A New And Improved Argument — Religious Freedom — For Same-Sex Marriage
It was a brutal night for those who believe in marriage equality. Bans on same-sex marriage were enacted by voters in Florida, Arizona and California. In Arkansas, a measure to ban adoptions by persons cohabitating outside marriage was approved. (Pro-life groups backed this anti-adoption measure, by the way). What to do?
The long-term prospects for gay couples who want to marry remain good, despite these setbacks. But same-sex marriage supporters need to figure out how to speak to those who are wary of changing the legal definition of marriage — but are sympathetic to the needs of gay folks. I think there needs to be particular attention to developing a way of talking to people of faith whose churches are adamantly opposed to same-sex unions.
The separation of church and state arguments, even the anti-discrimination arguments, are valid and have their strengths, but I’d like to see something that has a certain religiosity. Gay couples who are themselves devout need to be at the front of this effort. Such couples could explain that for them, marriage is not merely about equality or about love or about getting certain legal protections. it’s part of living a Godly, moral life. By getting married, they don’t wish to change the sacred tradition of marriage, they want to honor that tradition.
Conservative San Francisco and other Tales from the Election
Who said San Francisco doesn’t have a conservative bone in its body? Voters in SF voted down a measure to decriminalize prostitution, supported Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in the schools, and rejected the idea to humiliate President George W. Bush by naming a sewage treatment plant after him. At this rate, we’ll see Republican Clubs popping up all over the city any day now.
Could it be that African-American voters, eager to put Barack Obama in the White House, were also the reason Proposition 8, the gay marriage constitutional amendment, passed? According to exit polling provided by the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert, African-Americans made up 10% of the California electorate on Tuesday. While they were voting 95% to 5% to elect Barack Obama president, they also voted 70% to 30% in favor of Proposition 8. While Latino voters made up a larger portion of the electorate, 19% overall, Latinos nearly split on Prop 8, 51% Yes, 49% No.
Rights for chickens but not people…
Whether you voted for John McCain or Barack Obama, consensus is that we Americans experienced something historic and amazing at the national level. It was all about change and calls for equality.
Many of us, however, are scratching our heads at the decisions that California voters made on November 4th. Californians chose to protect the rights of chickens, but not the rights of committed gay partners. Contrary to what pundits are saying, we didn’t really experience “social change” here in California. And, according to some peoples’ perspectives, we didn’t really vote for social compassion.
Couple this puzzling scenario with the shopping spree voters went on, approving a bagful of bond and tax measures that further saddle our state and local jurisdictions with significant levels of new debt. Aren’t we in the worst economic crisis in recent history? Isn’t our state broke? Voters seemingly made no connection between the ballots they cast and our state’s overdrawn bank account.
We experienced some version of voter schizophrenia that is tough to explain. There was just no consistency. As political professionals, we look for trends and ideological sweeps but really it’s very individualized when voters enter a voting booth.
A Note to Dr. Martin Luther King
Dear Dr. King,
In August of 1963 you marched into our nation’s capital with
extraordinary courage and vision, stood in front of the Lincoln
Memorial and delivered one of the most important speeches in our
country’s history. You said, “In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s
capital to cash a check.” I wish you had lived to see it sir—but the
check has finally been cashed, the promissory note has been made good
and we, as a nation, have honored our sacred obligation.
You said to the nation, challenging us as a people, “I have a dream
that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they
will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of
their character.” Dr. King, your dream has been realized, that day
has come and a young black man from Illinois has been elected as
President of the United States.