On Saturday, November 22, about 5,000 anti-Prop 8 protesters gathered outside the State Capitol Building in Sacramento. Other protests and campaigns–statewide and nationwide–are scheduled in the coming months. The No on 8 movement for gay marriage rights has found new momentum, and it’s over a million voices strong.
On the other hand, the Yes on 8 backers are splintering. The group “ProtectMarriage.com,” which was responsible for putting Prop 8 on the state ballot in the first place, is now trying to distance itself from the über-conservatives and religious groups who heavily funded advertising for the initiative.
While the State Supreme Court is reviewing the constitutionality of Prop 8, Andrew Pugno, general counsel for the Yes on 8 campaign, is trying to block conservative religious groups like the Campaign for California Families from intervening in the state lawsuits. “That organization represents the extreme fringe and is not representative of the coalition that got it passed,” Pugno said.
But the CCA wants in on the defense of Prop 8 in these lawsuits. The group’s lawyer said overturning Prop. 8 “would wreak havoc on the democratic process.” [Sidenote: But, the democratic process should not be used to deny equality and civil rights to a minority; the democratic process should not be used for 52% of voters to oppress a smaller faction of the populace.]
It appears that the Yes on 8 camp is dividing and losing momentum. In the meantime, the California Supreme Court is re-evaluating the gay marriage issue once again, and will determine whether the initiative was improperly used to revise the State Constitution and deny equal rights to a minority. (–JK)
[Image: The November 22 Protest in Sacramento, Photo by Autumn Cruz, Sacramento Bee]
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14 Comments
November 25, 2008 at 12:43 am
Thanx again for the update…keep up the good work…
November 26, 2008 at 1:22 am
I know that you may have already seen this info, but just in case:
California officials are planning to investigate whether the Mormon church gave an accurate accounting of its role in the campaign that succeeded in getting a same-sex marriage ban approved in the state.
The action by the California Fair Political Practices Commission came in response to a complaint filed two weeks ago by a gay rights activist. Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, accuses the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of failing to report the value of the work it did to support Proposition 8.
Roman Porter, the agency’s executive director, said Monday that the decision to open an investigation does not mean staff members have determined there was any wrongdoing, only that Karger’s complaint merits further inquiry.
A representative from the Salt Lake City-based church could not be reached for comment.
November 26, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I did read that story, thanks!! A very interesting turn of events…
November 26, 2008 at 3:18 pm
“But, the democratic process should not be used to deny equality and civil rights to a minority; the democratic process should not be used for 52% of voters to oppress a smaller faction of the populace”
Amen, sister! Thanks for the great update. I find hope in some of the movement we’re seeing. Grateful for that…and happy Thanksgiving to you.
JABG
November 26, 2008 at 3:51 pm
JABG, it’s so nice to hear from you! I’ve missed you!!! Thanks so much for stopping by. Happy Thanksgiving to you as well, and please take great care of yourself
November 26, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I heard you guys might get it reversed soon. Hope that works out since I know there was a lot of work put in from a lot of the major cities.
November 26, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Thanks, MinorityMilitant. I really hope the court reverses this blatantly discriminatory ballot initiative. It’ll be a start… there’s still a lot more work to do, to get people to THINK and EVOLVE! (What is it–48% of this country voted for McPalin? Sigh.)
December 1, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Does that mean that the ballot initiative that elected Obama should be thrown out because 48 % voted agaisnt him and only 52% voted for him. Great logic.
December 1, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Thanks for your comment, but read the rest of the statement:
No, I’m not against the “concept” of a popular vote, whether that’s in reference to our elected officials or most ballot initiatives. I’m not talking about voting for higher taxes or mass transit subsidies, or for congressional representatives here. I’m talking about civil rights, basic equal rights.
If the majority had decided to “exterminate” the Japanese prisoners in WWII internment camps, would that have been okay? Just because the Japanese population was rather small, would that have been reasonable?
If 52% of Americans at the end of the Civil War voted to keep Black slavery legal, would that have been acceptable to you?
December 3, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Part of the prolem with the gay agenda is they compare it to the strugles that blacks and other minorities have endured. As an italian American I can tell you first hand in my life time of being picked on just because of my heritage. that pales in comparision to the treatment that lack slaves endured. They were owned an suffered terile things at the hands of slave owners. I can’t imagine what it was like to have your children sold like animals. When you compare that to a sexual prefference or behavior, it hardly has the same gravity. Gays are so in your face about it. They don’t want to live in peace with their ehavior they want to e totally accepted as normal.
December 3, 2008 at 11:45 pm
1superdave, you do make a lot of great points there. I do, however, disagree in that gays and lesbians go through a terrible ordeal, nothing like what the Black slaves endured, but in most places in this country (and even in most parts of California), gays cannot be honest about who they are without a serious threat to their physical safety. Matthew Shepard is just one example; there was also a transgender person in the San Francisco Bay area (specifically Fremont, CA) who was beaten to death when her identity as a biological male was discovered during a party.
Asian-Americans have had very little strife (compared to Black Americans), aside from the Japanese internment camps during WWII–but denying equal rights to Asian-Ams would still be a “civil rights” issue.
Gay people don’t just have a gay “lifestyle”–trust me, I promise you that they CAN’T HELP IT. Gay is biologically-wired (whether you see it as “natural” or not). Gay is NOT a “choice,” any more than you can help liking vaginas (I presume).
The Gay rights movement is now in-your-face about it, as it should be.
They are not asking for anything more than basic equality.
No one’s asking for a gay-tax exemption or anything that would actually take away from the rest of society. They’re just asking to get married as consenting adults in monogamous unions. That is not taking away from anyone in society.
They HAVE TO BE IN YOUR FACE about this issue, because they have been denied a basic right. The Black American civil rights movement was also an in-your-face, traffic-stopping movement. Back in the day, when Black Americans were fighting for the right to sit at the front of the bus, many White Americans said, Why can’t these heathens, who are genetically inferior to us, who are a ‘human genetic anomaly,’ just be happy that they’re not slaves anymore? Why do they have to ask for so much? We now know that people who thought like that were utterly stupid. Gays aren’t even asking for that much, they’re just asking for equality. No one’s asking to teach your kids to be gay, no one’s asking for anything that would take away from the rest of us.
December 4, 2008 at 5:19 pm
You are obviously emotionally connected to this issue but as for the assians not having it that bad, you may not realize that the chinease worker did a lot of constrution on the panama canal and even the railroads out west. They weren’t slaves but their lives weren’t valued enough to clear them safely out of the way when dinamite was to be set off to blast to rocks out of the way. They would light the fuse and demand that the chinease worker stayed at their post until the fuse of the charge went into the hole in the rock. this is where the phrase fire in the hole came from. thousands of them died from falling debris. You say that they aren’t costing anything. They have won social security , health insurance and retirement benifits. We have gays in prison demanding and getting sex change operations. they still continue to be the highest in reported hiv infections(do to risky and permisscuos behavior) the cost is stagering. How many years ago was Matthew Shepard. Everyone can claim that they can’t help a certain behavior, from alcohol and drugs to gambling and sex. that is not like being born black. It is not something that I think is fair to equate with race an they are suffering defeat for the tactic.
December 5, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Oh yes, I’m well aware of the struggles of Chinese laborers back in the day; I was only saying that if one would say that Asian-Americans have had less strife than Black-Americans, it would clearly be a bullshit-argument to then deny equal rights to Asians, just because they weren’t as oppressed. The argument that “civil rights for gay Americans can not be compared to that of Black Americans, so don’t call it civil rights!”, is like saying that civil rights for Asian-Americans can not compared to that of Black-Americans and therefore “don’t call it civil rights” for them either.
People are born black, and people are born gay, having an attraction to members of their own sex. This is where we disagree. You seem to believe that gay is a choice. But homosexuality is certainly NOT a choice. Why would they “choose” such a “lifestyle,” just to be tormented by all the homophobia and gay-hatred in our society?
Matthew Shepard’s death was ten years ago; a similar tragedy occurred in the San Francisco area only 4 or 5 years ago. (Even if it was 20 years ago, does that mean that the gay struggle does not exist?) And anti-gay hate crimes have increased in this country since 2007 (FBI stat).
You say this as though they don’t deserve such benefits that ANY taxpaying American would deserve. So, they get to pay taxes like you and I do, and NOT get any social security? Why all the hatred against gays? Why should they PAY EQUALLY and then REAP FEWER benefits that are endowed to them as taxpaying American citizens? Do you really think they they should be punished by the law for their homosexuality? Is that not religious indoctrination? Does that not violate the clause in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constituion to keep religion out of government? A “Sin” isn’t enough of a reason to keep SSA benefits from Americans. Then why not deny medicare and social security to adulterers? Why not forbid anyone who has committed adultery from re-marrying, as this person has clearly not respected the sanctity of his/her marital union?
Anyway, perhaps we should just agree to disagree. As long as you believe that homosexuality is a choice, we’re not getting anywhere with this discussion.
December 10, 2008 at 4:20 pm
the whole concept of ss was to be sure women who at the time weren’t the primary bread winners would have a way to support minor children if something happened to the husband . Civil unions allows for these financial consideration. why not let two women and two men all be married. if one had great health inn. they would be covered. Where would it end. It’s not the same. Also The Obama voters are to blame for it not being defeated. They broke rank with the coalition.