free (this is gonna be a long one get comfy)

This election was historic in many ways. As I was watching the results of this election I was in a state of political euphoria. The guy, who I wanted to win, won. The excitement and enthusiasm people showed for this election was amazing. The speeches that BOTH candidates gave on this night were both inspiring and noble. It was an amazing and historic night. There was however one fly in my political ointment. 

This took place in the state of California. On this historic Election Day the citizens in California voted in favor of proposition 8. This proposition amended the California state constitution to define marriage between a man and a woman. This proposition overturned a state Supreme Court ruling that allowed same sex couples to be married. I found it ironic that the residence of California could put aside centuries of racism and vote for a black man to be president, then on the same ballot vote to disenfranchise a significant part of its citizenry.

Let me state that my religious convictions are different from my political ones.  I am not arguing religion. I am arguing for the belief that the state should be separate from religion. That principle has spared this country from the religious wars that have ripped other countries apart. The idea of separation of church and state means that one religion will not impose its view over the citizens of the state. It also means the state will not impose the views of the majority on others.  It means that despite my own religious convictions I have to act In the interest of fairness toward my neighbors even if their belief system is different from my own. It means that to preserve my rights I have an obligation to defend the rights of the minority even when I differ with their believe system. I have to divorce my religious conviction and side with the principle of equal status under the law for all of this country’s citizens. To deny rights to citizens based on the religious convictions of the masses is exactly what the separation of church and state is suppose to guard against. To put it simply I don’t want the government in my church and I don’t want my church in the government.

In my opinion there are 2 parts of a marriage. The first part is an agreement that 2 people make before God and swear to enter into this new relationship that will trump all other relationships in their life.  A relationship where each individual vows to put the interest of the other person over the interests of their own. The second part of a marriage deals with the rights that the state affords to these 2 people in this new relationship.  The first part of this relationship perhaps may be disavowed based on some moral or religious conviction. The second part of this contract cannot be.

The second part of a marriage is the legal rights afforded to the new couple by the state. These are rights afforded to married couples that are not afforded to other relationships. The assumed power of attorney, transfer of property upon death of an individual, and the equitable division of assets in the event of a divorce are among these rights.  There are also issues of insurance coverage, hospital visitation and a whole host of other rights that are afforded to married couples but not to anyone else. It should be noted that none of the rights I have mentioned have religious implications.  All of these are the rights that the state (which we claim to be separate from religion) affords married people.  

Let me state that this is a question of fairness and legality.  This is not a question of religion and defiantly not a question of morality. This is a question of American citizens being denied rights that all citizens are entitled to. When I was in sixth grade I memorized a part of a one page document with very bad hand writing. It went something like this. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  While the lives of gay people are not being threatened (yet) their liberties and their pursuits of happiness most definitely are. This document further instructs that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it”. While I do not think out government should be abolished I do believe that some alterations are definitely in order. It is not the job of the government to impose morality. It is the job of government to insure that all of its citizens are treated equally and fairly under the law. It is the job of this government to insure that the rights of the minority are protected.

One of the most striking images I saw on election night was Jesse Jackson crying when they announced that Barak Obama had won the presidency.  This image represented the fulfillment of a movement that began some 50 years ago. The civil rights movement was the movement in this country in which black people sought to have their rights recognized and respected. There efforts were instrumental in assuring that all of Americas citizens (at least in theory) would not have their rights infringed upon based on race. One of the people who have been instrumental in this movement was Jesse Jackson.  I can only imagine what he was feeling as he watched a black man be elected president of the United States. I can only imagine the gratification that he felt as he realized that a country which had a principle of racial inequality from its very foundation could elect a black man as president. It must have been a moment of reflection to realize that 50 years ago he was a young man fighting for something that seemed so far away. It must have been a very fulfilling moment to realize that the idea that he fought for, the idea that he dedicated much of his adult life to, had produce a country that could elect a black man president.

The thing that I find most ironic about prop 8 is that the group that voted most significantly against gay marriage was … get ready…BLACK PEOPLE!!!! 75% of black people and 80% of black women voted for prop 8 and against gay marriage. The group who has had the most of their rights denied over the 300 year history of this country.  The group that has had to fight the hardest to gain equality is the group that voted to not only deny rights but take rights away from their fellow citizens. The black church who was the backbone of one of the greatest non-violent political movements in history is the same group that put the nail in the coffin of the rights of gay people.

The other legal issue I have heard deals with the idea that this is what the people of California want. That the majority of people voted for this and the “liberal court system” reversed the will of the people. I think this idea could not be more wrong. I am sure that if you asked the citizens in Arkansas in 1954 to vote they would have voted that black people should not attend white schools. If you asked people in 16 states in 1967 the majority would have voted against inter racial marriage.  It is not the job of the courts to vote for what is popular. It is the job of the courts to interpret the law and to make sure that all of America’s citizens are treated fairly under it. That is precisely why Supreme Court judges are not elected. They are not suppose to do what the majority wants but to do what is right for America and all of her citizens.   

People asked me why I should care. I am not gay. I can still get married rather gay people can or not. Why does it bother me so much? My first instinct is because I believe in what America can be. I believe as Martin Luther king did that “one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed." If I believe this is true then I have to support this Idea even when it is uncomfortable. If this wonderful experiment called America is going to work then it has to work for everyone. When we allow one person to be treated unfairly we are all less free. When we allow one group to be unfairly treated under the law then we put the rights of all of us in jeopardy. 

History is full of examples of people who did not appear to have a stake in a matter that risked a great deal for what is right. There were white people like William Lloyd Garrison who fought for the abolition of slavery. There are Christians like Corrie Ten Boom who hid their Jewish Neighbors during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. There are white people like Michael Schwerner who were lynched in Mississippi for their work in the civil rights movement. These people risked all to teach us a very important lesson. Everyone is harmed when injustice becomes acceptable and further sanctioned by the very government that is supposed to be protecting us. They taught us that as long as one person is allowed to be devalued under the law that none of us are truly free. This is why I was so upset by the passing of prop 8.

I’d love to hear from people who supported prop 8. Please tell me the LEGAL reason why you support this bill. Not a religious argument or a moral argument but a LEGAL one.

On a side note, i know mike bloomberg is the mayor of NYC not the Governor of the state. Sorry I'm a dork.