Such an embarassment for Bakersfield... (San Francisco, Sacramento: spring break, attorney, weddings)

[tangodoodles]

I swear, we're not all like this. Some of us actually believe in equal rights. But yeah, I'd advise liberals, gays, and atheists to stay away because you are unlikely to be welcomed with open arms. Just last week there was a big to-do (from out of town since no one in town seemed to care) when this Ford dealer in town came out with an article that said all atheists should just "sit down and shut up." The reason that the atheists and liberals who do live here try to speak up is because we have nutballs like Chad Vegas on the Kern School Board whose first order of business was to turn Winter and Spring breaks into Christmas and Easter breaks, keeping in mind that more than three of our high schools are designated as "drop-out factories." Last year he wanted to put "In God We Trust" on the wall in every classroom at the cost of thousands to the citizens of Kern County. Eventually he compromised with a poster that included that phrase and the Bills of Rights. He has a blatantly Religious Right agenda and he's backed by many people in the city. So, our clerk who issues marriage licenses in Bakersfield and the rest of Kern County will not be overseeing any marriages because she hates gay people. This means that if you are gay, you can still get a marriage license but you must find someone like a judge to perform your ceremony and it will not be done by the county clerk. Also, this is relevant to this thread because I believe everyone considering a move here should be thoroughly warned. But hey, if you hate gay people like Ann Barnett does, you'll be welcomed here, just not by me. I can't wait to get to San Francisco for college, this is just so embarassing and such a bad reflection on some of the decent people who live here.

Calif. clerk stopping marriages to resist ruling - Yahoo! News (broken link)

[cityx]

I empathize with how you feel. I would say that where I live in Sacramento it is distinctly more liberal than Bakersfield. However, even here we have our extreme right, freakazoid racists and homophobes - mostly out in El Dorado and Placer Counties. Small towns breed small minds I guess.
The whole gay marriage issue right now in California is huge and the sad part is that it really shouldn't be. I would have thought that most people, even those who don't 100% agree on the issue would have evolved a bit and just get on with their lives.
Like it or not, they are going to have to just deal and get over it. Society is evolving and fortunately, I'd like to think that we still live in a country where we actually strive to preserve and extend equal rights and privelages to all individuals.

[Roaddog]

`If you want to get married, find a church that will perform the ceremony, I'm sure there are some in Bakersfield that will do it. I thought the reason for suspending all weddings was the budget, they got a 1.5 million cut, I didn't see anything in the news about it being because of gays.

[tangodoodles]

Originally Posted by Roaddog

`If you want to get married, find a church that will perform the ceremony, I'm sure there are some in Bakersfield that will do it. I thought the reason for suspending all weddings was the budget, they got a 1.5 million cut, I didn't see anything in the news about it being because of gays.

Well, they can't say that to the public but my mom works at the courthouse and she and her coworkers have been talking about it a lot. Weddings actually pull in around $50,000 a year for the county and, according to the Bakersfield Californian article, Ann Barnett's assistant shot off several emails to the city attorney asking how to get around the ruling but the attorney said to either stop all weddings or face a lawsuit. I saw an article in the Californian that said a Unitarian Universalist would be standing outside to perform ceremonies for free. Ann Barnett is just trying to make it difficult for gay people to get married. To be fair, she tried to resign from that part of her job and have someone else put in charge of that aspect of her auditor-marriage license responsibilities but that was a no go because she's an elected official. Still, it's just so sad. It's very hard in Bakersfield to find a minister or priest to do one of these ceremonies. But there are still several routes like that Unitarian Universalist minister who will do weddings for free and I know some of the Superior Court judges do weddings for a fee of around $100. So I'm hoping Ann Barnett will be out of a job soon. Here's the article I was talking about with some of the emails in question as well as a county supervisor's thoughts on the matter and his attempts to fix the situation.

Californian exclusive: Clerk went to great lengths to get out of same-sex ceremonies - Latest news | Bakersfield.com - Kern County news, events, shopping & search
Supervisor: Another county department should perform civil marriages - Latest news | Bakersfield.com - Kern County news, events, shopping & search

[Roaddog]

i'm sure Gay's can get around it and get married, i personally wouldn't want to get married by the county anyways, it seems very un-romantic and not that great of a memory.

[rkb0305]

Originally Posted by Roaddog

i'm sure Gay's can get around it and get married, i personally wouldn't want to get married by the county anyways, it seems very un-romantic and not that great of a memory.

You all are missing the point. it isn't about gay people looking for a place to get married, it is about people pushing their religious right agenda down everyone's throats.

[18Montclair]

Well,
People have very strong opinions on these issues. It reflects how they live their lives and how they interact with others. I am gay and my BF and I were in Bakersfield back in February on a roadtrip between the Bay Area and Las Vegas.

Anyway,
We stopped at this fast food place off of Hy 41(California Av) and gassed up there as well. We didnt encounter any sort of bad treatment and didnt feel like people didnt like us. 3 times though, people asked what kind of mileage our Prius gets. LOL

I guess its a matter of mutual respect despite differences. Some of course, arent as respectful, but all we can do is live by example and hope it rubs off on them.

[Roaddog]

Originally Posted by rkb0305

You all are missing the point. it isn't about gay people looking for a place to get married, it is about people pushing their religious right agenda down everyone's throats.

They have their rights to. You want to take their rights away and force yours on them, it's a double edged sword.

[tangodoodles]

Originally Posted by Roaddog

i'm sure Gay's can get around it and get married, i personally wouldn't want to get married by the county anyways, it seems very un-romantic and not that great of a memory.

I agree. I'm very greatful that there will be several ministers outside willing to marry couples for little to no money. It's just sad that an elected official is willing to stop all marriages by her office just to reinforce her prejudice. Her excuse really is just that, an excuse. As of the time the article was written only one or two couples had applied for a license. So really there would not be a great influx. I just wish that elected officials were capable of putting aside their feelings to do their jobs by the law. But the fact that people are advertising their services to all couples to make up for Ann Barnett is very heart-warming.

[tangodoodles]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Well,
People have very strong opinions on these issues. It reflects how they live their lives and how they interact with others. I am gay and my BF and I were in Bakersfield back in February on a roadtrip between the Bay Area and Las Vegas.

Anyway,
We stopped at this fast food place off of Hy 41(California Av) and gassed up there as well. We didnt encounter any sort of bad treatment and didnt feel like people didnt like us. 3 times though, people asked what kind of mileage our Prius gets. LOL

I guess its a matter of mutual respect despite differences. Some of course, arent as respectful, but all we can do is live by example and hope it rubs off on them.

I would say that although 80% of Kern County voted in favor of outlawing gay marriage in 2000, many people here are actually more libertarian than conservative. A majority have a "live and let live" attitude but the ones that don't are very vocal. That's why this article and the fact that the AP picked it up is such an embarassment. Most of the people of Bakersfield are genuinely nice, courteous people but this article makes us look like narrow-minded rednecks which is a label we already have to deal with enough. I just think it is a bad reflection of the city and the people who live here since there are plenty of us here who probably wish we could throw Ann Barnett out of office.