Today, the California Supreme Court diminished its legacy as a champion of equality. By upholding Prop 8, an initiative that stripped the right to marry from same-sex couples in California, the Court's decision has undermined the central principle that all people are entitled to equal rights and has jeopardized every minority group in California. No minority group should have to defend its right to equality at the ballot, and the Court should not have permitted such a travesty of justice to stand.
Today's decision is dramatically out of step with where the nation is heading. After decades of struggle and hard work, we are living through an unmistakable turning point in the history of our movement. In the past few weeks alone, there has been a tidal wave of momentum in favor of equality for same-sex couples--including a unanimous decision upholding marriage equality from the Iowa Supreme Court; legislative victories in Vermont and Maine; and additional victories on the horizon in New Jersey and New York. Across the country, public opinion is shifting decisively in our favor. Five states have now embraced full marriage equality for same-sex couples, and more are expected to join that list this year. It is devastating that California is no longer one of them. But rest assured: we will be again.
As I wade through my many emotions--heartache, disappointment, grief, anger, and disbelief--one thing is clear: we will regain the freedom to marry in California. It is now up to the people of this state to restore California's national stature and once again embrace inclusion, fairness, and equality for all.
Together, we will be the first state to repeal a marriage ban at the ballot.
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I fully well intend to work hard to convince members of our LGBT community to refuse to buy California produce and wines and to avoid using as many California products and services as possible.
It is time that we boycott California the way Florida Orange juice was hit.
When these companies start losing market shares and when these people star losing their jobs we need to remind them that this is the harvest of what was planted there.
As a Californian who is also disappointed with the court decision, I'd like to personally encourage you to reexamine your impulse to boycott the entirety of California.
We are already experiencing economic hard times here, and during economic hard times, who's the first in line for unemployment? Minorities of every sort, including LGBT people, especially trans people. A California-wide boycott of goods and services is going to affect more than just the people who got Proposition 8 passed. It's also going to affect those who worked hard against the tide, and it's very likely going to hit us first. It really wouldn't help matters for us here if even more economic hardship were piled atop the civil rights injury that took place today.
Please consider a more "targeted" response to today's disappointment.
Very well said, Kate. Although I retired and left the state a couple years ago to be near my children, California is still my home in my heart. Today, my heart mourns once again. I want to thank everyone in California who fought so hard and continue to fight for marriage equality and human dignity. Indeed, this is not over.
"Today, the California Supreme Court diminished its legacy as a champion of equality."
I have to disagree. The California Supreme Court proved that they were an advocate of equal rights when they initially overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage on year ago. They have already shown that they are a champion for equality. Today, they showed that they still live under the law. They weren't deciding on whether or not they personally believed Prop 8 to be fair. They were decided upon whether Prop 8 was a constitutional revision or amendment. They ruled that is was an amendment, as I probably would have if I was in their shoes. I too am against Prop 8, but it was voted into law. That's just the way it is.
"The Court should not have permitted such a travesty of justice to stand."
In what legal way should they have denied Prop 8? I don't like Prop 8 any more than you do, but one has to have a legal reason for why Prop 8 is not acceptable--and a valid legal reason. The reason that was argued (amendment vs. revision) simply didn't hold water.
I am sorry for your heartache. And I too am thankful that "this is not over." But the people of California did what was within their legal right, and the Supreme Court upheld that right.
That being said, let's overturn this amendment!
I could personally address why I think you're wrong about the justice's hands being tied by the law here, but I'll just ask you to read Moreno's dissenting opinion, because it explains it better than I could. It's not that the justices' hands were tied, it's that they lacked the courage to do the right thing.
I'm kind of looking for some clarification here. I don't understand the reasoning that allowed the existing marriages to stand - "Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. " (from the initiative itself). So how did the court justify adding the exception?
The proposition itself did not contain this exemption.