First of all, Prop 8 shouldn't be something that people vote on in the first place. Civil rights are not voted upon by people. The majority has no place to decide things for a minority. A democracy is not just defined as "majority rules." Taken from dictionary.com, a democracy is also - "a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges" and "political or social equality."
To preserve the essence of a democracy, a majority vote does not always prevail. In this case, the CA Supreme court has agreed to hear cases that challenge Prop 8. The argument for our side says that it should be deemed unacceptable a) because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the constitution, and b) Prop 8 violates the separation of powers doctrine under the constitution.
It always amazes when I think about how our forefathers got it "right" way back in the day - "all men are created equal," "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and the separation of church and state. Granted, "all men are created equal" did not mean the same thing then as it does today. But I think the brilliance of the document lies in the fact that it has always been something for us to aspire to. We are not quite there - yet. It's almost like the constitution is full of goals instead of self-evident truths and rights.
The separation of church and state, or rather lack there of, is a huge problem. We do not have a separation. When you file for a marriage certificate, you do not become legally married until you have a ceremony. It doesn't matter where you do it, but you must do it. The fact that someone can go to a church and become married in God's eyes and in the government's eyes at the exact same moment, weds the function of church and state. These things should be separate. The state should consider you married after you sign the paperwork, and if you choose to have a ceremony in a church before or after that, that should be a separate transaction. As such, there is no distinction, for many people, between civil marriage and religious marriage. The fact is, it is not the state's business to determine who is fit to get married, who can have their love legally sanctioned and their sexual relations deemed appropriate. Marriage is a legal contract between two people. For the state to determine who can and cannot enter a contract with another person is ludicrous. As such, the state has no real business "marrying" people. Its only function is to facilitate the rights and responsibilities that both people agree to take on.
I've had two straight friends of mine ask me what we hope to accomplish with these protests. While it seems obvious to me and many other people, I have to think that the question is still valid. I tell them that there is hope that the courts will deem Prop 8 an inapropriate revision to the constitution. But I'm quick to say that it's more than just that. This is a movement, a civil rights movement. Things happen because people get involved. They raise awareness, they start talking about it. Never before have our straight allies stepped up to the plate so significantly. Keith Olbermann would probably not just wake up one day and say "Hey, today is the day I'm going to talk about gay rights." Or if he had, it certainly wouldn't have been as passionate, persuasive, or as poignant as it was. Things like this are happening because we're causing them to happen. The comedian Wanda Sykes just recently came out of the closet because of Prop 8. I met a lesbian at Butch Jamie's DVD release party last night who told me she wouldn't have been there before Prop 8. Really, prop 8 had an effect on the release party? It sounds silly, but it's true. She told me that prior to the proposition, she was disconnected from the GLBT community but was OK with it. But after it passed, she wanted to get more connected. It may seem inconsequential, but it's not. There are thousands of people across the country, potentially millions across the world, that are in some small way modifying or changing their life because of this. Small changes lead to big changes; there is no other way.
A video titled Why Do We Protest? on YouTube Answers the question with these simple facts:
-We cannot marry in 48 states
- We can be fired for being gay in 31 states
-We can be removed from military service
-We are not protected under federal law
-We will no longer be ignored
It is not true that protests do not accomplish anything. All civil rights movements have happened because of the number of people who took to the streets to stand up for what they believed in. For the queer community, the Stonewall Riots 40 years ago kicked off the modern day GLBT movement that we are now living. Everything happens step by step - one thing happens, then another, then another, and then one day Ellen comes out of the closet and the world is never the same again. Seriously.
I've read some comments online that say gay people should just accept this and get over it. To quote George Bernard Shaw - “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” I understand, as I wrote in a post a few days ago, that the difference between myself and my opponents is that I am in favor of change and they are not. We can agree to disagree on this, but it doesn't change the fact that change is happening and will continue to happen. You can fight it while we facilitate it; you can maybe slow it down if you're lucky, but it is impossible - impossible for you to stop it. I love the sentiment our movement embraces - "We are on the right side of history."
Lastly, I understand why many religious institutions are riled up about this. I truly do understand their position, regardless of my desire for them to believe otherwise. But this isn't about religion. This isn't about God, sanctity, or tradition. Your God, and your Bible, and your church can believe whatever it wants to. These things have no place in our government. The fact that the President of the United States has to be Christian or he won't get elected is bad enough. For a country that was founded on religious freedom, our Puritanical roots run far deeper than they should. The fight over same-sex marriage is no more than the fight over the relationship between church and state. I hate to break it to you, but it's time for a divorce. And we shouldn't be part of the custody battle.
With that said, here are some more photos from the protest here in L.A. last Saturday -
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