im in a committed relationship to a beautiful woman called the bit
When we moved to Oregon in 2019, we always planned eventually to move back "home" to Pennsylvania, the state where, before that, I'd spent all but a year of my life since we moved there in '88.
Today, I'm going to have a conversation with my partners. I think we just have to assume I -- we -- can't go home.
Maybe ever.
Pennsylvania itself is in a low-risk category within two years, but it could easily -- well I know it -- swing into red if the next election cycle breaks another way.
That's not the kind of place where you buy the house that you intend them to "take you out of toes first," as I joked with my wives when we last talked about our plans.
That's what these laws mean to people like me. They mean "the state you consider home might become actively hostile to you within the next 5 years, so you can't plan to buy a home there." They mean "you shouldn't even board a plane that has a likelihood of having a layover in Florida, and you're definitely not going to repeat your 2019 drive across the country, one of the best and worst experiences of your life and the most time you've gotten to spend with your brother in one week since you graduated from high school." They mean half the states in this country are actively hostile to you, legally speaking, in a way you thought was finally behind you.
Sometime soon, I'm going to call my mother and tell her that we're not planning on moving back.
I don't have a clever closing line for this. I'm just sad.





