The California court has ruled:
The state Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, but also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed.
The justices rejected an argument from gay-rights activists that the ban revised the California constitution's equal protection clause to such a dramatic degree that it first needed the Legislature's approval.
No surprise there. Those angry at this ruling are calling for protests:
Activists in the San Francisco Bay area, including several clergy members, said they planned to block the street outside the courthouse and to be arrested in a mass show of civil disobedience if the justices did not invalidate Prop 8.
"Words are not enough right now. We believe it's time to put our bodies on the line to show that separate is not equal," said Kip Williams, an activist with One Struggle, One Fight, a group that was launched in response to Proposition 8's passage.
Again not a surprise. I'm all for acts of civil disobedience but only up until the point where they benefit our opposition instead of us. And I continue to cringe to think that people like Matt Barber and Maggie Gallagher are lurking around the blogs to find and exploit comments from righteously indignant lgbts.
But then I'm not totally upset over the ruling. The door of marriage equality has been opened due to the fact that 18,000 lgbt couples remain legally wed. And that door isn't going to close. And I know the religious right isn't happy over that.
Despite the ruling, the momentum is on the side of the lgbt community in this fight. We got good news in several states and several more will follow. This minor setback in California can be alleviated if folks there use their anger to push another referendum that would invalidate Prop 8.
And I think they will.
Meanwhile, the rest of us should continue to fight for our rights to self determination. Remember that marriage equality is only one of many fights that the lgbt community must engage. Down here in South Carolina, we are slowly but surely striving forward.
Most likely next month, the lgbt community here will reach a milestone in communication. It took a long time to reach this point and while I'm not at liberty to say what it is right now (although I may soon), trust when I say that it's a positive step.
The Prop 8 should be seen as a minor negative eruption a huge landscape that can and will be alleviated.
Never forget that regardless of what things look like now, we are going to win in the end.
4 comments:
Hear, hear!
I expected them to uphold Prop 8, I was only worried about the currently marrieds.
I for one am thrilled that 18,000 people are not going to be unceremoniously unmarried.
I also think that as those 18,000 people live in California, and the predicted homostorm doesn't take out the entire west coast, that same sex marriage will, very quietly, gain acceptance.
"Most likely next month, the lgbt community here will reach a milestone in communication. It took a long time to reach this point and while I'm not at liberty to say what it is right now (although I may soon), trust when I say that it's a positive step."
You have piqued my curiosity. I guess that I will have to just wait.
It's something that I did to bring more attention to black pride coming next month. More details on it later. a few people down here already know.
“Never forget that regardless of what things look like now, we are going to win in the end.”
Agreed, and good luck in SC.
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