Last night was bittersweet for members of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community in the United States. I sat in my dorm room with two of my closest BGFs (best gay friends) and watched as the votes were being counted. My eyes were glued to CNN while I watched Obama win state after state. That moment in history was surreal for me and many Americans.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the headline “Barack Obama Wins.” Happy doesn’t justify my feelings, I was ecstatic! A man I believed in had just won the presidency and everything in my world seemed a little better. I almost couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that history was made last night in one of the biggest ways possible. My mind filled with all the amazing possibilities that the next four years would bring.
Today, I woke up feeling more refreshed than ever. My eyes opened and I thought, “Obama is our new president!” There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. The deal was done. He won. I headed into work at my favorite publication, Dallas Voice – the premiere LGBT news publication in north Texas. I had a big grin on my face when I walked out of the elevator. I felt like it was a time to celebrate a new day, a new beginning in our history! I walked past my editor in the hallway and asked why I didn’t see streamers and confetti filling the building. “Aren’t you excited?,” I asked. “Obama won!”
After a moment of silence, it hit me. My stomach sank and I remembered that Americans didn’t just vote on the next president. California was voting on Proposition 8, a controversial constitutional amendment on the 2008 California General Election ballot that eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry. If Proposition 8 passed, then a new section would be added stating “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” It is one of the most unfair and wrong amendments in Californian history and it passed.
What I thought would be a day full of excitement and joy turned out to be one of mixed feelings and confusion. It seemed only days before that this hateful amendment would be rejected by the California people. Sadly it wasn’t. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people in California were stripped of their rights last night. Every same-sex marriage in California will be overturned.
If there is one lesson to be learned from this, it is that there are people actively fighting against the LGBT community. Proposition 8 doesn’t protect families or any moral values. It simply takes away a human right from people that just want to love each other. The news this morning broadcasting the decision made by the Californian people is beyond troubling. California traditionally sets the tone for the rest of the nation by adopting progressive ideals that are already popular in Canada and western Europe. Today I look at California with disdain and sadness.
California’s Proposition 8, just like Texas’ Proposition 2 doesn’t protect families. It tears them apart. It tears this nation apart. Please keep in mind what amendments like Proposition 8 do to this country.
Please visit noonprop8.com to see why Texas and California have made catastrophic mistakes by letting hate, fear and lies strip the rights away from our fellow Americans.
