Early today I received an email from the Human Rights Campaign regarding the appointment of Leslie Southwick to the Federal bench by President Bush. Now I’m not the most well informed advocate for gay rights or equal rights in general. I want the world to be a happy place and I believe everyone deserves the same freedoms. I know that HRC is clearly biased when it comes to their causes and they present information that sways their audience. So with that in mind I was swayed, easily as usual, to contact my senator. Apparently Mr. Southwick isn’t a big fan of the “choice” people make to “become” homosexuals. I had considered blogging about this incident and then decided better of it until I read a post on a Colorado Wedding Photographers blog and spent some time talking to my man Drew.
According to Nathan Welton of Dreamtime Images in a recent wedding, “Their ring bearer was their beloved dog Spanky, who came up with the rings attached to a carabiner on its collar. Spanky also signed a paw print on the marriage license witness line, which is legal in Colorado. How cool is that?” Well, I thought it was kind of cool. I had a fleeting thought that it was interesting that dogs can sign marriage licenses, but gay couples can’t be married. But it was fleeting. Then I thought that if I ever had to obtain a marriage license I would totally drag my dog Oz along with me. I told Drew this and he was pretty infuriated, bringing back the point that laws don’t make a ton of sense. His anger is spurned by the fact that Civil Unions didn’t pass in the last election and it seems pretty silly that a dog is considered a legal witness, but people who love one another aren’t allowed to be legally recognized as a union. I started to wonder just how clear the dog issue was in the law, so I did a little research…
It took me something like 13 clicks to get to the marriage laws on the Denver gov site, but I found it! There isn’t anything specific about dogs, but I imagine because it’s legal for you to “marry” or solemnize your own wedding they’re not too picky about your dog being a witness. The following copied from the Denvergov.org site implies technically I could be my own witness marrying my 1st cousin.
-“Your marriage may be solemnized by a judge of a court, a retired judge, a court magistrate, a public official whose powers include solemnization of marriages, a Native-American tribe official, clergy, or you and your intended spouse.”
– “A marriage between an ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, uncle and niece, or aunt and nephew, whether the relationship is by half or whole blood is prohibited. However, marriage between first cousins, whether the relationship is by half or whole blood, is permitted in Colorado.”
Speaking of ridiculous laws in Colorado I heard something in passing on the radio station KBPI regarding a “host law”. The few words I heard implied that it was legal to drink underage in your parent or guardians home. My curiosity was peaked today so I did some more research. I was led to this “No one under the age of 21 is allowed to consume or possess alcohol unless a parent or guardian gives permission for their child or ward to drink, but only on private property and under the supervision of the parent or guardian.” on the National Youth Rights Association Website under the state of Colorado. I then spent some time surfing the Colorado and Denver gov sites. With some work and the help of a nice librarian (you can chat online with Gov. Service Employees) we found these links:
– A reputable current site containing specific information to drinking laws
– And a way to search Colorado Legislature!
Looks like I’m off to take my underage 1st cousin drinking at my house. Afterwards me, my cousin and my dog are heading to the courthouse to get hitched.
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