I'm not terribly upset about CA Prop 8.
A lot of my friends are really bummed about California's Proposition 8, which has re-banned same-sex marriage in the state.
Me, I'm not. Why?
Because I can see the big picture. I can see how much progress has been made, and I am confident we will continue to make incremental progress. Proposition 8 is really just a minor setback. It's backlash, and backlash like this only happens when we are winning!
I am 40 years old this year, and I have been involved with the gay rights movement since I was 20. I have had a long time to watch the steady progress we have made in my lifetime.
Let me share with you something I just wrote to my friend,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tianas_knife:
================
Some perspective
The winds of history are on our side, my friend! I've been involved with the gay rights movement for almost 20 years now, and I can see first hand how much progress we have actually made.
When I was your age, Cassie, there were still sodomy laws on the books. I was breaking the law every time I made love. That's no longer true.
Back in those days, gay-straight alliances didn't exist in high schools. Now they are everywhere.
Towns like Bellingham didn't have gay pride parades. Now they do.
TV shows didn't have gay characters to show us reflections of ourselves. Now many do.
Presidents Elect of the United States didn't casually mention gays as part of the fabric of American life in their acceptance speeches. Now we have Obama, who did.
In my lifetime, I have watched Canada, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as well as Massachusetts and Connecticut, legalize same sex marriage.
We're making progress, my friend, have no doubt about that.
It is because so many of us made the decision not to hide any more, to demand our rights, to stand up and say, "I am gay and I will not be silent!" that this progress is being made.
I have no doubt that this trend will continue.
And in California, in 2000, Proposition 22 prohibited marriage 61.4% to 38%.
In 2008, Proposition 8 prohibited it 52.5% to 47.5%.
Look at that progress! In those 8 years, the opinion of the people of California changed significantly!
In the big picture, we're winning!
So please don't let Proposition 8 make you lose heart. It's just backlash against the progress we are making. It's really just a minor setback. It took a lot of years and hard work to get where we are today, and I for one, know where the winds of history are taking us!
Me, I'm not. Why?
Because I can see the big picture. I can see how much progress has been made, and I am confident we will continue to make incremental progress. Proposition 8 is really just a minor setback. It's backlash, and backlash like this only happens when we are winning!
I am 40 years old this year, and I have been involved with the gay rights movement since I was 20. I have had a long time to watch the steady progress we have made in my lifetime.
Let me share with you something I just wrote to my friend,
tianas_knife:================
Some perspective
The winds of history are on our side, my friend! I've been involved with the gay rights movement for almost 20 years now, and I can see first hand how much progress we have actually made.
When I was your age, Cassie, there were still sodomy laws on the books. I was breaking the law every time I made love. That's no longer true.
Back in those days, gay-straight alliances didn't exist in high schools. Now they are everywhere.
Towns like Bellingham didn't have gay pride parades. Now they do.
TV shows didn't have gay characters to show us reflections of ourselves. Now many do.
Presidents Elect of the United States didn't casually mention gays as part of the fabric of American life in their acceptance speeches. Now we have Obama, who did.
In my lifetime, I have watched Canada, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as well as Massachusetts and Connecticut, legalize same sex marriage.
We're making progress, my friend, have no doubt about that.
It is because so many of us made the decision not to hide any more, to demand our rights, to stand up and say, "I am gay and I will not be silent!" that this progress is being made.
I have no doubt that this trend will continue.
And in California, in 2000, Proposition 22 prohibited marriage 61.4% to 38%.
In 2008, Proposition 8 prohibited it 52.5% to 47.5%.
Look at that progress! In those 8 years, the opinion of the people of California changed significantly!
In the big picture, we're winning!
So please don't let Proposition 8 make you lose heart. It's just backlash against the progress we are making. It's really just a minor setback. It took a lot of years and hard work to get where we are today, and I for one, know where the winds of history are taking us!