Opinion
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s … A Ban on Gay Marriage!
November 12, 2008 - 12:00amOkay, so the mandatory intro is that last week millions of people celebrated Barack Obama’s victory. My former students in Egypt sent me emails saying, “Congratulations for the best election.” My partner, celebrating in New York City, was accosted on the street by a bawling man who proclaimed, “It was a vote by the people and their voice was heard — their voice was heard!”
And indeed the voice — and the celebration of millions of voices all over the world — was a raucous one. The significance of an Obama presidency can not be over-emphasized. But I can’t help thinking of what else the people voted for. The sound of those Californian voices who voted yes on Proposition 8 keep ringing in my head and drowning out the exuberant ones.
There are those who tempered their celebration by stressing about how much Obama has on his plate: two wars, an increasing threat in Iran, a failing economy, plus all the other promises he made in his campaign that have been derided as “empty.” I wasn’t concerned, last Wednesday, about all this: I’d like to give the man a little breather before his every move becomes disputed and analyzed under a microscope, which it undoubtedly will.
There are those who have lionized our president-elect and this election as America “solving racism.” Racism, however, does not have an algorithm. But even if America figured out this mythical algorithm and somehow made up for all of its racist policies since, well, 1492, we were still smacked in the face with another egregious wrong: homophobia.
This election showed significant sentiment way beyond Obama, way beyond the power of one man, in another realm of injustice outside of race. The passage of Prop 8 in California (and similar bills in Arizona, Florida, and Arkansas: just as noteworthy but not as surprising) signifies that our nation has a hell of a long journey towards equality. The passage of Prop 8 in California signifies that some people in our nation still think that they have the corner on what is right, wrong, or holy. The passing of Prop 8 in California signifies that we still live in a country afflicted by a neurological disorder of “otherness,” in which my neighbor’s private lifestyle somehow threatens my own, compelling me to de-legitimatize her rights.
And now, the fingers start a-waggin’. Some are blaming the “yes” on Prop 8 on higher turnout among socially conservative black voters. Others are blaming the result on the amount of money the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (a.k.a. the Mormons) poured into the campaign. A plane literally displayed “YES ON PROP 8” in the sky.
In the spirit of “props,” I’ve gotta say props to those pilots. They’ve gotta be pretty brave to take “prop”-agandizing to such literal new heights. Oh, the land of the free and the home of the brave. Oh, the land where the majority can so easily dis-enfranchize the (substantial!) minority. As Elizabeth Manapsal aptly headlined her Cornellsun.com blog post two days ago, “Liberty and Justice for Some?”
Some of my friends, still hopeful, will say that there are 3 million absentee ballots still crying out to be counted. Some will say that even if this passes, the 11,000 same-sex couples that have been married in California since last May would be “grandfathered in,” that even if this is held to be constitutional, the Supreme Court of California could not retroactively nullify people’s marriage.
It’s a scary, scary day when citizens trust in a state to enforce their rights, and that same state turns on them within a course of hours. But, of course, there is no use of blaming the State of California. The proposition was voted on by ordinary people. So in the midst of a historic vote that elected our first black president, voices also cried out in favor of a reversal of human rights. What is it — we fulfilled our quota of justice for the year? Too much equality and our nation would spontaneously combust?
Sigh. For all of us who thought that we were making “progress,” it’s time to wake up and smell them wretched roses.
Ariela Rutkin-Becker is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. Contact her at arbecker@cornellsun.com. Dude, Where’s My Karma? usually appears alternate Tuesdays.
Ban on Gay Marriage
Thank you for your insightful and well written article. I don't believe this issue is over: thousands of people across America were stunned at the passage of CA Prop 8, but they are going to take this issue to the streets just as Martin Luther King took black civil rights to the streets. How is it that a popular vote is being used to define civil rights for a minority? The concept is absurd: if a similar approach had been taken with the civil rights of black people, slavery would still be in place.
"Equal Civil Rights" is not a nominal issue. To cite just one of thousands of examples, the 1996 Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) very specifically targeted gays. Among other things, DOMA specifically prohibits gay federal employees from enrolling their partners in federal employee medical insurance plans; it very specifically dictates that only married Americans can sponsor their spouses for legal immigration.
My Spanish partner and I are among thousands of Americans victimized by DOMA. In a 2 minute interview, the U.S. Consulate at Madrid flatly denied my proposal to sponsor Tomas for a green card; the consulate did not even look to see that Tomas was in perfect health, held a BS in Computer Science and had no criminal record; he didn't even consider that I had the financial resources to pay for Tomas' welfare for his entire lifetime. The only issue? "Immigration does not recognize domestic partnerships." As a consequence, I sold my home, closed my business and moved to Barcelona; I decided that no matter the financial cost, it is better to live in exile than to let the U.S. government invade our bedroom or penalize us for being gay.
Eventually, state and federal laws regarding gay marriage will change, but only through direct pressure on politicians and judges everywhere. That is why Americans who care about equal rights will join us in the streets all over America, next Saturday, November 15. It is pitifully sad that America is not yet the land of liberty and justice for all. It is even more sad that CA voters were allowed to define the rights of a minority and that the Mormon church funded a completely untruthful campaign to scare conservatives into voting yes on Proposition 8. Please join us in the streets on November 15 to protest for equal civil rights for EVERYONE!
Your article shows a very
Your article shows a very elitist attitude. The "ordinary people" can't be trusted to make decisions for themselves. The state must step in and tell the people how they should think.
Proud!
It's great to see another young voice that has no fear in this day and age! If more gay students would voice their opinion as you have regarding this historic, disappointing development, perhaps the traditional Cornell apathy might finally evolve into something worthy of our reputation. Congratulations to you and your partner on the recent election and good luck in the future!
Mormon Funding?
I thought it would be helpful to represent the silent majority. Not sure if anyone has read the article "Liberty and Justice for Some?" You will notice some alarming facts in response. For instance, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints actually did not donate ANY money in support of a "YES" vote. Individual members donated personal funds to what they believed to be right. Also, last I checked it was still illegal to buy votes. Not to mention that there was more money funding a "NO" vote.
On the subject of intolerance, as some like to call it, let's talk about intolerance. When gay marriage was passed in California I don't remember seeing "mormons" defacing gay bars or marching up and down streets. Yet "NO" vote supporters marched all day and the police had to issue tear gas to groups trying to deface "mormon" temples. The gay community seems to have an interesting definition of intolerance. It seems to me that they should look up the definition of hypocrisy.
definition of marriage
do you imply that the phrase "women and children" should have no meaning? Or can we have a contest to change the phrase?
Clearing some things up
I'd like to clear some things up that have been mentioned in these comments:
1) Thanks to all for commenting- the negative along with the positive. It's all so appreciated and, after all, the reason I write in the first place. I was especially touched by the first comment- what an incredible story/situation. I wish all the best of luck for you and your partner in the future.
2) Somebody who left a comment interpreted that my partner was a female and that I was in a same-sex relationship. I want to clarify that I use partner to describe Scott, my male lover of 2 years. The traditional heteronormative terminology has never quite felt right to me, and I wanted to clarify that I am not writing from within the gay community itself but rather as an ally. I do not want to usurp anyone's important and unique life experiences. Rather, I view gay rights issues as human rights issues that should be of interest and import to anyone concerned with equality.
3) However, I wrote this article mostly to observe an inconsistency: historic progress with Obama's election coupled with historic regression with the passing of Prop 8. In doing so, I certainly did not mean to pin the passing on any one group- hence my phrasing of "Some are blaming socially conservative black voters, Some are blaming the Mormon church." It is absolutely true that the "No" to Prop 8 advocates raised just as much if not more money than the "Yes" group. However, since Prop 8 was passed, I thought I would take a look at some of the propoganda strategies on the clearly more successful side. If you think that both sides used propoganda, that is your opinion, but in my article I focused (albeit briefly.. this was not the point of my article) on one such piece of propoganda (the plane advertisement, from which this article gets its title) which I personally found egregious. Once again, the point of this was to point out the double-edged sword of "democracy' if we define that term as the majority voting: in this case, the majority voted to take away rights of a minority. That part, to me, is undeniable, and my purpose was to point that out. It was not to de-legitimitize any one group by saying that the voting system was flawed or that people were brainwashed, etc. The logic behind a "yes" on Prop 8 is matter for another column, not for this one.
4) As for the last comment: a re-definition of women and children? I am not quite sure what this comment means. Feel free to contact me further or leave any sort of substantive and clarifying message on this thread.
I'm always available via my email as well.
Ariela