The Fight Is On! California Same Sex Marriage WILL Go Up For A Majority "Yes" Or "No" Vote in November!

DING! DING! (okay, you have to imagine a boxing fight bell sound there...)

In this corner, standing 151 feet tall for Liberty and Justice for All, and weighing 450,000 pounds, Lady Liberty!






Whooo! Yeah! Go-Girl!!! Uh, you wanna put down your torch and your book, there?

And in this corner, standing at 5 feet 7 inches against Gay Marriage, against Adoption by Gay Men and Lesbians, and weighing the political expediency of denying GLBTQ Americans more and more of their rights so he can get more votes from his alienated conservative "base", U.S. Senator from Arizona, Backer of the California Initiative to Deny Marriage to Same Sex Couples, and Presumptive Republican Nominee... John McCain!




Boo! Hssss! Shame on you!


And in this corner... Well, I'll save my disappointment with Barack Obama's stance on Gay marriage for another time.

Sigh...



Here's The Breaking News this week:

CA Supreme Court Rules on Bennett v. Bowen

SAN FRANCISCO – On July 16, the California Supreme Court issued an order in Bennett v. Bowen, S164520, denying a petition to remove Proposition 8, the proposed marriage ban, from the November ballot.

Equality California, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the American Civil Liberties Union issued the following statement:

“We’re disappointed, but this ruling does not affect the campaign against Prop 8 in any way. We have been focused on continuing with the election and moving forward, talking to voters and working in the precincts—asking Californians to Vote No on 8. Californians do not want their Constitution to single out people to be treated differently. We are confident they will vote NO in November to make sure everyone is treated equally under the law.”

That's from the Equality California website.

That means that Gay Marriage will be up for a majority vote.

That means that EVERYONE who is fair-minded and can vote HAS to do their part, to stand in solidarity for the civil rights of we, their Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning fellow human beings!

The fight is here.

The fight is now.

If we win this, they can't say it was "activist judges" or "procedural loopholes" or make any other excuses for how we won civil marriage rights for all.

Already, Massachusetts has put in place- just this week - the foundation for eliminating restrictions on out-of-state same sex couples from being married there. There is excitement about the economic boon of an influx of same sex couples coming to marry, both in Massachusetts and in California. New York state has said it will recognize out-of-state same sex marriages...

There is momentum building for freedom and rights for GLBTQ citizens, and that is exciting and wonderful.

If we lose this, the war will be more protracted. Thousands of couples who've already married (like myself) will be put in legal limbo. The socially conservative right will sneer that "people aren't ready" for gay marriage. Well guess what? "People" weren't ready for interracial marriage until 1991. (Check out my bigger discussion of this issue with poll results and my thoughts about majority rule and the True Meaning of Democracy here.)

The majority of people may not have been ready, but interracial marriage was made legal in this country by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967. Should all those couples - all those families - have been made to WAIT those 24 years for the majority of voters to catch up?

Think for a second of ALL the mixed race couples YOU know. In fact, Barack Obama's parents (who, of different racial backgrounds, married in 1961) wouldn't have been able to marry in a number of states in the U.S. because of anti-interracial marriage laws! But in 1967, they had the freedom to go anywhere in the U.S. and have their marriage recognized as legal. Should they have had to wait until 1991 to feel like first class citizens?

Here's a message for those against same sex marriage, those for same sex marriage, and those who feel they have no opinion (can this category still exist?)

Make no mistake about it. We will WIN this war. There is no going back to the closets of history.

Our love is stronger, and will outlast this fight for our civil rights.

We have seen the future, and it is brighter and fairer and more just - and it is NOW.


Join the fight.

Donate Money, if you can, whatever you can.

Donate Time -volunteer with one of the many amazing organizations who are pulling together resources and strategizing this fight.

Talk to your family and friends about it - and explain how it's not about forcing religious ceremonies on anyone - it's about basic CIVIL fairness under the law.

VOTE in November!

And check out these amazing organizations:

Equality California

The National Center For Lesbian Rights

Equality For All - Vow To Vote No on 8

Lambda Legal

ACLU

And check out this cool petition you can sign at the Human Rights Campaign website that already has over a million signatures in support of same sex marriage rights!


The Fight is on. Let's go for a Knockout in this round!

DING! DING! DING!


Namaste,

Lee