And This is Supposed to Dispel the Notion that Marriage is a Rich Gays’ Issue…How?

February 28, 2011 ·

And so we now have…

A $363,000 Tax Bill to Widow Led to Obama Shift in Defense of Marriage Act

Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer had a 40-year engagement and a two-year marriage, starting with a wedding in Canada recognized under the laws of New York, where they lived, and ending when Spyer died two years ago.

Her death triggered a $363,053 federal tax bill from which her widow would have been exempt had she been married to a man, because the federal Defense of Marriage Act bars the U.S. government from recognizing same-sex unions.

Both women in the New York case were professionals, with homes in Manhattan and Long Island. The Amsterdam-born Spyer was a clinical psychologist. Windsor, born in Philadelphia, earned a master’s degree in mathematics from New York University and built a career as a manager for International Business Machines Corp., according to a complaint filed in her case.

Now, contrary to the impression that Laurel “Lurleen Blogovitch” Ramseyer’s scriverner at the Seattle Santorum wants the that paper’s readers (and the blogosphere at large) to come away with, neither I nor just about any trans activist is against same-sex marriage (those who claim that we are should pay daily tribute to New York Times v. Sullivan but should also keep in mind that eventually someone is going to convince a version of the U.S. Supreme Court that bullshit per se should be actionable.)  We are, however, simply against the obscene over-prioritization of it as an issue in general and the disingenuous rhetorical corollary which holds that, somehow, same-sex marriage helps trans people more than anti-discrimination protections do.

Does anyone – trans, LGB or merely in the land of functioning brains – who is against the obscene over-prioritization of gay marriage as an issue in general and the  disingenuous rhetorical corollary which holds that, somehow, same-sex marriage helps trans people more than anti-discrimination protections do not think that what is happening to Edith Windsor is at least unjust and, in all likelihood, unconstitutional?

Yet, plenty of those who actively engage in the obscene over-prioritization of gay marriage as an issue in general and who disseminate the disingenuous rhetorical corollary which holds that, somehow, same-sex marriage helps trans people more than anti-discrimination protections do either don’t get – or don’t care – that no DOMA repeal bill and no anti-DOMA decision from the U.S. Supreme Court would benefit 2011 counterparts to Windsor and Spyer if their employers decided that they didn’t want to employ lesbians.

And I won’t even mention how neither would be of any use whatsoever to the career aspirations of any trans person.

So, my question – a question that gay organizations refuse to even make an attempt to offer a stright (pun intended) answer to and which, while not forbidden, if shunted off to oblivion on InsidersOut blogs – is this: How did it become more of an ‘LGB(T) community’ priority to protect the estates of LGB people who managed to earn a living with and/or without anti-discrimination protections than to enable LGBs and, of course, Ts to actually compete in the marketplace for the opportunity to earn money  and create an estate in the first place?

If the answer is not ‘pure, unadulterated greed (with or without a transphobia chaser), then please enlighten me as to what it is.’

Straight answers from gays, only.

[Cross-posted at ENDABlog]

In categories:Katrina Rose Politics
Next Post

Shit-Shovelling Shills and Their Same Old Shams, Scams and Swill: New Faces, No Changes

Take a look at this guy: Based on the teeth-gritting, is he: Unable to shake off a badger that's gnawing his foot off? Unable to shake off a badger that's gnawing his testicles off? Unable to take a piss? Unable to…
Read
Previous Post

Too Exposed to Expose?

So... Why did I re-run that 12 1/2-year-old piece about Judge Frye and her dogs over at ENDABlog?  Because of this: Ramseyer wasn't using internet anonymity in order to be mean. Its connection to my 1998 Frye piece will become a bit…
Read
Random Post

Two Cis Women Sexually Assault Trans Woman in Public Bathroom

Two cisgender women sexually assaulted a transgender woman in a North Carolina public restroom. The cisgender women, Jessica Fowler and Amber Harrell, were arrested for sexual battery and second-degree kidnapping. According to reports, the sexual assault happened at Milk Bar on December…
Read
Random Post

War of the Words

Could we be winning the war of the words? I got this google alert in my email box today: Notice the actual piece that the google alert was linked to: There is hope yet. We may not be winning the…
Read
Random Post

Trans Student Attacking Girls in School Restroom! Or, you know... not.

The push for radical transgender rights in schools is trumping privacy rights at one Colorado high school. A male student at Florence High School who claims to be a transgender has been harassing girls in the bathroom. When parents complained,…
Read
Random Post

Ask Matt: Some Tips for Presenting on Trans Issues

A reader writes: “I’m thinking about speaking to a Gender Studies class at the college I attend because of some ignorant comments from ignorant classmates when I took the class last semester (such as ‘I can pick out trans* people…
Read

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.