I must ask supporters of Prop 8 a few simple questions; what right do you have to prevent other individuals from choosing to get married. Is that your choice to make? What if I told you, a person in favor of Prop 8, that you could not marry the person of your choice, that instead the state would determine who you could or could not marry. This is what you just voted for in California.
Are these people who you voted to discriminate against somehow less human than you? Is it morally objectionable to you that they marry? So what? My cousin is a right-wing born again Christian, and he came to the conclusion that his own personal beliefs should not become law, especially in a DEMOCRACY where people should be free to CHOOSE to do what they want as long as it does not harm other people. And personally, I do not know how gay marriage will harm you or me in a significant way. Homosexual people do not object to your heterosexual marriage, why must you object to theirs?
A majority of Californians have chosen to go down the path of George Wallace; "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." This is different than in the case of the civil rights movement, where African Americans outnumbered whites in the South, and yet the Black Crow laws kept African Americans as second class citizens. In this case, the majority of the people of the state of California voted to discriminate against a person just because of their sexual preference. When will we wake up and realize that SEPARATE IS NOT EQUAL.
There is a long struggle ahead, but I will continue to advocate for the rights of my homosexual friends: the vast majority of whom believe in the promise of this democracy and that we as a nation will one day conquer bigotry and homophobia. It will take time for wounds to heal, but if we remain committed to the cause, we can rewrite history books and make sure that there really is "liberty and justice for all" in America.
We can do this. It will take leaders who are willing to speak out and an electrified base who are tired of the traditional way and are ready to forge a new era. We are not guaranteed that we will see the sun from this prison tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day. But we do have a choice. We can stand at the gates of justice and accept that the gate is locked, or we can attempt to break it down with our hands.
If we want an equal and tolerant world, it starts in California. The rest of the country often watches what we do and tries to live by our example. Now is the time, before segregation and bigotry become uncontrollable, to take to the streets, and more importantly, make the case of gay marriage. Our politicians will not take a strong stand for gay marriage because they want to get elected. We need leaders from outside the political realm to fight for justice and equality, and explain to regular folks that they have been deceived into thinking that gay marriage will cause the fabric of society to rip.
It will be difficult to persuade those who are so beholden to their views, but we must become an unstoppable force that preaches non-violence and equality. As Martin Luther King Jr. did in the civil rights movement of the 1960's, we must use non-violence to demonstrate that we are nto out to destroy society, but that we are out to make society a more tolerant place. We must show that homosexuals are the victims, that they are the ones who are being oppressed, and that they are the ones being denied their rights. The only way to achieve this goal is through non-violent resistance, everyday until the next election cycle.
One of the main reasons that Prop 8 passed was the opposition leaders assumed it was in the bag, considering that it lead in the polls by 17 points early on in the campaign. We should know by now that we must take nothing for granted, for a lead of any size can shrink in the face of bigotry and ignorance. But then the Prop 8 supporters came out with a bag of tricks, making a deceiving ad that said that now President-Elect Barack Obama, Senator Joe Biden, Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin all opposed gay marriage. They used that ad to fool voters into thinking that Obama and Biden supported the ban, even after both Obama and Biden announced publicly announced that they would vote No on 8 if they had the choice.
Next time, we fight back early, before it is too late. Because the No On Prop 8 campaign waited until the end of the campaign to make advertisements, rumors were spread, decisions were made, ballots were cast, and many citizens of this nation will have to wait for "liberty and justice for all." I hope that we can overturn this outrageous amendment in the future, but we have a long way to go. We must ask people the simple question, "what right do you have to deny others their rights as individuals in a democracy?" This is not over; we can still win this struggle. It is the next step in creating a more perfect union, not instill more division. Now is the time to mourn. We fought hard and this time we lost. But we must remember that there are more battles ahead, and far more victories than defeats in these changing times.
We must not segregate, we must not hate, we must not discriminate. If we do, than our nation has regressed and our moral compass has been lost. When Civil Rights activists were beaten, they got back up and marched. After they were let out of jail they continued to march. When they were denied their basic rights, the marched even if they did not reach the promised land, for they knew one day, their people would. This is our time, this is our moment, this is our struggle, and we will march to the promised land.