Winners Emerge from VA’s Election

S.R. Sidarth

Image courtesy of Wonkette

S.R. Sidarth is definitely a winner.  Before the election campaign began, he was just a University of Virginia undergraduate.  I’ve met plenty of University of Virginia undergraduates, and believe me, I can barely remember their names [just kidding...].  Mr. Sidarth, on the other hand, is now a king amongst college students.  He’s so cool that I asked him to be my friend on facebook.com and he rejected me.  He says he wants to become an environmental lawyer, and after this sudden celebrity, he’s definitely going to get into the law school of his choice.  Rock on, Mr. Sidarth, rock on.

People Who Don’t Like Gay Marriage

That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions…

Although two gay individuals getting married doesn’t hurt anyone else, some have decided that the idea of two individuals being gay and married is so “wrong” that it must be banned.  Not only is this idea in statutes that already exist in Virginia, but some believe this must be written into Virginia’s constitution to protect the law “from activist judges“.

This is a religious issue and the fact that people are trying to pretend it is political sickens me.  Virginia 4 Marriage claims it is not:

Q. Isn’t marriage a religious matter, not a government matter?

A. One of government’s most crucial roles is to enhance the health and welfare of the people. Our government sanctions marriage between one man and one woman because it is the best means to protect and provide for children - a legitimate purpose for government. The institution of marriage existed long before the state gave rights to married couples…

I’ll agree that one of the most crucial roles of government is to enhance societal welfare.  However, in doing so, it cannot tread on fundamental rights enjoyed by citizens [see Anyone v. Anyone].  Is taking away the right to marriage from a set of the population that was simply born different from the majority treading on a fundamental right?  I would say yes.

Is marriage sanctioned between one man and one woman because it is the best means to protect and provide for children?  Marriage is sanctioned for many reasons besides that.  Furthermore, who says that one man and one woman make the best parents?  There are studies that go both ways on that issue.

“The institution of marriage existed long before the state gave rights to married couples.”  Yes.  In churches, and in a religious context, right?  I thought this question was supposed to explain why marriage is not a religious matter.  Whoops.

But hey, I could be wrong, so if you’re in favor of this amendment, feel free to correct me.

For more on how I feel about gay marriage, check out my other article, entitled: “An Economic Justification of Gay Marriage.”

The Second-Worst Possible Senator for Virginia

Courtesy of James Webb’s Official Website

Ok, I’m exaggerating here a little bit.  But come on.  This election was a lesser-of-two-evils election if I’ve ever seen one.  My rationale when voting was along these lines:

1. Jim Webb has been accused of hating women.  That’s about 51% of the population.
2. George Allen has been accused of hating all non-whites.  That’s more than 51% of the population.
3. Thus, if both of these are true, Allen is a greater net hater than Webb.  Thus, I should vote Webb.

Just kidding again.  I’m sure (and I really hope) that neither candidate actually hates the groups he has been accused of hating.  There were some decent reasons for voting for both candidates, but they really just slathered on the negative attack ads and it was really hard to be proud of who you voted for, at least for me.

This was an attempt at comedy, but I’m a terrible political analyst at best, so please feel free to let me know how bad this article really was.