Postcards From The 8

To Justice Joyce Kennard:

Sarcasm and dismissiveness? Is this how a Supreme Court Justice should deal with the happiness of millions of people? It is a fundamental question of>fairness, and equal protection of our laws.

If the wording were ”Only marriage between a white man and a white woman is valid or recognized in California,” would you be sarcastic and dismissive?

"Only marriage between a man and a woman of reproductive age is valid or recognized in California.”

"Only marriage between a Christian man and a Christian woman is valid or>recognized in California.”

How deeply you, Justice Kennard, disappoint the citizens of this state. How you embarrass us is the eyes of the world with your casual regard for Justice, Fairness and Equality.

If marriage is merely a word then why are so many people so concerned over its application? We deserve a better hearing from our Justices than you have given us. Do you so easily turn your back on the decision you made last May 15? If our Justices do not protect us from a tyrannical, shortsighted majority, then who will? If 50% plus one vote is all that it takes to write discrimination into our Constitution—OUR CONSTITUTION!—and you permit that, then what road do we begin travelling?

And then to treat this question with disdain, sarcasm, flippancy? Do you have no sense of outrage at yourself? Share mine. History will look back at you and your words and actions, Justice Kennard—or your inaction when faithful citizens trusted you. Do not pretend your hards are tied. Justice is your Job.

Sincerely,

Robert Locke

Dear Scott,

I remember you telling me in the ramp up to the election that you would vote yes on 8 because you didn’t want your daughters being taught about homosexuality in school. Clearly that ad with the little girl who finds out that she can marry a princess had an effect on you.

I’ve recently learned that, according to the Center for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Survey (1999), 33% of gay youth will attempt suicide. This fact has had a powerful effect on my thinking about the current marriage equality movement.

Knowing that ONE in THREE gay youth will attempt suicide makes intellectual arguments about bigotry, evolution, and the separation of church and state unsatisfying. It renders the semantic arguments about the word “marriage” a distraction. I am instead overwhelmed by a sense of urgency to save the lives of these children!

It’s possible that marriage equality in California might one day prompt a (perhaps uncomfortable) conversation between you and your daughters. I am not unsympathetic to the challenges of parents raising children in this highly sexualized society. However, I urge you to put the safety of our children first.

I believe that marriage equality is a first step to building a less bigoted, more tolerant and inclusive society in which our youth can be raised without the self loathing that leads to suicidal thoughts and actions. I believe marriage equality is an important step in building a society in which children don’t have their innate desire to live quashed by fear of their own difference. We’re all different and it’s time to stop thinking of other people’s differences as perverted or unnatural. We must. It could be the life of our own child that we save.

Best,

Sara K McLachlan
Los Angeles, CA

Dear Bumper Sticker Owner:

While walking through a parking lot today I happened to read the bumper stickers on your vehicle; one said something about your Christian beliefs and the other was an in opposition to Proposition 8. I was struck by the contradiction, if not ignorance, displayed on your bumper for the entire world to see. Not only does it show your disconnect with your own beliefs, but it is a direct contradiction to Christ’s teaching and this country’s, our, Bill of Rights.

After reading your bumper stickers I was angry and I wondered how much information did you have before jumping on this hate wagon? Most people don’t look beyond the crusade and instead get caught up in a cause with nothing more than a catch phrase, is that what happened to you? Did you fail to consider the other side of this issue or the consequences of your actions? Or did you just follow along without questioning or thinking for yourself? So long as a group of people are faceless it is easy to hate or deny them. I believe this is why Proposition 8 passed; and this saddens me for it was just this type of ignorance and blind hatred that led to my brother’s death.

Being a sensitive soul, my brother Doug chose to end his life rather than continue to live in a world that didn’t accept him as the person he was, but rather saw him as an object of hate, ridicule, and contempt. If Doug thought death was safer than living in this country, then I ask you, what does that say about us as a people?

The last conversation I had with my brother he was urging me to live true to myself; something he wasn’t allowed to do because of the attitudes and irrational fears like the ones you displayed on your bumper. Our country was built on the principles of liberty and justice for all, but you want to deny these same basic human rights to a segment of society because they were born differently than you. I have news for you—we are all different in one way or another.

The discrimination you show toward gays and lesbians on your bumper is no different than the prejudice experienced by African Americans, Japanese Americans, American Indians, Mexican Americans, Chinese Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, female Americans, disabled Americans, elderly Americans, homeless Americans, Muslims Americans, Catholics Americans, Jewish Americans, cat loving Americans, people who wear plaid Americans—do you get my point, no one is safe if we can arbitrarily hate someone based on an insignificant difference.

I should have hung around and waited for you to return to your vehicle so I could ask you why. Why are you making someone else’s life your business? Why do you think discriminating against a person’s sexual orientation is going to make them go away? Why do you care who gets married or has a civil union? Why do you feel the need to interfere and deny people their basic rights? Why is it you can’t you see what your actions are doing to others? Maybe if you can answer these questions, and take a really good look at yourself, you’d recognize your motivations have little or nothing to do with how others live their lives.

This great country of ours was created by people from all over the world, and that was made possible because of the tolerance and respect for what others contributed to the making of this country. If a person can’t find tolerance, respect and acceptance in their own country, where are they to find it? It is up to us, straight and otherwise, to ensure that all Americans share in the “dream” and live life to their fullest potential, rather than meddling in other peoples’ business. Acceptance quite possibly could prevent another loved one thinking death was a better alternative to living.

Before you slap another bumper sticker on your vehicle, please consider all sides of the message, cause or issue, and how it would impact a loved one of yours.

LC Russell

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

To Supporters of Proposition 8:

I am a lesbian and have been in a committed partnership for over 25 years. My partner and I have intertwined our lives in many ways, forming a family that includes my partner’s children and grandchildren in a warm and loving set of relationships. We feel every bit as “married” as do my sister and brother-in-law, yet the state withholds the privilege of marriage from us. The right to marry represents both symbolic acceptance of the importance and value of committed gay relationships and the granting of legal rights that supports couples in maintaining strong relationships. I believe the time has come for our society to recognize and fully acknowledge our relationships.

When Proposition 8 was first put on the ballot, I assumed that California had reached the stage where widespread social acceptance of gay couples would easily defeat this attempt to move the clock back. As the race heated up and eventually Proposition 8 passed, I was shocked to realize how wrong I had been.

What galls me most about the passage of Prop 8 is that it was a group of conservative Christian ideologues, many of them from out of state, that poured lots of money into a misleading and distorted advertising blitz that convinced enough voters to pass this proposition. Yet this nation was built on a foundation of acknowledging different religious traditions. In the colonial period, Puritans, Anglicans, Quakers, Catholics and others founded colonies and enshrined their religious beliefs in their colonial governments, taxing their citizens to support the established church of each colony. At the same time, Indians and many African slaves continued to practice their indigenous religions. During the 18th and 19th centuries, more religious denominations gained a place on American soil, including Methodists, Baptists, and Jews. When the colonies pulled together to form a new nation, the Founding Fathers created a Constitutional framework that separated the power of the state from religious beliefs and authority. They wisely recognized that if they failed to do this, they could never create a unified nation. Today we have much wider religious diversity, including many Protestant denominations, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists and many others. We would do well to follow the basic principle of separation of church and state that was laid down in the Constitution.

Yet Prop 8 privileged one set of religious beliefs over all others. Relying on a literal interpretation of several passages of the Judeo-Christian Bible, the proponents of Proposition 8 claimed that gay marriage was a threat to the moral fabric of the nation. Rather than allowing each religious tradition to define their own views on marriage, and leaving it to the state to create a universal civil framework for marriage for all adults, they insisted that their own narrow views about marriage be incorporated into the Constitution of the State of California.

Justice is on our side, but I feel frustrated and angry that it may take many more years to realize. Yet as Dr. King said, “the long arc of history bends toward justice.” The struggle for civil rights for racial minorities in this country has taken a long time, and although the struggle is not complete, we have come a long way since the days of slavery and segregation of African-Americans, as well as the repression and subjugation of Indian peoples; now America is embracing its first African-American president. In a parallel fashion, as we struggle to achieve the right of gay marriage, we will continue to confront bigotry and hatred of those who perceive us as threateningly different from them. My hope is that the time will come when lesbian and gay people will be accorded the same rights, responsibilities, and respect that heterosexuals enjoy. I am both angry and sad that that time has not yet come.

Sue Lynn