Day of Decision part 2

Here are a few more photos from the rally/protest last week -





A special memorial was set up on the corner of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Blvd., a small pocket park known as Matthew Shepard Human Rights Triangle Park. Women dressed as angels stood in front of pictures of GLBT people who have been victims of brutal hate crimes, including Matthew Shepard, Brandon Teena, and several others.




Related posts -

And the fight continues
I believe
The Right Side of History
The Eve of Justice

Day of Decision

As I'm sure you know by now, yesterday the CA Supreme Court ruled that Prop 8 will remain valid, while the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed last year will also remain valid.


GLBT organizations are already starting a campaign to put an initiative on the ballot in 2010 that will repeal Prop 8. In the meantime, they are recruiting volunteers to go door-to-door to talk to voters about the issue. According to one volunteer I spoke with, they have already changed the minds of 15% of the population. I don't have anything to substantiate this claim, but it would be excellent if true...


Last night I attended the West Hollywood rally and march. Celebrity sightings included Drew Barrymore and Kathy Griffin (I saw Kathy but not Drew). I heard there were 5,000 people in attendance, which is considered a good turnout (although if you compare that to the number of people who attend L.A. Pride, there's a huge discrepancy). The thing that struck me the most was the lack of energy I felt compared to the protests that followed the passage of Prop 8 last November. When I arrived, the rally (which means an organized thing with speakers) was going on and while a huge segment of people had broken off to go march/protest, the police were blocking the road so we all just sort of stood around idly for an hour until we could get through (after that it got dark, so I had trouble getting good photos).



Nevertheless, everyone seems to be looking forward to the prospects in 2010. And there are so many other politically promising things going on around the country for GLBT rights - the "don't ask, don't tell" policy has been brought to the forefront and may change under Obama's term in office, the Oregon Senate just passed legislation that protects GLBT students in schools, New York and New Jersey have been making headway on same-sex marriage legislation, some recent success has happened with hate crime legislation that protects GLBT people, D.C. started recognizing same-sex marriages from other states a couple of months ago, we had a recent marriage victory in Maine - so much is going on across the country, it's hard to keep up. But one thing is certain - things are moving, and quickly.

I have some more photos I will post soon. In the meantime, check out my favorite sign below, on the far right -

The Eve of Justice

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, the California Supreme Court is going to hear oral arguments tomorrow regarding the validity of Prop 8. Tonight I went to a rally/vigil/march in Downtown L.A. called The Eve of Justice, to help send the message that equality is protected by our constitution and not by popular vote.








Related posts:
And the fight continues
I believe
The Right Side of History

Tying the Knot

In a little over a week, the CA Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about the validity of Prop 8. Since the election last November, the GLBT community and our allies have mobilized in unprecedented ways - protests, rallies, marches, vigils, demonstrations, boycotts, viral videos, blogs, conversations, the white knots, people coming out of the closet, straight people postponing their own marriage until the right is granted to all - the commitment, energy, and passion toward this effort has been incredible. Of course, we all know that the decision of the CA Supreme Court will be huge - setting an example, good or bad, for the rest of the country and the world.

On Wednesday, March 4, the evening before the Supreme Court's hearing, there will be events all over California to send a unifying message that equality should not be up for a popular vote, and that the purpose of the constitution is to protect minorities and to make sure that the law treats everyone fairly. You can check out The Eve of Justice website for more info. I plan to go to the demonstration here in downtown L.A.

Also, a short little plug for Milk, which won two Academy Awards last night - the DVD is now on pre-order from Wolfe Video. Yes, you can buy the film at your local Walmart (oh, but dear God - why??), but if you want to support a small, independent, queer-owned business (who in turn supports filmmakers like me), I recommend buying it from Wolfe!

Related posts:
MILK - does a body good
And the fight continues
I believe
The Right Side of History

And the fight continues

As you probably know by now, proposition 8, the ballot initiative to eliminate same-sex marriage in CA, won by a narrow margin yesterday.

But we haven't heard the last of it. Protests have been happening all over the state, and there's still some hope that the Supreme Court will overturn the prop.




(the sign above is in reference to a proposition that passed to treat chickens and other farm animals more humanely)



Last night I had the chance to go to the protest here in West Hollywood. When I arrived, a large group of people were blocking a main intersection (Santa Monica Blvd. and San Vicente) during rush hour.





Then a bunch of speakers talked about the issue while another group segmented off and headed up to Sunset Blvd. to protest up there.



This afternoon a group of people went to protest and have a press conference at the Morman Church in West L.A. (I had to work so I couldn't go). During the rally last night, we learned that 45%-65% of the money donated for proposition 8 was from the Morman Church. It's important to add that the movement against prop 8 is careful not to judge Mormans as a group. There were a significant amount of Mormans that spoke out against prop 8, and this was acknowledged during the rally last night. Nevertheless, the leaders of the Morman church are accountable for the massive amount of money donated in favor of the proposition - money that mostly came from out of state and that was used to run TV ads with false information.

On a positive note, we know that time is on our side. Change and progress are inevitable; it's more of a question of when than if. Proposition 22, which passed 8 years ago to ban same-sex marriage in the state (which was overturned by the sumpreme court recently, hence this new proposition) won by a 22% margin, compared to only a 4% margin this time - a huge change in such a short amount of time. There is no doubt that we are headed in the right direction.

"In an expanding universe, time is on the side of the outcast. Those who once inhabited the suburbs of human contempt find that without changing their address they eventually live in the metropolis." -Quentin Crisp

Yay for Gay!

Today the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage! This evening I attended a celebration rally in West Hollywood.




Some facts:

- While domestic partner benefits have been extended to same-sex couples in CA for the past few years, the court ruled that providing these rights through a separate system of domestic partnerships does not satisfy the state constitution.

- In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled - "In light of the fundamental nature of the substantive rights embodied in the right to marry — and their central importance to an individual's opportunity to live a happy, meaningful and satisfying life as a full member of society — the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all couples, without regard to their sexual orientation."

The court also noted: "Our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual's sexual orientation - like a person's race or gender - does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights."

- For more information, check out The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, or the ACLU - three organizations that were involved with this landmark case.

- Right wing conservatists are already trying to overturn the ruling with a ballot initiative. To see how you can help fight back, check out Equality for All.




As for me, I don't have anyone to marry at this time, but I know she's out there somewhere... :)




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