Equality supporters celebrate win over Prop 8

DISCRIMINATORY AND unconstitutional.

There was no equivocation in federal judge Vaughn Walker's ruling against Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that banned LGBT people's marriages from being legally recognized in California.

"[T]he evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples," wrote Walker, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, in his ruling striking down the measure on August 4.

"Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional."

This resounding blow against discrimination and for full equality sparked celebrations and protests among the thousands of equal marriage activists and their supporters across the country.

Maura McGurk was among protesters in New York City who turned out within hours of the historic victory. "I'm so thrilled," McGurk said. "I feel validated. The right thing was done, and now people realize it. My blood is pumping, and another hurdle is cleared. I'm one step closer to marrying my girlfriend Mia."

Walker found Prop 8 unconstitutional on the basis that it violates two clauses of the 14th Amendment, which guarantee due process and equal protection under the law. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court used the due process clause in its decision on Loving v. Virginia to strike down laws prohibiting interracial marriage.

By making Prop 8's denial of fundamental rights as citizens the focus of his ruling--all 136 pages of it--Walker helped make the question of civil rights and equality the centerpiece of any future appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Walker is set to decide whether his order should be suspended while Prop 8 proponents pursue their appeal. For now, the judge has issued a stay on his ruling, putting same-sex marriage in limbo in California.

The right wing's reaction to the ruling was immediate. Outrageously, Christian conservatives like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council argued that Walker should have recused himself from the case because he is "openly homosexual." By this logic, straight people should never be allowed to rule on cases involving straight people.

Chuck Donovan of the Heritage Foundation said the ruling was "an example of extreme judicial activism" and "an affront to the millions of California voters who approved Proposition 8 in 2008 after months of vigorous public debate."

But before conservatives decry Walker for being a "judicial activist," maybe they should look at his record. Walker was nominated to the court by George H.W. Bush in 1989. He had been previously nominated by Ronald Reagan in 1987, but wasn't confirmed after Senate Democrats blocked the conservative's nomination. The Democrats' case against Walker was that he showed insensitivity to gays and the poor for his role representing the U.S. Olympic Committee in preventing the use of the name "Gay Olympic Games"--and then aggressively pursuing legal fees by putting a lien on the home of a Gay Games leader who was dying of AIDS.

Walker's history underlines the role that grassroots activism and a shift in public opinion about marriage equality--not "judicial activism"--played in forming this decision.

FROM COAST to coast, activists and supporters of LGBT equality celebrated the victory at Day of Decision rallies that had been planned for whenever the decision was announced.

In San Francisco, thousands of equal marriage supporters gathered August 4 to celebrate the ruling with a speak-out and march organized by local LGBT organizing groups, including One Struggle One Fight, Poz Activists Network, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Marriage Equality USA and the Congregations of Welcoming Committees.

The party got started appropriately at Harvey Milk Plaza, where the rapidly growing and jubilant crowd soon took over the sidewalk on both parts of the intersection, and eventually spilled into the street. Describing their reaction to the ruling, Maria and Vanessa told the crowd, "We went down there and asked for marriage licenses."

The rally permit only allowed for the march to take one side of Market Street, but it became obvious even to police that this was inadequate--officers motioned for people to spill into a second lane as well.

The rally ended at City Hall, where a long list of speakers and politicians addressed the crowd. Protesters in the crowd voiced the idea that Walker didn't rule in a vacuum, but actions over the last year also resonated in the judge's chambers.

One Struggle One Fight organizer Derron Thweatt noted, "Even to win a single issue, we have to make more connections. We have to make the politicians scared. You can write politicians letters and whatever, but you're going to get the same thing you get every time you go to [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi's office: A bored receptionist who tells you she isn't in. This victory happened because of our activism in the streets."

Activists are still waiting on Pelosi's promise to bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to the House floor for a vote. Similarly, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who instructed city officials to issue same-sex marriage licenses in 2004, is now forcing the anti-homeless, homophobic law commonly known as sit/lie, on the November ballot.

This law would make it a criminal act for a person to sit or lie on the sidewalk and would target not just the homeless population, 33 percent of whom are LGBT, but day laborers looking for work and civil disobedience activists taking the streets.

Activists are turning their focus to building bridges, for example connecting LGBT equality struggles with those for immigrants rights by opposing Arizona's racist SB 1070 and San Francisco's own Secure Communities. They have joined in civil disobedience actions alongside striking hotel workers in UNITE HERE Local 2 and spoken out about Israel's crimes against Palestinians when the government attempts to "Pink Wash" that country as a "friend" to LGBT people. Activists are also actively seeking leadership and direction from the wealth of experience from transgender activists who have previously been ignored.

In Los Angeles, more than 500 people gathered in West Hollywood Park at a celebration organized by the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that launched the case against Prop 8 in federal court.

Speakers included the lawyers who argued the case, Ted Olson and David Boies, as well as plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo. AFER founder Chad Griffin and board member Dustin Lance Black, as well as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the mayor of West Hollywood, also greeted the crowd.

"It's so amazing to be celebrating today," said Carlos, who was handing out flyers for an August 12 protest against the Ruth Institute, a project of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM). "But as you can see, we still have a lot of work to do, we still have to stand up against the bigots that would take our rights away."

Later that evening, at Olvera Street downtown, hundreds more celebrated at the candlelight Community Prayer for Social Justice. Sponsored by the Latino Equality Alliance along with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference LA and a dozen other LGBT and community social justice organizations, the event emphasized the need to work together for equality for all. Student activists fighting for passage of the DREAM Act were featured at this event.

In New York City, more than 150 people rallied in front of the New York state Supreme Court, with a sense of pride and excitement as activists felt the power of a long-awaited victory. Maura McGurk added, "This ruling will go down in history and this is huge. It gives us momentum to move forward. We're on our way to repealing 'don't ask don't tell' as well. These victories can help propel us forward."

Within two hours of the announcement of the decision, about 100 people gathered at Boston's Copley Square in a rally organized by Join the Impact Massachusetts. They were joined by activists from other LGBTQ groups and State Rep. Carl Sciortino to celebrate the decision and speak out about the ongoing struggle for full federal equality.

Massachusetts is the site of another recent marriage equality victory--in July, a federal judge ruled against the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

At the end of the rally, about 30 activists marched through downtown, chanting "LGBT: We demand equality!" and made their way to a Queer Women of Color and Friends Multicultural Pride fundraiser event.

In Rochester, N.Y., 50 protesters turned out to celebrate the victory, including Sarah and Ruth Ives of Victor, N.Y., whose marriage is recognized in the state of New York, but who were worried about the impact a negative California ruling would have in other states.

"What do we do if the people who are chosen to be above all fair can't even realize the severity of Proposition 8?" Sarah asked.

Melissa Kelsey, a Civil Rights Front member who helped organize the event, said, "[I] immediately began to inform people about the decision and about the rally. I was extremely nervous about the decision, but also really excited about the possibilities for our movement."

Once the ruling was announced, activists turned out to celebrate, many saying they felt rejuvenated to continue the fight. They marched down East Avenue, carrying banners and chanting "Hey, Obama! Let Mama marry Mama!"

In Washington, D.C., where LGBT couples won the right to marry earlier this year, 50 people gathered at a restaurant/bar downtown to celebrate and rally. Members of Full Equality Now! D.C. helped plan the event, decorating the venue with pro-LGBT signs, including quotes from Judge Walker's opinion.

Those who passed by the front of restaurant read, "Here lies Proposition H8: November 4, 2008-August 4, 2010" chalked on the sidewalk. In the middle of the event, activists led an impromptu rally and got the crowd all fired up with chants. The celebration drew activists with Immigration Equality, GetEqual and the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance, and helped to highlight and publicize the upcoming action against the NOM summer tour stop on August 15.

Elsewhere, activists were also getting organized to confront the right-wing, anti-gay opponents of equal marriage. The NOM launched a 22-state tour this month to spread their message of marriage discrimination through out the country.

The NOM hit Winter Park, Fla., on August 8, but were countered by some 130 LGBT rights supporters. Winter Park wasn't even supposed to be a NOM tour stop, but when the bigots heard they were going to be protested in Tampa, they changed their destination. This, however, didn't stop them from being protested in Winter Park, too, as activists mobilized from across the state, including Gainesville and Orlando.