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As you all should know by now, Prop 8 was upheld by the California Supreme Court on Tuesday by a 6-1 ratio. This was a win for ignorance and a loss for civil rights. According to the court and the supporters of Prop 8, this was the "will of the people". Well we'll see what the will of the people will be once we go back to the polling booths in either 2010 or 2012. And this is not the first time that a ballot initiative has taken away rights from a minority. In fact, According to Jon W. Davidson of Lambda Legal, a gay rights legal division, "In general, the initiative process has been used more against minority groups than to help them." This includes housing discrimination based on race, discrimination based on knowledge of the English language, and several others. The fight didn't end for those people who were discriminated against and neither does our fight. There's still enough time to change hearts and minds until then, but for now we have to continue to fight.
Yesterday, thousands of protesters came together to show their love and support of marriage equality in Fresno California. Their message was to spread the word about the families, friends, and neighbors that were hurt by the passage of Prop 8. By being visual and active in the community, the protesters hope to persuade those in California's most conservative areas to change their stance on the same-sex marriage issue. If everyone who supports equality came out to protest and if more gay men and women came out of the closet, we would see a radical shift on how the majority views the gay community. Notably at the protest was Harvey Milk's bullhorn. Harvey Milk, California's first elected openly gay man, rallied in the 1970s for equal rights for all minorities especially the gay community. If he were alive today, he would be leading these people day and night for equality. SFGate.com wrote:
Cleve Jones, a Milk associate, said, "Harvey would have loved this because he said the single most important thing you can do is come out." Jones brought the bullhorn Milk used to rally supporters during the Coors beer boycott.Everyday it seems that the marriage equality campaign is gaining support, however sad it might be that it also seems that to counteract that there is always someone to be against it. After Prop 8 was upheld Lawyer David Boies and Theodore B Olson joined forces to fight for marriage equality. Although they disagreed on who should have been president in the 2000 election, they prove in their alliance that this is a nonpartisan issue we are dealing with. Equality should never be partisan. Although some are skeptical about the federal lawsuit, I believe that whatever happens this movement will not be stopped. Sadly, even with all of the protests, our President fails to acknowledge our existence. Where's the change, Obama? Unlike him, a pastor in Pasadena has taken a very public stand. He announced that he would no longer perform ANY marriage until same-sex couples are given the same rights as opposite-sex couples. Kudos to Reverend Art Cribbs. His actions show that this issue should neither be a partisan or a religious issue. Religious conservatives need to forget about how the state defines marriage and more on what their congregation is doing to make the world a better place without having to judge or intrude on peoples' lives.
Most celebrities don't revel much about their personal lives, but when Prop 8 was upheld David Hyde Pierce spoke out on The View:
Lots of controversy surrounded Adam Lambert who could have been this year's American Idol. There were photos of him online that showed him with other men, but despite that he never came out of the closet publicly, despite some close to him claiming that he is indeed open with his sexuality. Now, Rolling Stone Magazine has announced that he will be coming out in next week's issue. I believe that the more people that come out the better. And if they are celebrities that can openly express themselves on television and press about what kind of struggles they go through and their people go through, then all the better for the marriage equality movement."[My Husband Brian] and I always kept a low profile. We didn't hide our lives," he said. "We got married very quietly last Oct. 24 and thought that was fine, and then suddenly the state of California said, 'No, it's not.' What we thought was sort of a private, personal decision turned out not to be."
If it's one message I must give to all of my fellow protesters is, "It's not over, until we say it's over." There will always be injustice in our world. And there must always be a movement and a rally to fight it, but most importantly, people. I think Dan DiMaggio puts it best.
We can't rely on corporate politicians or the courts to defend our rights, much less expand them. Rather than waiting for a supposedly more favorable balance on the court, now is the time to step up the movement in the streets, which can change the relationship of forces in society and build public support for LGBT rights.
For More Info Check Out The Following Links:
LA Times: "Easy Ammendment Process"
SFGate: "8 Opponents in Fresno"
LA Times: "Thousands Rally"
Muckety: "Bush/Gore Join Forces"
Eonline:"Pierce Revels Marriage"
Socialist Alter: "Build a National Movement"
Gaywired: "Pasadena Pastor"
EdmontoSun: "Gay Community Disappointed by Obama"
MercuryNews: "Adam lambert"
