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    Rocky Mountain high

    I find it very cheering to read things like this:


    The Montana Senate has passed a bill that could allow limited rights to same-sex couples. The measure would create a statewide registry where people could designate their next of kin.



    Although the legislation does not specifically mention gay and lesbian couples it was assailed by opponents as being pro gay. The bill would allow people in relationships to name their partners as next of kin, regardless of sexuality. Single people could also take advantage of it by naming a relative, friend or caregiver.



    The measure gives the next of kin the right to hospital visits, the right to make medical decisions and also allows them to receive the dead person’s remains. It provides an easy mechanism so that a lawyer is not needed.



    Supporters of the bill stressed the advantages it would provide the elderly, the ailing and the disabled.



    “I think it’s got a much broader impact than gay-rights legislation,” Sen. Jon Ellingson (D-Missoula) told the Billings Gazette after the debate.



    “This is a simple bill that allows folks, whether they’re married or single, to manage their personal affairs.”





    See? Notice–no mention of whether anyone’s getting it regularly, which is not the government’s problem. Now if gay activists start bellowing that this bill is discriminatory because it doesn’t exalt our relationships in every damned finicking little detail, I will throw myself off a bridge.



    Okay, I won’t. If I’d made a practice of keeping promises of that nature, I’d’ve been dead long ago. But I find it hard to be hopeful that our activists will ever learn to see our issues as woven into those of the broader society, even if other good-hearted people already can.

    2 Responses to “Rocky Mountain high”

    1. Michael says:

      The real question here though is:
      Is “I’d’ve” actually a word?

    2. Sean Kinsell says:

      No, it’s a contraction. I was going to make it “I would’ve,” that that’d’ve broken up the rhythm.