I find it totally ironic that the people who sponsored Proposition 8 have probably done more for energizing and bringing together the LGBT community than anyone else has in the last decade. Even my most apathetic LGBT friends who previously didn't really give a hoot about same-sex marriage are now fired up about it.
I marched last night in San Francisco and the crowd was huge. Much larger than the "couple hundred" or even "couple thousand" being reported by the SF Chronicle. We were at least 10-20 thousand strong. Also, it was not an angry mob as reported, but rather a fired-up, peaceful bunch just wanting and chanting for equality. My partner did a nice slide show from the march: http://www.youtube.com/...
I really have never understood why this issue is so damn important to those trying to get rid of same-sex marriage. How and why would a middle class Mormon family of 5 kids drain their life savings of 50 thousand to sponsor this amendment? Why does it bother them so much? Even as a religious issue, it really shouldn't rate up there with the much more serious issues of our times such as fighting against poverty and unnecessary wars.
My take is that the issue isn't really about same-sex marriage at all. It is about their uncomfortable feelings towards any same sex relationship. They don't want to see it, they don't want to hear about it and they don't think it has any place in our society. Unfortunately for them, they have lost almost all their fights against being allowed to discriminate against same-sex couples. They pretty much conceded this point in the type of ads they ran for this hateful proposition. This is one of their last stands and they won't go down easy, but rest assured they are going to go down.
The sad part for them, is that all they have done by pushing this amendment is to poke a hornets' nest. The hornets are riled up and taking to the streets. As one chant at the march went, "out of the bars, into the streets". Instead of letting same-sex couples boringly integrate into the societal melting pot, they are going to give us higher visibility. We are on TV now, we are now in society's face -- demanding equality. The kids will now be asking about same-sex couples that they see in the streets and on TV. Ironic isn't it?
What most of society doesn't also get is that same-sex couples have been marrying for decades and will continue to marry today and into the future. You see, there are religions and churches like the Unitarian Church who marry same-sex couples. Why are the Mormons' and Catholics' views on marriage any more important or enforceable than those members of the Unitarian Church? Shouldn't the state stay neutral on this and recognize marriages from all churches? What is the harm in doing that? The separation of church and state is a good thing that each institution should cherish.
One final thought on Obama's position on this issue as I see it. I believe his position is that his own personal belief based upon his religion is that same-sex couples should not be able to marry. However, he understands that this is a personal, religious position that should not be imposed upon others by the state. Just as he doesn't want the state trying to interfere with telling his church who they must marry, he recognizes the church should not be trying to tell the state how to behave. He's a really smart man isn't he? I do believe his position on this is ignorant, but I do understand it, I had the same thoughts and position on this when I was a younger gay man. As I said, I believe he is a very intelligent and thoughtful person who eventually will come around on this issue even on a personal level.
Let's keep this fight alive until it is won. I reject any calls for any violence and any hateful actions (like disrupting straight weddings or spray-painting or defacing Mormon churches). In my opinion, the best thing we can do is to keep peacefully protesting and showing our love and affection for each other in public.