Last week, my school's gay-straight alliance hosted a very special town hall meeting. The topic of the day was the decision that is coming up by California's Supreme Court on the constitutionality of Prop 8. For those who need reminding, Prop 8 in California was a voter's inititive that banned the recognition of same-sex marriages in California. Whether this prop's passing was retroactive is dependent on the decision of California's Supreme Court. The following is an article I wrote for my school's newspaper:

Repeal Prop 8: Town Hall Meeting

On Thursday, May 7^th, the Gay-Straight Alliance hosted their first town hall style meeting held at “The Spot.” The topic at the meeting was the upcoming decision by the California court on whether the ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional or not. The guests came from all across California to support the same-sex marriage movement. The keynote speakers were top members of well-known LGBT, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender, organizations in California: Lambda Legal, Equality California, Orange County Equality Coalition, the LA LGBT Center, and The Center of Orange County. The meeting hoped to educate the LGBT members and allies on what is likely to happen to Prop 8 in California’s Supreme Court and on the momentum the same-sex marriage movement has been gaining.

Diane Olson and her wife Robin Tyler were the first married same-sex couple from LA County in 2004 and were happy to share with us what marriage meant to them. According to Olson, marriage inequality is no different than segregation. “Domestic Partnerships are drinking fountains keeping people in their place.”Lambda Legal’s, Jennifer Pizer, elaborated on three possibilities of the court’s decision. According to Pizer, “There are three situations: Lose/Lose: past marriages are void and Prop 8 is upheld, Win/Lose: past marriages are upheld and Prop 8 is upheld, Win/Win: past marriages are upheld and Prop 8 is deemed unconstitutional.” Marc Solomon, marriage director for Equality California, stated his organization’s thesis for strengthening the movement. “One, we have to tell our story…come out to everyone…two, organize locally within the community.” Alex Vasquez, president of the Gay-Straight Alliance, shared what he learned about community organizing. “This year GSA came out of the closet; the movement is about organizing and getting out there, inside and outside of school.”

Afterwards, there was time left for an open panel discussion. Most questions were followed with a great applause while one was greeted with much disgust. One member that night asked the panel, “If voting on human rights is wrong, is it right to go back to the ballot box in 2010?” The reply from the panel was, “Yes, we agree…we have to wait till the judges vote…a repeal measure is smart, however.” One woman seemed confused on the subject at hand. She asked, “Will predators… pedophiles… argue that they have gay rights?” Diane Olson, personally assaulted, as with every one else, responded, “The community cannot be lumped with abusers and predators…it is unacceptable and intolerable in the community.” Some interesting facts from the meeting: “In 1971, Richard Baker and James McConnell applied for a marriage license in Hennepin County, Minnesota.” “Half of Americans disapproved of black-white unions through 1983. In 1997, the next time Gallup asked the question, approval had jumped well into the majority, with nearly two in three Americans saying they approved of marriages between blacks and whites.” For now, the decision is still up in the air. People are anxiously waiting until June 3, the final day that the court has to decide whether the Prop 8 same-sex marriage ban is constitutional.