Like many Kossacks, I found a free moment in the middle of my day to check in and see how the courts ruled, to see whether or not they let all their citizens enjoy equal protection under the law. Whether or not the California Supreme Court cut prop 8 to the bone, whether or not we'll take it up again and work to get it repealed, California made one thing clear today: the people, at least the ones with enough time and money to wield the power, don't want gays and lesbians in their state. Your rights -- unimportant. Your voices -- they don't matter. And apparently, your money -- marriage licenses, vehicle registrations, tax dollars -- inconsequential.
As a straight person, I can only empathize with how awful this might feel and shake my Internet fist angrily from afar. I know that the government will always protect my right to marry. No state will tell me that I'm not good enough to wed a wife.
But have you considered? California's about to go down the tubes anyway. It'll be bankrupt before you can say "ACLU lawsuit," and the best case scenario is that no one gets paid and the state basically ceases to offer any more services. The roughly 37,000,000 residents of California are in for a world more pain. And with my rough estimation, about 3.7 million of you fine gay and lesbian folk of California are in to share your neighbors' pain -- including all those neighbors who would rather you not live next door with your sinful, ungodly lifestyle. So why not stick it back to them?
There are plenty of other great states -- I can think of 49 offhand. And did you know that three of them -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa -- and two others soon -- Vermont and Maine -- will even let you get married? Real, honest, 100% marriages. None of this "almost marriage, but" crap. And a lot of these states aren't doing quite so poorly as California.
California stuck it to you. Why don't you stick it back? Take your tax dollars, your spending, your population numbers, your jobs -- take them to states whose economies aren't quite so bad, states who actually want you. Leave. Pack your bags. Stick it right back at 'em. Go enjoy your full rights and let California, who denied you your rights, feel the sting of your absence.