A True Disappointment

Hey guys. Apparently, California’s Proposition 8 passed on Tuesday with a vote of 52.5% to 47.5%. Damn. This is major step backwards for the equality movement. It is truly a sad day for the LGBT community. It’s not yet official, but it’s looking like that’s the way the vote is going.
But there is still hope. Three different groups, the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights have petitioned to the California Supreme Court to block the ban, citing several reasons.
First of all, they argue the new amendment goes against the very core of the original document that promises equality for all. The amendment is out-right discrimination: blocking one group (gay and lesbian Californians) from a basic fundamental right. Since a major goal of the state constitution is protect minorities from the majority, they argue the new amendment is not valid.
Another argument of the lawsuit states that an amendment of this magnitude is not a direct decision of the citizens. While the constitution allows private citizens to make minor changes to document through the initiative process, only state legislature can make amendments that change the very core of the constitution. Prop 8 does this. The legislature has to decide whether or not to put it on the ballot with such amendments. Since this was not the case, the entire process was illegal.
This is not the first petition the groups have sent. Before the election even occurred, they submitted a list of similar arguments to prevent the measure from even being on the ballot. It was dismissed (without addressing it), so no precedent was sent by that ruling. According to the NCLR, the courts often avoid such disputes. Typically, they will wait and see what happens at the polls before they do consider the legal arguments. They believe now that the prop may pass, the court will evaluate the new petition.
The courts have struck down improper voter initiatives before. In 1990, they struck down an amendment that changed the constitution and stripped the courts their rights of being the independent interpreters of the constitution in certain cases.
The California Attorney General backs the group in another statement that urges the state to honor the marriages of the 18,000 same-sex couples.
So we still have hope. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will see the mistake of even allowing the prop on the ballot and dishonor it. Of course, the “traditionalists” will probably try to get in on the next ballot through legislation, but with a Democrat controlled state congress, it should easily be shot down.
Personally, I think the whole majority thing is BS. I mean the ballot passed with less than 500,000 votes more. Shouldn’t anything that changes the very structure of the government at least require a 2/3 decision? We’ve been discussing government procedures in my American Government class, so I know a little bit about the procedure of government.
I might not be a citizen of California, but I urge and plead with the court to agree with the lawsuit. As for anyone else, get out there and protest. Do it right (don’t break any laws) and make some influence. We already lost similar measures this year in Florida and Arizona; lets fight for this one and set some precedence for the country.
More than anything, I urge my readers to pray to whatever or whoever they believe in. If God does truly hate fags, maybe we can change his mind. Go forth!