In the wake of Jon Stewart's forceful conversation with Mike Huckabee and with continuing discussion ongoing in the month since California voters barely approved the changing of the constitution of that state to ban gay marriage, I am reminded of a thought I have had consistently since Nov. 5th.
Nothing has ever had the effect on the national conversation about sexual orientation equality that this rejection of basic rights has.
Do we need to scream our thanks to the voters that approved this horrendous piece of legislation? Putting aside for the moment the absolute silliness of a 2% margin being enough to change a constitution and disenfranchise 10% of the population. Putting aside the unprecedented ventures into politics by multiple churches who should forfeit their non-profit status due to their political activism...
There has never been a greater rallying cry for this cause. And let's face it, California is an easy mark. 48% of Arkansas, or Mississippi or Tennessee or Kentucky... you won't get 48% of the vote in Alabama. So winning California is not the long term goal.
Gay marriage needs to be addressed nationally. And the passing of Prop. 8 is making that possible in a way it would not have been otherwise.
This discrimination needs to be addressed legally, not legislatively. It needs to go to the Supreme Court. We aren't looking for the election of Harvey Milk here, people. We are looking for Brown vs. The Board of Education.
It doesn't need to be a state law. It needs to be a national directive.
We are a nation formed with the statement that all men are created equal. We need to live up to that statement. And if certain members of our society don't want to change their prejudices, that doesn't mean they should be able to impose their thinking on others. Regardless of location. This is a discussion about rights, not real estate.
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