Postcards From The 8

When Proposition 8 was passed in the November election, a substantial portion of California's population was legally relegated to a second class status.

I am a heterosexual woman who has been happily married to the same person for 43 years. Because my partner is a man and not a woman, I am endowed with important privileges and freedoms. For starters, my husband and I were able to publicly declare our love by entering into the symbolic and legal institution of marriage, recognized and blessed by the society we live in. Because of my sexual orientation, I can file federal taxes jointly with my husband, receive Social Security survivor benefits, obtain equal spousal health benefits from an employer, and not be subjected to job discrimination because of my spouse's gender, to name a few of the advantages heterosexual marriage confers.

The truth is, I don't want to be privileged. This is not "freedom and justice for all" as all Americans are supposedly guaranteed. It violates the very principles of equality and freedom that my own government taught me to honor and love.

Same-sex marriage is not a "special privilege". It is a human right. How can America continue to fight bloody and costly wars in foreign lands for the sake of enduring freedom, while gays and lesbians are denied fundamental liberties right here in America? Enduring hypocrisy is a more apt description of what is happening here.

Does same sex marriage somehow threaten the long term loving relationship I share with my husband? No. Love is love. And love is a human emotion that is in short supply today in our violent and war torn world. I believe it's a natural instinct to want to partner with another human being. A "domestic partnership" is not the same as a legal marriage, with all its benefits and privileges.

I was proud of my home state of California last May when it did the right thing and made same-sex marriage legal, and was likewise devastated when this ruling was overturned.

It's unacceptable that a small but powerful group of misguided people can foist their religious values about marriage and sexuality onto us all. Injustice like this makes me mad. At the same time it strengthens my resolve to stand in solidarity with my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, until this wrong is finally overcome.

Suzy Coffee