Sinead's Hand

I do not get political too often, but certain topics get me riled up. One of them is definitely gay marriage. I do not understand why people feel that it is their right to deny a legal union to someone else. Who are you to pass judgment on them?

I don't even understand how it is illegal. Marriage is a union between two people. What does it matter what sex they are? As long as both people are willing and able, it's their choice to make. It's a personal decision that should not even need to be voted on by a government.

Below is an Irish commercial that conveys this sentiment perfectly. A man goes from house to house asking for his partner's hand in marriage. Because sadly it is up to the people - who vote in the legislators - to decide if this man is allowed to get married. That's just insane.

It's a powerful message. I think that they should make an American version of it. Maybe it will bring the point home for those who disapprove.


All I have to say is that I will be terribly disappointed in the USA if Ireland legalizes gay marriage before us.

Get Your Guns While You Still Can

After 5+ years of working with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the sign above horrified me. I saw it while I was recently in Pittsburgh.

It's an ad for a gun show and the tag line at the bottom says "Get Your Guns While You Still Can."

This annoys me for several reasons.

1. Who is trying to take their guns away? Not the Brady Campaign. They just want you to buy them legally and pass a background check. And - we can barely get that law enforced. So current and future NRA members of America have no fear that one day guns will be outlawed.
   
2. What makes these people think that there is an imminent threat to take away guns? The gun control lobby has been trying to close the gun show loophole for years and nothing has happened. Plus, even if the loophole is closed that does not mean you cannot buy a gun - it would just mean that you have to actually pass a background check to buy it. I'm sure this sounds like a terrible law - we would not want to be able to actually block criminals or terrorists from buying guns. That would be a tragedy.
   
3. Does this country really need a "run" on guns because people want to stockpile them in case they are not available in the future? That would make me feel safe. A bunch of people with their own arsenals.

New Metro Billboard Campaign

Recently, there have been some interesting billboards popping up in metro stations. They are part of a new campaign by Avaaz.org. You may wonder what Avaaz stands for - I know I did. Apparently it means "voice" in many Middle Eastern languages.

This organization states their mission as "a new global web movement . . . to close the gap between the world we have, and the world most people everywhere want."

Their current campaign revolves around closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay. I think that the billboard (pictured below) is very clever. It certainly caught my eye and made me want to look up more about the organization.

Avaaz.org states the purpose of the campaign as follows: "Inspired by sustained support for an end to torture from the world community and a clear majority of Americans, Avaaz.org is launching a metro billboard ad campaign to remind policymakers that torture is illegal, unethical and a top recruiting tool for the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network. "



I think that this campaign is quite thought provoking. But, I'm not sure it is going to work. I doubt politicians will take this movement seriously unless they hear about it overwhelmingly from their constituents. Maybe I'll be surprised. If enough people are like me and are intrigued by the billboards, it could work.