Inspirational Equality Debate and Responding to the BoD
As the topic of the language change around the Inspirational Equality debate heats up around the East Kingdom, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has responded here and on Facebook and commend the civility and courtesy with which you have replied. I expect nothing else of our readership, but when an issue is contentious, it sometimes takes restraint to be able to maintain a conversational tone. You have done that and this reporter, Countess Marguerite,thanks you.
Additionally, the board has clarified with the East Kingdom Gazette that they are maintaining 2 sets of comment periods for the 2 language changes.
The original comment period for the sentence: “Each competitor in a Royal List must be fighting for a prospective consort of the opposite sex unless the Crown has elected to permit a competitor to fight for a prospective consort of the same sex.” will end on December 1st, 2012. Comments on this replacement wording can be sent to the BoD in an email to comments@sca.org with “Same-Gender Consort Proposal” in the subject line.
A decision about whether section IV, B. of Corpora will be changed to contain this language will be made after the end of the comment period.
The new sentence: “No one may take part in the list as both competitor and also consort“, has a different comment period. Per Lisa May, Countess Margaret Ni Conner, it will last for at least 60 days after the Board Meeting. Again, comments can be sent to comments@sca.org. It is suggested you use a different subject line in the email to clarify that you are talking about sentence two. A common sense suggestion is to use the subject line “Same-Gender Consort Proposal: Additional Wording”.
Regardless of your position, it is important that you make it known to the BoD by contacting them directly, and we appreciate your continuing to maintain the thoughtful, courteous tone of the debate we have had so far in your missives.
Thank you for helping to shape our society.
I just sent a note with comments to the Board on the “first” language, whose commenting period expires 12/1.
Amongst the issues I have with that language is that it does not “resolve the problem”. Rather, each Crown will be required to make a policy decision each reign on whether or not to permit same-sex consorts. That’s a sure way to make life hard for everyone.
Note that the proposed language requires that the Crown make the decision – there is no ability for a Kingdom to make rules in this area.
Do we want to have this issue arise in each Kingdom, each reign? Better it should be settled one way or the other than we constantly be divided over it.
I’d suggested for this language, something much like what I suggested for the language proposed last weekend: “Each competitor in a Royal List must be fighting for a prospective consort”, which when combined with the existing “Just and Stated Cause” language for entrants, provides the same flexibility without public policy arguments each reign.
I like that idea. Because I don’t think this has anything to do with the game. It has to do with right and wrong. And wrong is to allow one person to decide on the rights of a group of individuals to participate. The Royalty is part of the game. This question is not. This must be decided and fixed by the BoD.