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VERONICA'S VIEW: Proposition 8: The Saga Continues
*Pre-proposition 8: I wrote a piece called “I’ve got the wedding blues” It was a light-hearted look, provided there is such a thing, at the number of gay and lesbians couples enlisting to say “I do” after the California State Supreme Court ruled that the 2000 voter initiative banning gay marriage was unconstitutional. And while I may have lamented about having the wedding bells blues because heterosexuals seem to be commitment phobic, I was hopeful that the enthusiasm ignited by the gay and lesbian community might inspire the rest of us to get back to the altar and back to commitment. Wishful thinking, I know.
Post-proposition 8: My light-heartedness is supplanted with distress at the reaction Prop 8 opponents displayed when votes overturned the California State Supreme Court decision which allowed gays to be legally married, thus not allowing their unions to become more than domestic partnerships.
When opponents of the initiative did their Monday morning quarterback analysis of what went wrong, they looked to the polls. African Americans voted to eliminate the right of same sex couples to marry from margins varying from 50% to 70% depending on what poll you read. And the anger and hate speech directed at African Americans – as if we were the deciding factor that rendered the proposition’s blow – was mean and misdirected anger. Particularly since African Americans only comprised about 10% of the votes that were cast on election Tuesday.
Many African Americans took vehement exception to framing the struggle of the gay and lesbian community within the context of the civil rights moment. It was a nexus many African Americans could not relate to. As an African American I do understand why attempts to make this parallel was not acceptable because in their eyes the civil rights movement was based on the social and economic subjugation and elimination of a group of people based on the color of their skin. It was and remains something they could not camouflage to prevent discriminatory practices from being exacted against them. Unlike gays and lesbians, African Americans wear their race and are always visually identified.
In all honesty, I never thought the proposition would go down in defeat. In fact many people seemed confused about voting “yes” to something they opposed. Its victory was not a landslide like the presidential race. But this was a historic election year and it brought out record numbers of folks to the polls with an enlivened sense of civic engagement and responsibility. So folks showed up and actually took time to understand and process the many initiatives on the ballot.
Prop 8 won by a slim 4.4% margin. Keep in mind that the California State Supreme Court’s decision wasn’t overturned simply because of the African American vote. It was the majority of California voters that said they were not willing or ready to relinquish the superior status of heterosexual relationships to same-sex couples because of closely held societal mores; religious, traditional and cultural beliefs.
In hind sight, the California State Supreme Court probably had it right overturning the first voter approved initiative banning gay marriage. I am sure this statement doesn’t tickle a lot of ears, particularly those of the religious community and those who believe in upholding tenets of traditional marriage.
We have seen the United States Supreme Court render some tough decisions in the face of staunch religious and moral opposition as in the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education and Roe vs. Wade, to mention two transformational cases. And clearly, the court’s decisions were not based on the prevailing majority opinion, moral tenets, religious beliefs or sentiment of the day, but on upholding the basic rights of an individual guaranteed under the constitution.
We will soon witness the California State Supreme Court grapple with an issue that could reframe the discussion about gay marriage not just in California, but across the nation. Legal challenges to Proposition 8 have been filed. In March the court will hear those challenges as it tries to decide if the second voter approved initiative on the same issue will be overturned again and they will also decide the fate of an estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages.
No matter what happens, it will be precedent setting. And you know what they say, “So goes California, so go the nation and the world.” The world is indeed watching. (If you have comments about Veronica’s View, email them to vsview@yahoo.com.)###
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