El Coyote gets more publicity than they ever could have asked for....

Check out this LA Times Op-Ed.

Any press is good press...right? I still say it serves her right. I also like the comment:

" "Saying that she has no problems with gay people and loves them like everyone else but donates money to [Prop. 8] is no different than me saying I have no problems with Mexicans or blacks and then giving money to the Minutemen or the KKK. . . . If Margie was a real friend to the gay community she'd step up for her friends and not let herself be herded like a sheep by the Mormon Church. If they told her to jump off a bridge would she do that as well?"

My guess is yes."

"Day without Gays"

Really? Did anyone think this would work?

http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid68272.asp

Prop 8: The Musical!

Thanks to funnyordie.com

I also saw Milk this past weekend, which I have to write about...

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

In re Marriage Cases

On May 15th 2008, the California Supreme Court made not one, but two landmark decisions. The most obvious decision was that marriage was a fundamental right, and that any ban against gay marriage was in violation of Article 1 Section 7 of the California Constitution (which I have quoted before). The other part of the ruling was not so obvious, but it is very important when considering what the court will say regarding proposition 8's challenges.

In the May ruling, the Court also stated that any law directed against gays and lesbians are subject to "strict scrutiny" and that "statutes imposing differential treatment on the basis of sexual orientation should be viewed as constitutionally suspect under the California Constitution's equal protection clause."


This to me is a strong hint that the supreme court will overturn proposition 8 on the basis that it is unconstitutional, and discriminates against a minority that cannot defend itself against a majority vote. On November 19th, the Court decided they will hear the case in March 2009. Had they refused, it could have set the movement back years.


The ballot initiative process in California lacks oversight. For an initiative to make the ballot, something like (and I should check this) 100,000 signatures is required. Proposition 8 was the first time ever Californians had voted to take away rights from a group of people. This invites a "who's next?" attitude to the ballot initiative process. If suddenly the majority of voters can take away the rights of a minority then who is to say that with as many signatures we could not say "All Mormons are banned from the state of California, and must be put in jail for life?" Or , "All black people must only speak when spoken to?" Or "All women with large breasts should walk around topless". None of these make sense and would be in extreme violation of people's individual liberties. It shows where voting on people's civil rights can get you. In order to avoid a number of ridiculous initiatives where a simple majority of voters take away the rights of a minority, the Court will uphold it's May decision and reject proposition 8.


Sometimes the majority is wrong, and we need laws that can protect people from mob rule. The California Supreme Court decided not only that gays and lesbians are entitled to equal protection under the law, but also showed that they would not stand for efforts to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation. I believe that they will do so again, despite threats from gay rights opponents who claim they will seek to recall the judges who vote in favor of overturning the initiative. To them I say "If you don't want gay marriage...don't get one and shut the fuck up."

Rally as seen from downtown Los Angeles

Unfortunately the fires in Los Angeles took center stage, but rallies in support of LGBT equality were held throughout the country on Saturday.

My sign was: "You Can't Vote the Gay Away" and the other sign I had was "Does Your Marriage Feel Better Now?"

The overall feel of the rally focused on moving forward with our efforts, not on blaming anyone or any group in particular for the propositions passing.

In the meantime I am still hoping for a supreme court overturning this amendment...similar to a situation in Colorado from the early 90s.

The first photo is not my own...but the rest are.

What next?

The last few days I have been reading a lot of articles, trying to understand how I feel about what is going on. I think that the best way for the gay community to express our anger is to mobilize and take some tangible action.

A lot of criticism has come from targeting the mormon church in particular for playing such a large role in the passing of this proposition. Personal feelings about their religion aside, I think that I would have to agree with an argument I saw recently: The LDS actively mobilized for the cause to eliminate rights, and they cannot expect to throw a punch and then "hide in the bushes" and not expect to be hit back. Their church actively lobbied for the passing of proposition 8, and they can't run away from what they did, and claim that we are threatening their religious freedom. In any case, I think that they are getting the scrutiny that they deserve.

Another argument that is flying around a lot is the one that the "majority" has spoken. "We voted on it, so deal with it" is something that I have been seeing a lot. I would ask these same people if it would be "fair" to put slavery back on the ballot. The bible says slavery is ok, so why not have a vote on that? What about women's rights? Or the right to marry whomever you choose (regardless of race)? These were all decided by the courts. Why all of a sudden is it ok to put a vulnerable minorities' rights on the ballot? The straight answer is that it is not. The California constitution clearly states that "A citizen or class of citizens may not be granted privileges or immunities not granted on the same terms to all citizens."

Other ballot measures, particularly the ban on adoption in Arkansas by non married couples (targeting gay couples) which was passed by such a strong majority. The reasoning behind this certainly eludes me, although it can be nothing more than homophobia.

As I have previously mentioned. The LGBT community has finally woken up, and now it is time to channel our anger into educating people who do not understand why all we are looking for is recognition that our love is just as good as theirs.

I will be attending the rally in downtown Los Angeles this Saturday.

Here is a link to rallies being held around the country, and the world:

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/?t=anon

More viral videos

I think this video on funnyordie.com makes a good point. Watch until the end and you'll see what I mean. It also seems very ironic that some people I know who voted for the proposition are divorced themselves...just what exactly were they protecting?

Driving it home

Well I hope that he was able to reach people other than his traditionally liberal audience...

I have many of the same questions for the people who voted for this proposition.

"Out of the bars, into the streets"

On Tuesday November 4th, Proposition 8 was passed in California by a slim majority of voters. That night, the LGBT community celebrated the election of the most gay friendly president in American history, but was left stunned by the passage of a number of anti-gay measures passed through elections around the country.

In the months leading up to the election, Californians were bombarded with TV ads from both sides. The "Yes" campaign ran ads based on peoples' fears and used children to hide behind their message of hate and discrimination. The content of "NO" ads can be heavily debated. Did we use the right strategy by keeping images of gay couples out of it? What I do know is that for months I had to see ads attacking the gay community, portraying us as dangerous to children.

The passing of the proposition has finally galvanized many in the gay community, who like myself, did little except throw money at the situation, in the hope that more ad time would change more minds. In fact, although the "NO" campaign raised more money, we failed to raise awareness on the ground and actually educate people on the consequences of the supposed "amendment."

Did people really stop and think what a "Yes" vote meant on Tuesday? It tore me apart seeing couples in tears being denied the right to marry. The fact that California voters declared that "separate but equal" is somehow ok is very disturbing, and maybe if people had thought about the real wording of this proposition, instead of listening to false claims, things would have been different.

What happened is in the past, and in many ways we can learn from the results of this election.

The last few days have been incredibly emotional, and awakened a sense of urgency that lay dormant in much of the gay community. This first post does not even begin to cover the legal challenges that have been launched. I also want to discuss how it is not right to target or blame the Mormon Church...no matter how much effort they put into their campaign to "Protect" marriage and the "traditional" family. Targeting a specific group does not help our cause.

What I do hope is that the marching will not let up. I have never felt such strong emotions as I did participating in the rallies so far. To see a community come together is truly a special thing.

The joyous faces of the leaders of the "Yes" campaign will be short lived, because in some ways they have done what many of us failed to do in the first place...get us "out of the bars, into the streets".

The beginning

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This blog will track the effort in California to regain equality.