Be a light. Be a flame. Be a beacon.

July 5, 2011 9:40 PM

So I'm walking home from work today listening to this week's Moth podcast (video) and halfway home I'm frozen in my tracks. Most Seattleites recall the freak Pineapple Express of December 2006 which resulted in massive flooding, evacuations, and most heartbreakingly, the horrific drowning of a 41 year old woman who was trapped by fallen debris in her own basement. Initially denied the right to be at the bedside of her partner as she lay comatose and dying, Charlene Strong would become a tireless advocate for marriage equality. In this 15 minute talk, Strong candidly recalls that day and how it led to her involvement in creating Washington's first domestic partnership registry so that others would not face the same denial of basic human rights at these critical moments.

She also co-produced an award winning documentary about the creation of Washington state's "Everything but Marriage" law. Photo of Charlene Strong standing next to Governor Christine Gregoire as she signed this into law.

I am hoping we will not debate here whether "Everything but Marriage" is really marriage equality. I am hoping we will learn about and admire the efforts of those heroes who suffered and fought so that we can all be free someday.

posted by Slarty Bartfast (12 comments total)

Wow, I remember hearing about Ms Fleming's death at the time, but I didn't know about the marriage/partnership rights aspect.
posted by hattifattener at 9:56 PM on July 5, 2011

I know, right?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:13 PM on July 5, 2011

I remember, I lived two block away from Ms. Fleming at the time. I lost half of my possessions when my house flooded. I didn't know about the partnership part of it, but I'm glad something good came out of that tragedy.
posted by black8 at 10:53 PM on July 5, 2011

I designed the cards and helped implement the system. Very proud to have been part of that.
posted by stenseng at 11:07 PM on July 5, 2011 [4 favorites]

I was on a road trip with a friend to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. That was one of the most terrifying road-trips I ever took.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:32 PM on July 5, 2011

Meta
posted by ryanrs at 11:39 PM on July 5, 2011

The Moth's interface obfuscates the non-itunes podcast page: here's a direct link to the mp3.
posted by anotherbrick at 11:49 PM on July 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

The Moth is a dangerous thing to listen to when up and about, its been quite a few times that its stopped me in my tracks and had me close to tears in aisle 3 of key food, or something. (Or laughing like a crazy person in aisle 3 of key food.)
posted by tempythethird at 3:07 AM on July 6, 2011

MetaFilter: sick, tired, pissed-off, and angry
posted by hippybear at 4:28 AM on July 6, 2011

I didn't know that a Pineapple Express was actually a thing, other than a stoner movie. Learn something new every day.
posted by fungible at 5:08 AM on July 6, 2011

i listened to this on the way to work the other day and it was definitely a tough, but inspiring listen. Charlene sounds amazing.
posted by rollerball at 5:48 AM on July 6, 2011

It's not just a piece of paper.

Last summer, I performed the wedding of a lesbian couple who moved to DC to have their baby. Back home in Virginia, see, the non-pregnant partner had no rights--no rights to the baby, and no rights to make medical decisions for her partner should anything have gone wrong. They rented an apartment here, and got married in a lovely ceremony behind the Smithsonian Castle, at 39 1/2 weeks pregnant, because they were terrified of a scenario like the one described (well, and because they were in love and committed and having a child together). I received the baby pictures a week later.

It's really, really not just a piece of paper.
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:10 AM on July 6, 2011 [6 favorites]