Today the California Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision, upheld Proposition 8. The top court of the state that I used to be proud to call home has effectively made it legal for any group with sufficient money and hatred to force any group they disagree with into second-class citizenry. The one place in America that should be on the forefront of equal rights for all has taken a giant step back toward repression and apartheid. I am saddened not only by the loss to the gay and lesbian wing of the human community, but by the fact that one of the larger demographics that voted for this abomination in the first place was the African-American religious community. It wasn't all THAT long ago that they were the ones forced to ride on the back of the bus...
I am reminded of a poem I first heard in grammar school. We were being taught about Anne Frank. It was an evil time in world history, and I am most assuredly NOT trying to compare today's events to the Holocaust in any way, shape or form. There was a poem, written by Martin Niemöller that has remained in my head ever since. It seems especially appropriate today:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then... they came for me... And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
All of you that are members of some kind of minority whose rights are protected by law and the state Constitution, look to your rights. The gay and lesbian community learned today that the state constitution is no longer protection from the neanderthals who prefer religion over reality. We all learned that the law that is supposed to protect the rights of those that need protecting can be overturned for no better reason than the hatred of those that fear you. We also learned that the courts put in place to redress the wrongs of bad law will do nothing.
The lone bright spot in all of this is that the California Supremes didn't retroactively annul the gay and lesbian marriages that took place while we were an enlightened state. To those who were married in that golden time, I salute you and wish you the best. To those seeking equal rights, it is ironic that I suggest to you, perhaps Ohio?
