In the celebration of Barack Obama's victory last night and the expansion of Democratic gains in the House and Senate, there was a dark spot. In four ballot questions related to gay marriage and gay adoption, homophobia scored a clean sweep.
Most of these "wins" were expected. It is not surprising that Arkansas voted to ban gay adoptions. It is not shocking that Arizona and Florida voted to ban gay marriage. But what is surprising, and heart-breaking, is that Californians voted to actually strip away a right guaranteed by the California Constitution.
It is wrong. It is inexcusable. For something like this to happen makes my heart break and my soul cry out for justice. But know this; it is only a temporary setback.
As Martin Luther King said, "The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice." That arc may be long and the bend may be slow, but it always bends towards justice. That is little comfort today for the millions of men and women who had their world shattered this morning, I know. Just as I know I will never truly understand how horrible this result is for the gay and lesbian community because I am not part of that community. You could easily click away from this diary saying "What the hell does he know!" Who knows, you may be perfectly justified in doing so.
But I also know that when things are their darkest, that is the time you must not quit. When that boot is applied to your neck is the time that you must fight back. That when you feel like the world is against you, you need to remember that isn't true.
The fight for equality in marriage, the next great civil rights movement, has taken a hit today. But it is not dead, people. Not by a long shot.
Equality still thrives in Massachusetts, as does the Commonwealth itself. Connecticut rejected a call for a Constitutional Convention that anti-equality forces were hoping to convene, so it lives on there as well. Civil unions providing all the same benefits as marriage thrive in Vermont and a bill to grant equality in marriage should come up for a vote in 2009. New Hampshire also provides full-benefit civil unions and is moving towards equality. With the Democratic capture of the state senate in New York, justice may well be seen in that state very soon. New Jersey is moving in the same direction. Even in my home state of Maine, which has a woefully-inadequate domestic partnership law, Equality Maine mounted a signature campaign to get a marriage question on the next ballot and I think they were able to do it.
I point all this out not to dismiss the tragedy in California. Nor will I tell you, callously, that you can "move out there", because you shouldn't have to change your residency to be treated equally. I point this out to remind you of history.
When this nation was born, slavery was the law of the land. Laws were passed to preserve it, to enforce it. But one region fought against that before any other. They waged a battle that few thought they could win. They passed laws that most states looked at as foolish. But that didn't stop them. They never quit. They preached and fought for justice and equality. And in the long run, in the moral arc of the universe, they won. In this fight, the Northeast is once again waging a battle that is out-of-step with most of the country. But just as they won their fight two centuries ago, they will win this one as well.
It shouldn't be this way. We shouldn't have to fight for people to be treated the same as one another. We shouldn't have to fight for something as American as equality. But fear is a powerful motivator. It speaks to our darker angels and sometimes we, sadly, allow that part of us to triumph. Today, those darker angels have won in California.
But just as they have won today, we will win tomorrow. Just as bigotry won on the ballot today, equality will win on the ballot tomorrow. This is not the beginning of the end. It is not even the end of the beginning. This is the first step in a long fight to ensure that when Thomas Jefferson wrote that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" that they weren't just words. This is the first step in fighting to create an America that lives up to her promise of justice and equality for every man and woman.
Today may feel like our greatest defeat. But it can be the birth of our greatest victory. Remember this day, the pain and the anguish, and use it. Use it to start fighting to overturn Prop 8 in California. Use it to get a winning vote for equality in Vermont and New York. Use it to work for equality in Maine and New Jersey. Use it to inspire us all to wage this great civil rights battle, to fight not only against bigotry and fear in California, but in the country. Use it to fight against DOMA. Use it to battle against intolerance in Florida and Arizona and all the states that have passed laws to deny equality.
"The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice." Justice is on our side. That is what we must hold close as we wage this battle. It won't be easy. It won't be fast. But we will fight and we will win. Know that, even as we mourn today. Know that, and fight.