We have a lot of work to do.

[heliarc]

I was just checking up on how the propositions are doing and it is clear to me that bigotry is alive and well in the United States of America. Alive and well.

We've elected Obama to be president. It is a monumental achievement, and we should be proud, but I can't ignore the tenor of homophobia in our nation. There are a few reasons to feel this way. Here they are:

Arkansas Initiative 1: Ban on Gay couples adopting children seems like its going to pass, and I'm not surprised, but I can't help but think that this is the most embarrassing result of the election. Not because we didn't expect it, but because it has to be the most hate-inspired of the Bans... and it hurts kids who might have found a very loving home. Instead of helping poor kids find parents who love them, it keeps kids in limbo. Terrible.

Ok, maybe it's not as embarrassing as 8 passing in California, which seems to be the projected result as we steam forward in the tally. Come on California. Don't be ridiculous. 8 shouldn't have passed here. You know it.

And Arizona's Proposition 102. Well, I saw the crowd at the Biltmore, and I've eaten there... I know how hetero that crowd is, and heterosexual panic is a powerful thing.

And Florida's Prop 2. We all know that Florida is rabidly conservative on social issues, but really, are Floridians that dumb?

And the answer is "Yes, I grew up there. There are a lot of stupid Floridians, and I was smart enough to leave"

But in all seriousness people. What are you afraid of? I ask this of my fellow Californians, my fellow Floridians, and the Martian Arizonans and Arkansans... Why does your religious definition of marriage have to fuck with my secular one, and the one that the courts see as fair and equal?

I had a coworker tell me "Gay people just want to get married because of the tax benefits." I'm happy that I responded "Is that the only reason you married your wife? Because if it is, than you have a twisted impression of what it is to be married." I've had people argue to me "Gay people shouldn't be allowed to be married because studies have shown... " don't you love when people start with that... "...that Gay men are the most promiscuous demographic" Which I find hilarious. If you thought Gay people were too promiscuous, why not encourage a social model like marriage that values commitment and also bestows equal rights and the dignity and pride that equal rights awaken in people. Remember people. Married heterosexuals don't have a corner on the market for loyal and monogamous relationships either. Married people get divorced and they abandon their teenage children at the hospital so why do heterosexuals get to corner the market on moral

In truth, this is the great civil rights issue of our time, and it is up to democrats who hold civil rights as an issue to fight tooth and nail for the rights of gay and lesbian citizens to marry their partners. We have to march in the streets for this starting now. We need to call for an amendment to the US constitution that protects everyone's right to marry Gay, Straight.. everyone. It is that important.

So today, my wife and I lament with our gay friends that they only had the right for a fleeting moment in California to marry and experience what it is to be our equals in the law: to have the rights that straight Americans have. The bigots may have won this one, but I'm not backing down. They won with bigotry and hatred, and we have to respond with twice doubled determination and love for our Gay and Lesbian brothers and sisters. This one is more important now than ever.