Challenging A Century-Old Supreme Court Ruling

Brian Barnard, a Salt Lake City civil rights attorney, is challenging the holding in Reynolds, the 19th century Supreme Court case banning plural marriage. Last Sunday, the Salt Lake Tribune ran this article about his efforts. This CBS article, released upon the lawsuit's commencement last year, contains further information. Barnard is acting on behalf of three clients, two women and a man, all over age 45, who claim that polygamy is necessary for their "exaltation and eternal salvation." Utah's bigamy laws do not require deceit of the legal spouse or performance of a second marriage ceremony for prosecution. A married person living with someone else in a sexual relationship can be found guilty of bigamy.

I'm glad there are people standing up and questioning the state's prohibition on nonmonogamous familial groupings. I also recognize that it may be most helpful to make the religious claims, since overturning Reynolds is the goal.

Nevertheless, I think it is unfortunate that the majority of legal challenges to monogamist laws that harm those in nontraditional familial units are coming from fundamentalist religious types. While making the religious claim may be the best shot to overturn monogamist-favored laws on constitutional grounds, in the courts of public opinion, it continues to keep nonmonogamy as a creepy-sounding, cultish practice. While that is true in some circumstances, it doesn't reflect the broad diversity of familial types who are harmed by bigamy laws. The difficulty may be in finding a nonreligiously-motivated nonmonogamous family who is willing to undergo the public scrutiny a lawsuit often entails.

Rawness

My first carcass-free Thanksgiving! Even when I was a vegetarian, I was always present at a turkey-fest during this time of year. Not in 2005! We had twenty people or so at the raw food potluck we hosted (not at our house, thankfully, but at an empty house we are tending), and the food was magnificent. Lasagne, wild "rice" salads, pesto-stuffed mushrooms, mashed "potatoes" - even gravy! And the desserts! All vegan, so no digestive unpleasantness. All date- and agave-sweetened, so no sugar crash. Chocolat mousse, pumpkin pie, two kinds of apple pie, carrot cake, sweet potato pie . . . mmmmm.

This was, by far, the best Thanksgiving I've ever had. Plus, I didn't feel all bloated and nasty afterward. Cleanup was a breeze! Life is glorious. Although I don't advocate everyone should "go raw," this lifestyle shift has impacted me personally in unexpectedly fantastic ways.

Breathing

I've been forgetting to breathe lately. Chest tight, anxiety high, shallow breath. No wonder I've been feeling batty and out of it and sometimes even hysterical.

Deep breathing. Consciously. In to my belly. Out slowly. Breathe.

Obscenity Redux

John Tehranian, author of "Sanitizing Cyberspace" and mentioned in my first obscenity post, found this blog and provided me with a free weblink to the article. Since I'm not one to cite a bunch of law review articles here (or really anywhere for that matter), it's worth reading if you are at all interested in the legal aspects of pornography and obscenity.

And to follow up on that San Diego exhibitionist-free-speech scenario created by Steve York (aka Stevie Why), my interest got the better of me and I squandered time on Stevie Why's website, downloading the half-hour show that caused the latest uproar on UC San Diego's SRTV station. If you are really interested, you can get it here. Frankly, I wouldn't waste my time if I were you. It was rather terrible on many levels.

Raw for the Folks

Trying to explain and demonstrate raw, living foods to my parents - who fed me canned and frozen veggies and hamburger helper my entire childhood - is a lesson in patience. Today I visited the parents because I won't see them on Thanksgiving and we wanted to celebrate my dad's upcoming birthday. After I prepared the raw pizzas, my mom fully expected to stick them in the microwave. She really doesn't get it. But she did enjoy the raw carrot cake. Until she found out about how many nuts are in it and then worried about the fat content. When I explained that eating a 100% fat-free diet is really unhealthy and that "good" fats are necessary, she had a glazed look like she was completely tuning me out. Typical of our dynamic. You tune me out; I'll tune you out.

** I didn't provide any links to raw, living food because so many of the sites are cultish-sounding and extreme. But if you want to check something out that isn't as strange as many sites, go to Storm and Jingee's place.

Being Queer

My introduction briefly addresses my being bisexual and how I usually refer to myself as Q/queer. I'm an officer in the "gay and lesbian" student organization at my law school (and apparently the only overtly "gay" group listed on the student association website for the entire university). My friend John is the president of this group and heard from a student in a media diversity class who needed to interview "gay" people for a class presentation. John's a good guy, and I agreed to help out. I didn't realize I was agreeing to be on camera! Good thing I took a shower Sunday morning and didn't wear anything too heinous.

I am often hesitant to represent Queerness, thinking of myself as a queer-Queer. Bisexuality is (at least begrudingly) acceptable in the alphabet soup I think of as Queerdom. But the truth is, I'm a little more complicated than that. I've been partnered with a male for nearly seven years. He has another female partner and we three all live in the same house. Although monogamy isn't my reality, sometimes de facto celibacy is, unfortunately. Have I mentioned that I haven't kissed another woman for over two years? Two years. Too long!

Yes, I'm still Queer/bi. But what the hell do I know about what it's like to be gay? I get hetero privilege, much to my dismay and frankly, disgust. I am "read" more as a polygamist wife than a poly-Queer.

In fact, during the interview, when I was asked if I regretted my "decision" (to which I first replied that the only choice I ever made about being Queer was the choice to be honest), I told the guy that if anything, I wish I could just be one "way" or another. At the same time, I don't have any interest in being any other way than I actually am, Queer/bi or not. Do I actually believe in these labels and identities? Not really. I do actually believe that sexuality is a continuum, but dualistic society forces many Queer/bis to pick a side and stick with it.

I understand that identity helps us know where we are and position ourselves relative to others. But I think it's a shame the ways in which identity politics stigmatize and polarize.

While I was in San Diego, I was drinking at a bar with a woman I thought was a law student but turned out to be a law professor. After telling her about my family and relationship realm, she said, "You know, five minutes ago I was interested. But after you tell me that, I gotta be honest, I'm not interested in going there." Had I not been well on my way to drunk, I would've inquired whether it was the polyamory or the bisexuality that turned her off more, or if it was just a combination of factors. In any case, I appreciated her candor. Because I often pick up something about it, but rarely do people articulate their reservations or thoughts or opinions or questions.

I don't know where else to go with this. Ran out of steam. Con law and the establishment clause await. With baited breath.

Aluminum Hats

The results are in.

"That you can't fight City Hall is a rumor circulated by City Hall." -Audre Lorde

I'm Not Cold, Just Sad

Lest you think the last post heartless, just think of these last few entries as the emotional roller coaster of one who has procrastinated schoolwork to the point of panic and has a perpetual deer-in-headlights look as the deadlines loom.

One thing about losing a pet, it makes you appreciate the other ones a whole lot more.

I have to study. Procrastination is even more out of hand than usual.

Because Really, A Frozen Cat Is Funny

Okay, so if you read the previous post, you may have been biting your lip, or laughing out loud, thinking, "Man, too bad her cat died, but a frozen cat is really pretty funny." Maybe I'm kidding myself. Perhaps you didn't really think it was too bad before the amusement set in, but that's how the scenario goes in my mind.

Well, you're right. The concept of a frozen cat is rather amusing. Before I got home from San Diego, and before I went to the vet to see her body (they'd already removed her collar, but they gave it to me), I was thinking about one of my favorite indy B-grade movies, Rubin & Ed. For an enthuasiastic description, go here for an excerpt from the 1993 Motion Picture Guide Annual and posted to the Crispin Hellion Glover Resource Center, a self-described "temple of devotion to him." Mmm hmmm.

The director's "official" site is where I nabbed the photos. You can buy a tee shirt there with Simon's weird-looking face on it and the impressive statement that "my cat can eat a whole watermelon!"

Like this one of Rubin carrying the cooler with frozen Simon inside. (Guess what happens when he runs out of water?)



Or this fabulous shot of the striped floodpants and platforms.




Since I am still mourning the loss of my animal companion of seven years, I'll probably hold off watching it anytime soon. Or maybe not. Maybe after we get her ashes I'll have a good long cry followed by a good long laugh while watching this bizarre piece of cinematic history.