Rejection of Same-Sex Marriage: It's Only Temporary

Oakland.  Pasadena.  Sacramento.  Silver Lake.  Orange County.  Salinas.  Palo Alto.  San Jose.  San Mateo.  Belmont.  Redwood City.  Redlands.  Fresno.  San Francisco.  Los Angeles.  San Diego.  Encinitas.  Long Beach.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg.  Demonstrations against Proposition 8 are popping up all over California, with thousands of people coming out into the streets to support marriage equality, and reject writing discrimination into California's Constitution.  As lawsuits move forward to stop Proposition 8, gay rights supporters are making the breadth and depth of their power known by showing up at courthouses, churches, and city halls to speak out against inequality.  Queers United has a FANTASTIC list of all of the California and nationwide demonstrations taking place against Proposition 8.

As you'll see, Proposition 8 has become a national issue.  If there's a demonstration near you, please attend, whether you identify as LGBT or straight.  We need your support.  This coming Saturday, November 15, Join the Impact is organizing a nationwide demonstration against Proposition 8.  Almost every state will host a gathering of gay rights supporters urging the California Supreme Court to block implementation of Prop 8.  Find a location near you here.

For inspiration, check out this editorial that ran today in the Honolulu Star Bulletin.  During the 1990s, many thought that Hawaii would be the epicenter of the gay marriage movement, with its State Supreme Court ruling in 1993 that denial of marriage rights for gay couples was tantamount to sex discrimination.  But five years later, Hawaii voters approved an amendment to their state Constitution that leaves the definition of marriage up to the legislature.

But as the Star Bulletin points out, advocates for marriage equality are on the right side of history.  As they (and many of us!) see it, bans against gay marriage are only temporary.

REJECTION of same-sex marriages in California and two other states is a setback for homosexual rights but is only temporary. Support of gay rights among young voters indicates that their acceptance of gay and lesbian marriages soon will be a majority opinion...

...Exit polls taken in California last week showed that 66 percent of voters under 30 voted against the ban. Clearly, the younger generation is more tolerant than their parents and grandparents, and soon will become the majority on the issue.

And the kicker?  They close the editorial by urging Hawaii's legislature to reconsider their stance on gay marriage. Which begs the question: Could Prop 8's passage perhaps do more to advance gay marriage in states like Hawaii, Maine, New York, New Jersey, Iowa and others than gay rights activists ever thought possible?