While most protesters have been peaceful, some protests against the passage of antigay constitutional amendments in Arizona, California, and Florida — but especially California — have been marred by attendees who shouted racist epithets.
Truth Wins Out condemns this scapegoating.
Antigay African-Americans, in particular, are not solely nor even primarily responsible for the passage of special-rights amendments for heterosexuals. Furthermore, many African-American and Hispanic LGBT Americans worked hard for marriage equality.
Now, having achieved special-rights amendments in three key states, Focus on the Family, Exodus International, and other intolerant religious-right organizations have vowed to swiftly take their special-rights amendments for heterosexuals to the U.S. states that have not yet constitutionally excluded gay Americans and gay-affirming religious institutions from equality under the law.
The heterosexual special-rights amendment in California, Proposition 8, might have been defeated if adequate support had been provided to African American and Latino organizations that support gay equality not only in marriage, but also in health care, education, and employment.
One such organization is the National Black Justice Coalition. (Facebookers, visit the NBJC Cause.) The NBJC eagerly welcomes new supporters.
Please don’t forget to support Truth Wins Out as well. The unethical and illegal tactics of the amendment supporters remind us that Focus on the Family, Exodus International, and their political allies will tell any lie and exploit any parent’s child if it helps to divide and separate American minorities from their constitutional freedoms.
Whatever you do — don’t just do it online. Become engaged with others in your community that support freedom and equal opportunity for all.
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I’m sorry that gays and others have been targeted by intolerant abusers of the initiative process. But don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater!
Here in Colorado, my gay friend Jared Polis just won election to Congress (http://polisforcongress.com), and was the single greatest force turning Colorado from “red” to “blue” since 2000. He’s used his wealth to fund Dem campaigns, but also to sponsor 2 very successful ballot initiatives, Colorado Amendments 23 (raising school funding) and 41 (preventing lobbyists from giving “gifts” to legislators). He joined in sponsoring 37, which mandates renewables for electric companies.
Ballot initiatives are the origin of most reforms, such as women’s suffrage (passed in 13 states before Congress went along), direct election of Senators (in 4 states), publicly financed elections (passed by initiative in 6 of 7 states with them), medical marijuana (in 8 of 13 states) and increasing minimum wages (in all 6 states that tried in 2006). See http://Vote.org/initiatives for more examples and references. The media have seized on the problem initiatives. They generally kiss up to politicians.
Jared also supports NATIONAL ballot initiatives, with which we could stop the Feds from abridging medical marijuana rights, stop illegal wars, torture, etc., and get national health care, which Congress has dithered over since the ’40s, while all other 1st world countries got it.
Voters on initiatives need what legislators get: public hearings, expert testimony, amendments, reports, etc. The best project for better and national initiatives is the National Initiative for Democracy, led by former Sen. Mike Gravel: http://Vote.org.
Comment by Evan Ravitz — November 10, 2008 @ 1:16 am
Take a note from the Obama campaign; a gay statesman that organizes the gay youth (and gay youth friends and family supporters); as well as all sectors of the gay community need to consolidate into local, state and a national mega voting block. This is the GOP’s is reorganizing post this election with the assault on Gay Marriage being the “backbone of their platform”,:
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/GOP_leader_Rebuild_party_based_on_1109.html
Comment by Anthony Look — November 10, 2008 @ 2:47 am
Anthony,
Let’s see how long that “backbone” holds up.
Why make marriage the core issue and platform, when even those guys can’t stay married to the same person for very long?
LOL whenever a hetero person invites me to their wedding, I decline, because I give them 3 years, tops. What’s the point of going.
Comment by Scott — November 10, 2008 @ 5:21 am
It’s a shame that tension got to the point where a small group of gay people actually harrassed black people who were against Prop. 8. and the like…
But this sort of frustration was inevitable when the religious right stripped a group’s civil right to marry away, or more infuriatingly banned gay couples from adopting children. The majority of the black demographic may have supported anti-gay measures, but we have to remember that it’s because of their religious affiliation, not because of how much melanin they have in their skin. Regardless of skin colour, religious fundamentalists are the ones deserving blame.
Comment by aaa — November 12, 2008 @ 1:31 am