The Arkansas thing

I want to write a post about the passage of the proposition denying gays and lesbians the right to adopt or do foster care. I haven't because I want to say something articulate and all I can think of are things like:

Are you INSANE?!

I strongly disagree with people who will accept civil unions but not marriage equality. I don't think that separate but equal is equal, but I can respect the position enough to argue with it. I can imagine talking to someone who has that position and give them reasons for why they should change their minds. In reality, I suspect that they will change their mind when they have more contact with gay couples. I am confident that change will come, although not as fast as it should.

But the other thing...part of me wants to take every person who voted for that and make them be foster parents...except that would punish the children, who are already being punished by the idiocy of this.

I think this law is a bigger threat to marriage equality. One of the most persuasive arguments for marriage equality (by that I mean ones that tend to persuade and not the arguments that people should find persuasive--you know, ones that appeal to things like human dignity) is that it protects children. If you think that GLBT people should not be parents at all, that kids are better off in fricative SHELTERS than in foster or adoptive homes with loving and committed GLBT parents then I really can't think of any argument to give. All that comes out is some sputtering and something like,

Are you f'ing kidding me?

And my blood runs cold at what this means for the GLBT kids in care. How far are they from saying that is unsafe for the straight kids to share their homes with the gay kids? I worry about how damaged these children are being raised by a system that tells that that no matter what they do, they will never be "good enough" to be parents.

And now I just want to scream.