Proposition 8

By ; A
collaboration of minds

Rev Dr Ward, Rev Irene Moore & members of HRC

What it means for us now

I HAVE LEARNED as both a pastor and as a member belonging to several minority groups — African-American, women and lesbian — that a popular opinion on a civil rights issue does not always reflect the right choice.

Too often the right choice and the moral high ground on an issue derive from small struggling groups trying both to be seen and heard among the cacophony of dissenting voices and opposing votes. And it is through these groups that we see democracy working, where those relegated to the fringes of society can begin to sample what those in society take for granted as their inalienable right — like the right for all of its citizens to marry.

Earlier this month, we saw democracy work with the election of Barack Obama as our country’s first African-American president. But we also saw on the same day how democracy failed for LGBTQ citizens with the passing of Proposition 8, an amendment to the California Constitution eliminating marriage equality for same-sex couples.

While California’s gay community places blame on African Americans for the passing of Proposition 8, we were one of many interest groups backing the amendment. And although we are just 6.2 percent of the state’s overall population, we can’t wash our hands clean by saying other interest groups are just as culpable.

SEVEN OUT OF 10 of us pulled a lever to deny another minority group their civil rights. And while the pollsters and pundits say that religion was our reason, as African Americans, we have always discarded damning and damaging statements and scripture about us in the name of religion, such as biblical passages that either cursed all people of African ancestry (Genesis 9:18-27) or advocated slavery (Ephesians 6:5-8).

Many Prop 8 supporters voted yes believing the future traditional family was at stake. But when society narrowly defines marriage as solely the union between a man and a woman, it ignores the constant changing configuration of today’s family units. And the African-American community knows this best. While African-American ministers will argue for the traditional nuclear family, the stresses and strains of racism have thwarted that possibility. So we created our own family structures.

Therefore, multiple family structures presented by same-sex marriages should not pose a threat to the African-American community because they are what have sustained, saved and are still saving African-American families. A grandmother or an aunt and uncle — straight or gay — raising us in their loving home have anchored our families through the centuries. And these multiple family structures, which we have had to devise as a model of resistance and liberation, have always, by example, shown the rest of society what really constitutes family — its spiritual content and not its physical composition.

UNFORTUNATLEY, CIVIL RIGHTS struggles in this country have primarily been understood, reported on and advocated within the context of African-American struggles.

The present-day contentious debate between black and queer communities concerning what constitutes a legitimate civil- rights issue and which group owns the right to use the term is both fueled and ignored by systemic efforts by our government that deliberately pit both groups against each other rather than upholding the 13th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution that afford each of these marginal groups their inalienable rights.

While it is true that the white LGBTQ community needs to work on its racism, white privilege and single-issue platform that thwart all efforts for coalition building with both straight and queer communities of color, the African-American community needs to work on its homophobia.

The blame for the passing of Proposition 8 should not be placed on the shoulders of blacks, Latinos or even religion, but rather the blame should rightly be placed on the shoulders of our government.

To have framed our civil rights as a ballot question for a popular vote was both wrong-hearted and wrong-headed. If my enslaved ancestors had waited for their slaveholders to free them based on a ballot vote, we wouldn’t be living in the America we know today. And Barack Obama would not be our president-elect.

Rev. Irene Monroe is a Ford Fellow and doctoral candidate at Harvard Divinity School. One of Monroe’s outreach ministries is the several religion columns she writes - “The Religion Thang,” for In Newsweekly, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender newspaper that circulates widely throughout New England, “Faith Matters” for The Advocate Magazine, a national gay & lesbian magazine, and “Queer Take,” for The Witness, a progressive Episcopalian journal. Her writings have also appeared in Boston Herald and in the Boston Globe. Her award-winning essay, “Louis Farrakhan’s Ministry of Misogyny and Homophobia”, was greeted with critical acclaim.

For those of you don't know, Prop 8 was a ballot proposition which was voted on by the general electorate this past Election Day. Its passing banned gay-marriage in California, although it was previously found constitutional by the California Supreme Court earlier this past year.

So what is the big frenzy? Besides the obvious big blow to the Gay Rights movement, there have been some major editorials lashing out at the African-American community.
How would having same-sex couples being legally married affect non-same-sex couples? How would this change the world we now live in if not only for the better? People who love each other get to legally express their love and attain the rights of other married couples

One thing we do know is that our community is energized and engaged – perhaps more than ever before. We must harness this energy into productive means to further the fight for equality. A large part of this will depend on continuing to build a coalition of supporters who see both our pain and our determination, and are committed to standing side by side with us in this battle for equal rights for all.

The following Q&A is designed to answer many of the pressing questions related to the passage of Prop 8.

Q: What does Prop 8’s passage means for lesbian and gay couples who married in California between June 16 and November 4, 2008?

A: The California Secretary of State, Debra Brown (as well as the Attorney General, Jerry Brown), has said that she does not believe Prop 8 retroactively invalidates these marriages, and LGBT groups agree. However, there has not been a final decision on this issue. Unfortunately, for now, we must wait and see what the California government decides to do.

Q: What legal recourse do we have?

A: The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, and The National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a lawsuit in California claiming that Proposition 8 undoes the California constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone and that it impedes the court’s essential role of securing equal protections for minorities. The lawsuit argues that a change of this magnitude needed the state legislature’s approval (which was not sought) before going on the ballot. A wide range of groups and organizations have filed petitions supporting this case, including 44 members of the California Legislature, the City and County of San Francisco and the City of Los Angeles, the NAACP of California, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, California Women’s Law Center and the California Council of Churches, just to name a few.

We urge the community to be patient while these organizations, including NCLR, which successfully litigated the In re Marriages case that originally recognized marriage equality in California last May, focus all of their resources on winning this case. We understand the urge to take further legal action, but implore the community to wait for the results of this case before beginning further litigation. It is important to remember that after eight years of judges being appointed by President Bush, the composition of our federal courts in particular does not bode well for the success of such actions. For more information, please see the joint advisory published by many LGBT organizations, including HRC, entitled “Make Change, Not Lawsuits,” which although published before Prop 8, is still relevant.

Q: What are the next steps? What can be done to reverse Prop 8?

A: We are currently awaiting the outcome of the lawsuit filed by the ACLU, Lambda, and NCLR, which has the potential to invalidate Prop 8. If that suit is unsuccessful, the California Constitution could be amended to remove the language created by Prop 8 by following the same procedures for amendment that created it.

As we await this decision, supporters have mobilized through the country. Last weekend, marchers in all 50 states in Join the Impact rallies called not only for justice for LGBT families, but for an end to all the oppressions that hold our nation back and give the false impression that our differences are more profound than what we have in common.

Q: Is it true that the minority vote, specifically that of African Americans, was a significant factor in the passage of prop 8?

A: The African American vote did not cause Prop 8 to pass. However, some exit poll data indicates that support for Prop 8 in the African American community may have been higher than in many other demographics, and this demonstrates that the LGBT movement has significant work left to do in the African American community to build bridges to unite us, rather than divide. We must remember that we are all fighting for the same civil rights. There are also many prominent African American leaders who support marriage equality such as Julian Bond and John Lewis.

Q: Why isn’t HRC, or another organization, trying to challenge the legality of the bans based on the U.S. Constitution?

A: There have been cases that claim laws favor or impose one set of religious beliefs over another, but they have not so far been successful. While to us, full supporters of equality, defending equal rights for the LGBT community under the First Amendment, or other provisions of the U.S. Constitution is logical, we must remember that not everyone sees equal rights as we do, particularly the judges President Bush has put in place over the past eight years.

We do believe that marriage recognition must occur on the federal level. President-elect Obama supports the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which is one major hurdle. However, forcing this issue into the spotlight without sufficient support for success, and potentially having a Supreme Court decision against marriage equality, would be tragic for the equal rights movement.

Q: What about the separation of church and state?

A: Many people have expressed concerns over polling locations in churches. We are exploring the instances we have heard of where someone felt a polling location had posted inappropriate material or information designed to sway someone’s vote. We take this very seriously and are in contact with allied organizations as well.

Q: Should we use civil disobedience, such as not paying our taxes, to protest this inequality?

A: The choice to engage in civil disobedience is a personal one. However, HRC does not endorse or condone any illegal activities. We encourage supporters to fully investigate the possible repercussions for any act of civil disobedience they are considering before making a decision.

Q: There has been a lot of publicity surrounding the support of churches, specifically the Mormon Church, for Prop 8; isn’t that illegal?

A: A church, as a 501(c) (3), is prohibited from political campaign intervention on behalf of candidates. It is not prohibited from ballot measure work, which the IRS treats as lobbying activity (because it is essentially lobbying the general public). The amount that a church can spend on ballot measure work, or other lobbying activities, is, however, limited to an insubstantial part of their overall activities.

We ask that advocates of LGBT equality not paint the Mormon Church with a broad brush. There were, in fact, members within the Church who joined us against Prop 8. As leaders in the movement for equal rights, it is important to not vilify a whole religion for the bigotry and hate of some members.

Where can LGBT couples marry?

On May 17th, 2004, Massachusetts began marrying gay and lesbian couples. At this point, only residents of Massachusetts and states that allow gay marriage are allowed to marry there.

Connecticut: As of October 1, 2005, gays and lesbians are able to enter into Civil Unions in Connecticut. Civil Unions will give gay and lesbian couples many of the same rights and responsibilities of marriage. Civil Unions are only available to same-sex couples.

In Vermont you can get a Civil Union. In 2000, Vermont legislature passed and Governor Howard Dean signed a law creating civil unions for same-sex couples, giving these couples all the rights and benefits of marriage under Vermont law but not marriage licenses.

New Jersey: On December 14, 2006 the New jersey legislature approved a bill allowing same-sex civil unions. Civil Unions became available in New Jersey in February 2007.

In December 2004, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages are constitutional. On June 28, 2005 the House of Commons voted to extend marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples throughout Canada. The Senate approved the measure in July 2005. It is now legal for gays and lesbians to marry every place in Canada. There is no residency requirement for Canadian marriage, but that does not mean a Canadian gay marriage will be recognized by other countries.

Hawaii offers reciprocal beneficiary rights to same-sex couples. Some of the rights granted are: inheritance without a will, ability to sue for the wrongful death, hospital visitation and health care decisions.

Maine instituted a domestic partner registry in 2004. Maine's law mostly benefits couples if one dies: inheritance without a will, the right to make funeral arrangements and the ability to be named guardian if partner becomes incapacitated.

Washington State offers some of the rights of marriage via domestic partnerships. The law takes effect July 22, 2007.

New Hampshire offers civil unions to gays and lesbians beginning January 2008.

Oregon passed a domestic partnership law, but groups opposing it are attempting to collect signatures to put the issue up for a vote .