One Step Forward, One Step Back
An HBS LGBT on the Passage of Prop 8
Justin Wieland (ND), Contributing Writer
Issue date: 11/24/08 Section: News
If attitudes towards Proposition 8 reflected a level of complacency in the months leading to election day, that sentiment has given way to outrage in the wake of the amendment's success. Thousands have gathered to protest Prop 8 not only in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but also in Salt Lake City, Boston, and 150 other cities throughout the United States.
For those outside the gay community or California, the whole affair may seem like much ado about nothing. It is just one state after all, and gays never really had the right to marry in the first place - this isn't a step backwards so much as it is a reaffirmation of how things have always been. If this is your attitude, I urge you to reconsider.
In the first place, the magnitude of the vote deserves attention. Although the margin of victory was relatively narrow (52% to 48%), over six million Californians voted in favor of the amendment. Six million people voted for a constitutional amendment to take away people's rights. While some of those voters may harbor genuine prejudice against gays and lesbians, the vast majority likely supported the amendment because they thought it was the right thing to do. Given that California is substantially more progressive than many other corners of the nation, the vote must serve as a wake-up call that we still have a long way to go in efforts to change attitudes and truly achieve equality for all Americans.
Our challenge, then, is not just to out-vote opponents of gay marriage the next time this issue is raised on the ballot nor to outmaneuver them through judicial process. Such action may result in short term benefits to the gay community and may be necessary to achieve long term goals; but to truly make progress, we must remind Americans of the importance of equality in all respects. Simply put, gays and lesbians deserve full equality and that includes the right to marry. Civil unions are the relationship equivalent of "separate-but-equal" standards, a failed policy in terms of practical application and moral substance. We will have achieved true success only when the idea of denying marriage rights to gays and lesbians is as offensive as the idea of denying marriage rights to inter-racial couples, a situation that existed in many states as late as the early 1960s.
For those outside the gay community or California, the whole affair may seem like much ado about nothing. It is just one state after all, and gays never really had the right to marry in the first place - this isn't a step backwards so much as it is a reaffirmation of how things have always been. If this is your attitude, I urge you to reconsider.
In the first place, the magnitude of the vote deserves attention. Although the margin of victory was relatively narrow (52% to 48%), over six million Californians voted in favor of the amendment. Six million people voted for a constitutional amendment to take away people's rights. While some of those voters may harbor genuine prejudice against gays and lesbians, the vast majority likely supported the amendment because they thought it was the right thing to do. Given that California is substantially more progressive than many other corners of the nation, the vote must serve as a wake-up call that we still have a long way to go in efforts to change attitudes and truly achieve equality for all Americans.
Our challenge, then, is not just to out-vote opponents of gay marriage the next time this issue is raised on the ballot nor to outmaneuver them through judicial process. Such action may result in short term benefits to the gay community and may be necessary to achieve long term goals; but to truly make progress, we must remind Americans of the importance of equality in all respects. Simply put, gays and lesbians deserve full equality and that includes the right to marry. Civil unions are the relationship equivalent of "separate-but-equal" standards, a failed policy in terms of practical application and moral substance. We will have achieved true success only when the idea of denying marriage rights to gays and lesbians is as offensive as the idea of denying marriage rights to inter-racial couples, a situation that existed in many states as late as the early 1960s.
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