Causecast

by JONATHAN HARRIS, Managing Editor

The following was originally posted on my personal blog on November 6, 2008. It has been briefly amended to reflect the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Proposition 8.

Like many of my peers on Election Day, I was both exhilarated at the progress our nation has made and disturbed at how far we still have to go. The election of Barack Obama to the presidency is a remarkable mandate for change and progress in this country, and marks a significant cultural shift away from the greedy aristocracy we’ve lived with in this past decade.

However, let’s not forget that people are selfish beings, and that Obama’s victory can at least partially be attributed to the overwhelmingly negative situation in which Americans have found themselves. People voted for him not because they necessarily believe in progressive ideals, universal health care, increased dialogue among nations or tougher regulations on big business. Many voted for him simply because they are desperate, poor and distrusting of a system that has pounded them into the ground. Barack Obama has a much steeper hill to climb than many of us realize, and with the illegal and unethical ban of universal marriage in California, those of us hopeful for the future must first face the truth about our present.

California is seen as one of America’s most liberal states, and yet over five million people decided that two human beings who love each other should not enjoy the same freedoms as everyone else because they are of the same gender. Despite the lack of any logical argument to the contrary, despite the illegality of imposing such a hindrance on our fellow citizens’ civil rights, despite the lies and the bigotry from the “Yes on 8” campaign, nearly five and a half million Californians supported this measure. Just using arithmetic, this number must include at least one million Barack Obama voters. Everyone—our work is far from over.

The California Supreme Court has rejected an appeal that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Though the 18,000 same-sex couples who were already granted marriage licenses are unaffected, discrimination is still written into our state constitution. There are Prop 8 protests going on right now in the streets of Los Angeles. This is progress, but this is not enough. They will ignore you and wait until you’ve subsided and then it will be business as usual. We cannot stop letting them know what an injustice this is. Here are my suggestions:

1) Take the protests to the people who voted against you. West Hollywood is great, but, you know, you’re kind of preaching to the choir. Why not stop by Tulare County? Two hours north of Los Angeles where 75.4% of the electorate voted for Proposition 8. What about Shasta County, up north? 69.9%. Madera County: 73.4%. Kings County: 73.7%. These are people who don’t live near Los Angeles or San Francisco. They don’t see you every day and know you are living, breathing humans who love just as strongly as they do. Bring the protest from Melrose to Main Street. Force these people to explain to you face to face why they are discriminating against you.
*Source: Los Angeles Times (click the drop-down bar and scroll to Proposition 8 for a list of counties and how they voted.)

2) Write to everyone you know. If you’re gay, chances are you have some straight friends. No, not just the girl you went to see The Devil Wears Prada with who hangs out with you because there’s no chance of sexual tension. I’m talking about your co-workers, the people you see every day, your family, your close friends. Everyone. Chances are they’re upset about the passage of Prop 8 but they’re still just going about their daily lives. Let them know how it really feels to have your rights restricted. Ask them what it would feel like to know that society shuns their relationship and their families. I hate to break it to you my homosexual brothers and sisters, but we outnumber you. And we, like The Force, are a powerful ally.

3) Get a famous in-the-closet celebrity to come out. There have to be at least two or three out there, right? Not Ellen, not Rosie, names that would really blow your mind. I’m talking about Tom, Will, Kevin and Orlando. Let’s hit these people right where it hurts. In their blockbuster summer movies.

This is far from over. I’m convinced that this measure will not make it near our state constitution. You almost have to laugh when people vote against the freedoms of human beings, but stand up in overwhelming numbers so that chickens can turn around) without bumping each other. This is Los Angeles! Ever been to Hollywood on a Saturday night? You try turning around without hitting somebody in the ass!

Image by scott92116, flickr