Opponents of Proposition 8 here in California have been using a wide variety of tactics to express their displeasure with the outcome of this month’s vote, which came out against same-sex marriage. I also voted no. But we lost fair and square.
How can it be fair, you may say, when the pro-8 side was funded mostly by religious groups and that their ad campaign was deceiving? Well, the same rules apply to almost any election, and the anti-8 forces just plain didn’t mount as effective a campaign as was necessary. In elections, like sporting events, there are winners and losers. At the risk of trivializing this, one team just played a better game.
Now of course, it ain’t over till it’s over, as Yogi used to say, and there are lawsuits pending in the California Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear arguments relatively quickly. The anti-8 forces are demonstrating in front of churches and targeting businesses and individuals who supported Prop 8. They are certainly within their rights to do these things, but these are tactics that are of little use in this new arena.
Steve Pougnet, the mayor of Palm Springs, an important resort community for gays and lesbians, questioned the use of economic boycotts in a period where businesses are already suffering big-time.
Personally, I think the word “marriage” should be removed from our laws altogether and replaced with “civil union” or whatever you want to call it. All government would do is issue a certificate to those who need one, regardless of gender, and the recipients would have exactly the same rights under the law. Those who want a marriage ceremony could go somewhere else to get it, rather than a city or county clerk’s office or a judge’s chamber.
The anger shown by opponents of Proposition 8 is certainly understandable. The challenge is channeling that anger into actions that actually fix what’s broken. The history of all the civil rights struggles in this country shows us that this may take time.
There, now I’ve said it.
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