why these couples in New Mexico, Washington, and Colorado were able to sue someone for practicing their first amendment rights. The government just came in and prohibited them from their "free exercise thereof."

Secondly, many people are saying that this law is the "Jim Crow law of the 21st century." Like Matt states on his blog, 

"We should remember that blacks were in chains in this country. They were literally treated as less than human. They could be legally murdered and beaten and starved. They were set apart, cast aside, and violently and systematically oppressed.

Not only are gays in a better position than this, but the two scenarios are diametrically opposite. Unlike historical blacks, gays are afforded special legal protections. They are celebrated by the president, Hollywood, pop culture, the media, mainstream culture, and most major corporations. 

They are hoisted on a pedestal by only the most powerful and influential people in the country.

Black people ought to deliver a sound verbal smackdown to any historically illiterate gasbag who even attempts to paint the slightest equivalency between the suffering of blacks and gays."

Again, I don't see the connection between this bill and "Jim Crow."

Lastly, and this is my favorite part, some comments are definitely worth mentioning. One guy got his panties in a wad because if you are a business, you are to "serve to the public, meaning everybody." Another commenter stated "I build websites for a living. Should I be required to build a porn site for someone just because I 'provide a public service?'" What a great way to put it, and I applaud you kind sir.

Another commenter wrote "What you are missing is that the constitution is guaranteeing freedom from discrimination from the government. Citizens are left with their freedom to discriminate in tact. The government is slowly attempting to push their obligation onto citizens, which erodes our rights."

Yes, I agree that there are a lot of changes that need to be made before this ever becomes actual law. I believe it is written poorly, but the premise and grounds for needing this are very real.

And on that note, I end this post so I can get ready and go to work. Have a wonderful week/end folks :)

Life in Good Ol' AZ

Well it's been quite a while since I've written. And I think it is long over due.

John and I moved down to Arizona right before Christmas. The move was kind of unexpected and unplanned, to an extent.

You see, life was going great! We just found out we were pregnant, loved our jobs, and put an offer on a house up in Morgan, UT, where John is originally from. We got out of our lease at our apartment and moved in with John's sister and her family until we closed on the house. We finally felt like REAL adults. Big changes were coming, and we were so excited.

Then things started to go south.

John's co-worker, who he dealt directly with at the clinic he worked at in Park City, started to be very difficult to work with. After a few weeks, John didn't feel like he could be himself at work, like he had been for the past 5 months. And then the phone calls started coming in from patients. One person called in to say he was offended that John mentioned he went on an LDS mission. One mother called in to complain about some, not necessarily advice, per say, but some things he knows about muscles that he had offered to her daughter who was planning on going into sports as a career, while performing an x-ray. Another person called to complain about who knows what. On top of that, this co-worker complained to their manager that she was offended about some things John had said (which were in no way inappropriate) that John had no idea made her upset. All of this happened within probably 2 weeks. And it was just too much for the clinic to handle.

So they let him go, the week before Thanksgiving. They were nice enough to give him a severance and pay our insurance through the end of December.

But I was absolutely devastated. Not only were my hormones completely out of whack, but so many HUGE things were happening and we couldn't do any of it without his income. On the way home from work that day after he told me, I was a mess. I was overcome with anger, fear, and panic. What were we going to do? We lost the house, we couldn't stay with John's sister long term, and we couldn't afford to move out on our own. I was having a baby and were going to lose insurance. And having a baby without insurance is very financially scary. The only good thing we had going for us, was the fact we were going through the temple in a few days. And even that I felt was up in the air because of the feelings I was feeling towards this individual.

I feel like John being let go stemmed from his co-worker. And I hated (yes, hated) her with every fiber of my being. See, she had been there for over 8 years. And then came along John. Someone that had things in line in his life, we were going through the temple, having a baby, buying a house, and she was just very unhappy. So she did all she could to get him to leave.

After a few days, I was tired of holding this hatred for this woman. The biggest lesson that this experience has taught me, has been to love my enemies. Even though I felt very wronged and targeted, I had something that she was missing. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was going through the temple in a few weeks to be sealed for time and all eternity to the love of my life. I was going to have an eternal family. And no obstacle or trial could take the truthfulness of that away.

So as hard as it was, I started to pray for her. I started to pray that her heart would be softened and that she would find happiness; that no matter what trials she was going through, she would be able to find peace and love. It's not my place to blame someone else for my trials. It sure is easy sometimes, but things happen for all sorts of reasons. Bad things happen to good people all the time. And they happen so that we can learn lessons. I have no idea what she is up to now, or who has taken John's place and if they are having any better success than John did. But I honestly hope that one day she will be happy.

Anywho, enough of that sob story.

December 23rd we packed up the truck and moved down to Mesa, AZ. I currently work for a lien service company in the valley and love it! The only down side about working there, is I see all the time how people are wronged by other people. Sometimes it's a little hard to take in, but such is life. John is currently working for my brother-in-law's dad doing landscaping, while he looks for other jobs as an x-ray tech [by the way, if you know of any place hiring an x-ray tech who is pretty freakin' sweet, let me know ;)]. Mo and Bear absolutely LOVE being here and being able to play outside in the warmth. Being close to my family is awesome, and starting to build a relationship with my niece is heartwarming.

It still hasn't quite sunk in that we are living here and are not just visiting or on vacation. I never thought I would be living back in Arizona. Ever. I was pretty set on staying in Utah for the rest of my life. I love it up there; being so close to nature and the mountains is something that I miss daily. So many times I think "Oh, I'm going to go here for lunch" or "I want to go to this store" and then I remember that those places are only up in Utah. Plus, it's kind of hard being away from John's family. They are just such an awesome bunch of people. I miss the family get-togethers and different events that they have. And it doesn't help that his nieces and nephews are beyond adorable and fun.

In the end, I know everything happens for a reason. I know John was let go for some reason, we just haven't found out yet. I'm happy to be back in my home town, and am very excited to see where life takes us from here!