It’s Been A Single Issue Weekend

November 1, 2008

PLEASE NOTE: This post includes images that are only viewable at the blog and not through RSS or email. With that said, if I regularly journaled, and I don’t, this is how the last couple days would have read:

Thursday, October 30

• Spent the morning driving through local towns with a heavy “Yes on Prop 8″ presence with my very own in your face because it’s all over my car “No on Prop 8″ visbility action. Enjoyed watching other drivers and pedestrians eyes roll. Click on the image to see a close-up of our stick family stickers.
• Made our final donation to the No on Prop 8 campaign. At least I think it’s the final one. Their appeal letters have been hard to resist.
• Spent far too many hours watching No on Prop 8 videos at YouTube and checking in with various internet news services to see what’s happening around the state.
• Joined with 75 others in a No on Prop 8 visibility action at a busy intersection in Walnut Creek during evening rush hour traffic. See images below. Cried with gratitude and relief every time a car honked their horn and gave us a thumbs-up. I cried alot!
• Stayed up past 2:00 a.m. in the morning talking with my wife about our fears and hopes around the election day results on Prop 8.

Friday, October 31

• Managed to drag my body out of bed and leave the house by 6:45 a.m. to join others at an early morning visibility action. Finding no one there and still exhausted from the day before, I did another car visibility action for 30 minutes before returning home, slipping on my jammies and taking a nap.
• Spent 30 minutes at noon talking with a stranger in front of my house about Prop 8. She was a straight married woman vehemently opposed to Prop 8. Thrilled when I gave her a yard sign to put in front of her house as hers had been stolen.
• Spent two hours drafting a personal appeal letter to hand out in my neighborhood. See below.
• Blogged about SpeedRacer, his sister the preschool drag queen, and their two No on Prop 8 chanting parents.
• Made a deal with my wife to not say a word about Prop 8 after 7:00 p.m. so we could fall asleep at a reasonable hour.

Saturday, November 1

• Attended a training event at the GLBTQ Community Center for those of us who will be doing visibility work on election day at polling sites around the county. About 50 in attendance both gay and straight, youth and seniors. Wonderful people each and every one. Passionate and committed. Two lesbian couples there who had been together for more than 30 years each. A husband and wife were there with their two children. She cried as she said she was doing this because she wanted her children to grow up in a world where they would be accepted and free to be whoever it was they were to be.
• In the afternoon I attended the visibility action planned for a major intersection less than half a mile from our home in our little conservative town. I thought 5-10 people would show up but when I arrived 10 minutes early there were already more than 60 people standing in the pouring rain with the blue No on Prop 8 signs and banners. Incredible energy from everyone and more car horns honking in support of us than I had imagined for our area. Steve Harms, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church, showed up and stood with me for an hour.  One man rolled down his window at the light and yelled “Yes on 8!” After a couple folks from our group exchanged a few passionate “No on 8″ and “Yes on 8″ back and forth with him, I drew his attention by saying “How about this. Your vote will cancel my vote and my vote will cancel your vote and in the end we’ll still be neighbors.” He paused, looked suprised and then smiled back saying “Oh. Okay.”
• Returned home soaked to the bone. Changed clothes and went to Kinkos to print up neighborhood letters. Slipped each one into a ziploc bag to attach to front doors tomorrow after church. Below is the letter that includes a couple photos and our signatures.

Dear [Development Name] Neighbor,

My name is Anita and I live in [unit number] along with my spouse, D. D and I met while I was in seminary nine years ago. We became Domestic Partners one year later. In 2002, the same year we moved into [Development Name], we had a wedding ceremony at our church in keeping with our faith tradition. Two years later we had a civil ceremony during the time when marriage licenses were being granted to same-sex couples in San Francisco though these licenses were invalidated a few months later. Following the California Supreme Courts decision this past May that all Californians were to be afforded the same fundamental rights under the law as guaranteed by the constitution D and I applied for another marriage license and in a small ceremony at our church, surrounded by friends, we were legally married.

Prop 8, which if passed on Tuesday, would amend the California constitution, limiting marriage to “a man and a woman” would strip us of the rights and protections granted by a civil marriage; rights and protections that extend far beyond what our domestic partnership provides us.

With only hours remaining until Election Day and having already done everything else I know to do to protect my individual rights as a Californian and marriage with the person I love and to whom I’ve committed my life, I’m writing to you as my neighbors to ask that you would consider us as you go to the polls on Tuesday and that you would vote NO on Prop 8.

Despite what the “Yes on Prop 8” campaign has been saying, Prop 8 is not about religious freedom. Religious freedom has always been protected by the First Amendment. No church is in jeopardy of losing their tax-exemption for maintaining their religious views on homosexuality and marriage, and no minister or rabbi will ever be forced to officiate at the wedding of a same-sex couple. Marriage is a basic civil right and for some it is also a religious rite. In voting on Prop 8 we are only to consider marriage in the civil sense as we are dealing with the law and not with religion. Prop 8 is not about children and schools. California law provides that no child can be taught anything that goes against their parents wishes concerning health and family issues. The California Teacher’s Association, the President of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction all confirm that Prop 8 has nothing to do with schools. Prop 8 is not concerned with restoring traditional marriage.  While there are many challenges for families of every configuration in our society, marriage equality is not one of them. If the primary concern is truly to protect marriage and family, our resources would better be spent finding solutions to our economic crisis, poverty and homelessness, addictions and alcoholism, domestic abuse, health care and better education for all.

Never has the political been so personal for me and for the most basic of human reasons. My grandparents were married for 60 years as were my parents. These two couples taught me everything I know about love, faithfulness and commitment in marriage and what they had together for all those years is all I’ve ever wanted for my own life. I dreamed like many people that one day, if I might be so blessed, I would meet another person who would be the perfect fit for me and together we’d build a life and relationship that would last us through all our days.  This is the very thing I have with D and that’s why Prop 8 is so deeply personal and painful to us; painful that we find ourselves in a position where our neighbors are being asked to judge with their vote as to whether we and our relationship are worthy of equal treatment under the law.

Prop 8 isn’t about religious freedom, children, schools, or restoring marriage. Prop 8 is about discrimination. Prop 8 seeks to insert a single sentence into the California constitution that will eliminate fundamental rights under the law for some Californians. I realize there may be those among you who based on personal morality, political leanings, or religious convictions hold a negative view of homosexuality. Though I might not agree with that view, I respect your right to have and express it, but please, don’t write discrimination into the California Constitution.

If your intention is already to vote NO, thank you. I mean that in the most sincere heart-felt way.  If your commitments are such that you intend to vote yes, I would only ask that you base your decision on the facts and not because of the misplaced fears that have been raised by the “Yes on 8” campaign.  If you remain undecided, I’d invite you to stop by our home between now and Election Day and visit with us so we can do what we can to answer any questions you might still have and if you don’t find us at home, you’ll probably find me out in the rain with a blue No on Prop 8 sign on a street corner.  Add that to my list of “things I never thought I’d do.”

And finally, thank you for taking the time to give my letter attention. Both D and I appreciate it very much.

And now I’m going to go back to my reading of “Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennan Manning because if ever there was a time in my life for getting lost in the grace of God, now is that time. Hang in with me friends. A few more days and I really will be able to focus and hence blog on a world of other things.

Posted in Marriage, News and Events