the day after
What surprised me the most about yesterday's California Supreme Court ruling wasn't the decision, which was exactly as predicted, but how little it affected me. Don't get me wrong, coming off the plane from Chicago and having the news be the first thing we heard when we got in the car wasn't exactly fun, and it did deflate the great mood I was in from having such a wonderful weekend with friends. But it didn't feel like the sucker punch some of my friends have described. I'm not even that angry with the court, to be honest. I always thought our legal case wasn't that strong, and I can understand the justices' desire to leave the will of the people intact, however repugnant they might find it to be. I guess I had already moved on; I grieved enough after the election last year. Now I'm just itching for the next fight.
I think we'll eventually look back at this as the beginning of a real turning point for the marriage equality movement. The courts have done all they're going to, and the legislature can't help us now, so the only route left to us is through the people. Think about what that means for a minute. When we win, and we will eventually, it'll be because for the first time anywhere in the country we convinced a majority of our state's voters that our cause is just and that separate but equal is anything but. The other side won't be able to screech about "judicial activism" or "out of touch elite legislators". They will have lost fair and square at the ballot box, and there won't be any turning back. I know some are concerned that if we win one year we'll just have to defend it again the next, and it'll turn into an endless cycle of winning and losing and regaining our rights. But I don't see it that way at all. The tide of justice has always been flowing in our direction. All we've been waiting for us is to reach that tipping point where we've swung the majority behind us, and after that happens the demographics are completely on our side. A solid majority of young people support gay marriage and that isn't going to change as they get older, whereas the older voters who don't support it will fade away over time. Once moved past the tipping point the needle won't ever reverse itself. And once we've won marriage equality at the ballot box in the most populous state in the union, it's the beginning of the end for our opponents. And they know it. They may be celebrating today, but deep down I think they're scared shitless about what's coming next.
So I find myself strangely excited. I'm ready for this fight. 2010 is definitely happening. I got an e-mail yesterday from Courage Campaign saying that their internal poll showed 83% of their members want to go forward with 2010 instead of waiting for 2012, so they're officially endorsing a 2010 initiative. The other orgs will fall in line soon. I think we've got a really great shot at winning 2010. If we don't we'll keep going back until we do. It won't be long.
We just have to be ready and willing to fight. There's a lot of work to be done. Gathering signatures for a ballot initiative, community outreach, door to door canvassing in unfriendly parts of the state, running a real grassroots campaign. There are many reasons we lost last time, but there's no doubt that one of them was the apathy in our own community. Groups like EQCA may have screwed the pooch on the campaign, and rightfully have taken a lot of flack for doing so, but if we don't want to repeat the mistakes of a top-down run campaign, we have to put our money where our mouth is and be willing to put in the time to run this one from the ground up. There's no court or congress swooping in to help us this time - it's all up to us. So let's show this state what a bunch of pissed off queers can do when we're tired of being shoved around. Let's be that change we want to see in the world.
2010, ya'll. Fuck yeah. Bring it on.
PS: Wanna get started? Sign up at www.repeal-prop-8.org to get news about volunteer opportunities when they became available.
I think we'll eventually look back at this as the beginning of a real turning point for the marriage equality movement. The courts have done all they're going to, and the legislature can't help us now, so the only route left to us is through the people. Think about what that means for a minute. When we win, and we will eventually, it'll be because for the first time anywhere in the country we convinced a majority of our state's voters that our cause is just and that separate but equal is anything but. The other side won't be able to screech about "judicial activism" or "out of touch elite legislators". They will have lost fair and square at the ballot box, and there won't be any turning back. I know some are concerned that if we win one year we'll just have to defend it again the next, and it'll turn into an endless cycle of winning and losing and regaining our rights. But I don't see it that way at all. The tide of justice has always been flowing in our direction. All we've been waiting for us is to reach that tipping point where we've swung the majority behind us, and after that happens the demographics are completely on our side. A solid majority of young people support gay marriage and that isn't going to change as they get older, whereas the older voters who don't support it will fade away over time. Once moved past the tipping point the needle won't ever reverse itself. And once we've won marriage equality at the ballot box in the most populous state in the union, it's the beginning of the end for our opponents. And they know it. They may be celebrating today, but deep down I think they're scared shitless about what's coming next.
So I find myself strangely excited. I'm ready for this fight. 2010 is definitely happening. I got an e-mail yesterday from Courage Campaign saying that their internal poll showed 83% of their members want to go forward with 2010 instead of waiting for 2012, so they're officially endorsing a 2010 initiative. The other orgs will fall in line soon. I think we've got a really great shot at winning 2010. If we don't we'll keep going back until we do. It won't be long.
We just have to be ready and willing to fight. There's a lot of work to be done. Gathering signatures for a ballot initiative, community outreach, door to door canvassing in unfriendly parts of the state, running a real grassroots campaign. There are many reasons we lost last time, but there's no doubt that one of them was the apathy in our own community. Groups like EQCA may have screwed the pooch on the campaign, and rightfully have taken a lot of flack for doing so, but if we don't want to repeat the mistakes of a top-down run campaign, we have to put our money where our mouth is and be willing to put in the time to run this one from the ground up. There's no court or congress swooping in to help us this time - it's all up to us. So let's show this state what a bunch of pissed off queers can do when we're tired of being shoved around. Let's be that change we want to see in the world.
2010, ya'll. Fuck yeah. Bring it on.
PS: Wanna get started? Sign up at www.repeal-prop-8.org to get news about volunteer opportunities when they became available.