A mostly cogent rant about Prop 8 and California and we tried, okay? We tried.
Proposition 8 passing in California, effectively banning all same-sex marriages from this point forward (and, possibly, nullifying those already performed, it isn't clear yet), was one of the few things that didn't surprise me in this election.
In May, when the California Supreme Court ruled that banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, I couldn't bring myself to celebrate. And I know, at this point, half of you can recite the rest by heart - I've paraphrased California's history with same-sex marriage so often and to so many people that it's starting to get treated like that annoying family anecdote Uncle Whoever keeps telling, over and over, at every family reunion. You know it, I know it. I didn't trust California not to fuck up, and I was right, and I'm really, really sorry that I was right. This isn't me being smug, this is me being deflated.
I've heard a lot of people, across the country (and, hell, across the world, because Americans haven't exactly been quiet or subtle about our politics this time around) get angry at California about this. And I can understand why - in May, a lot of people were hopeful that if California could manage it, maybe the rest of the country could. Maybe other countries who haven't taken that step yet could. And I'm sorry that we disappointed you, and I'm incredibly disappointed in us, but on the other hand I'm starting to get upset with how those outside of California are speaking about the issue.
California was, for a few short months there, one of two states in the entire country that allowed same-sex marriages, alongside with Massachusetts. We were the only one that offered marriage licenses to out-of-state citizens. Connecticut will start offering same-sex marriage licenses on November 12, but I'm not still not sure if they'll be issuing them to residents of other states. New York recognizes same-sex marriages performed outside the state, but does not perform them.
California was, and still is, one of nine states that offer civil unions or domestic partnerships that afford roughly sort of not quite the same rights as marriage. The other states include Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. The cities of San Francisco, CA, New York City, and Toledo, Ohio all offer domestic partnerships within the city.
California is now one of forty-one states that ban same-sex marriage. That includes, well, pretty much all of them. We're also, along with Arizona and Florida, now one of thirty states with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, which means that we're pretty much permanently fucked until things change on a federal level.
Barack Obama strongly supports civil unions. He doesn't support same-sex marriage - almost no one does. Of every Republican and Democratic candidate running in the 2008 primaries, only one candidate supported same-sex marriage, and that was Kucinich, who would never have been elected. (On the other hand, if I remember correctly, every Democratic candidate supported civil unions, and only one Republican, Giuliani, did.)
What does this all mean? Well, basically, that we're fucked for same-sex marriage. We're fucked for a good, long time. On the other hand, we might actually make some progress with civil unions, because, hey, separate but equal worked great the first time around, so let's try that again.
California tried. We've tried a hell of a lot harder than most other states. We still offer more rights to same-sex couples than, hey, just about everyone. We fucked up. But we fucked up by a pretty narrow margin.
It's conventional wisdom that coastal states are more liberal than inland states. The same, apparently, is true of California counties.
So, just like always, those of us on the coast tried our hardest. We're just as angry and disappointed as the rest of you that we didn't manage it, but we tried. We still have civil unions, and we now have a president who supports civil unions. Right now that's honestly more than I might have hoped for.
Greenish counties voted against Prop 8. Including my county. Blueish counties voted for it. CNN has somewhat mysterious color choices.
Edit: Sacramento Prop 8 Vigil Draws Hundreds, Closes Streets
2,000 gather in SF for same-sex marriage vigil
Hundreds of Prop 8 protesters take to L.A. streets
In May, when the California Supreme Court ruled that banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, I couldn't bring myself to celebrate. And I know, at this point, half of you can recite the rest by heart - I've paraphrased California's history with same-sex marriage so often and to so many people that it's starting to get treated like that annoying family anecdote Uncle Whoever keeps telling, over and over, at every family reunion. You know it, I know it. I didn't trust California not to fuck up, and I was right, and I'm really, really sorry that I was right. This isn't me being smug, this is me being deflated.
I've heard a lot of people, across the country (and, hell, across the world, because Americans haven't exactly been quiet or subtle about our politics this time around) get angry at California about this. And I can understand why - in May, a lot of people were hopeful that if California could manage it, maybe the rest of the country could. Maybe other countries who haven't taken that step yet could. And I'm sorry that we disappointed you, and I'm incredibly disappointed in us, but on the other hand I'm starting to get upset with how those outside of California are speaking about the issue.
California was, for a few short months there, one of two states in the entire country that allowed same-sex marriages, alongside with Massachusetts. We were the only one that offered marriage licenses to out-of-state citizens. Connecticut will start offering same-sex marriage licenses on November 12, but I'm not still not sure if they'll be issuing them to residents of other states. New York recognizes same-sex marriages performed outside the state, but does not perform them.
California was, and still is, one of nine states that offer civil unions or domestic partnerships that afford roughly sort of not quite the same rights as marriage. The other states include Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. The cities of San Francisco, CA, New York City, and Toledo, Ohio all offer domestic partnerships within the city.
California is now one of forty-one states that ban same-sex marriage. That includes, well, pretty much all of them. We're also, along with Arizona and Florida, now one of thirty states with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, which means that we're pretty much permanently fucked until things change on a federal level.
Barack Obama strongly supports civil unions. He doesn't support same-sex marriage - almost no one does. Of every Republican and Democratic candidate running in the 2008 primaries, only one candidate supported same-sex marriage, and that was Kucinich, who would never have been elected. (On the other hand, if I remember correctly, every Democratic candidate supported civil unions, and only one Republican, Giuliani, did.)
What does this all mean? Well, basically, that we're fucked for same-sex marriage. We're fucked for a good, long time. On the other hand, we might actually make some progress with civil unions, because, hey, separate but equal worked great the first time around, so let's try that again.
California tried. We've tried a hell of a lot harder than most other states. We still offer more rights to same-sex couples than, hey, just about everyone. We fucked up. But we fucked up by a pretty narrow margin.
It's conventional wisdom that coastal states are more liberal than inland states. The same, apparently, is true of California counties.
So, just like always, those of us on the coast tried our hardest. We're just as angry and disappointed as the rest of you that we didn't manage it, but we tried. We still have civil unions, and we now have a president who supports civil unions. Right now that's honestly more than I might have hoped for.
Greenish counties voted against Prop 8. Including my county. Blueish counties voted for it. CNN has somewhat mysterious color choices.
Edit: Sacramento Prop 8 Vigil Draws Hundreds, Closes Streets
2,000 gather in SF for same-sex marriage vigil
Hundreds of Prop 8 protesters take to L.A. streets