California Supreme Court to Determine Constitutionality of Prop 8

Many actions are taking place in the LGBT community regarding the passage of this California proposition. As many of you know, there have been (and continue to be) many peaceful protest marches and rallies calling attention to the discrimination involved in the passing of Prop 8. Also, opponents to Prop 8 have been looking at where the campaign went wrong and how we failed to reach enough California voters.

Also, there are many legal battles beginning, challenging the validity of Prop 8 in the first place. The most prominent push is that Prop 8 does not merely amend the State’s Constitution, but it fundamentally alters the Constitution, which cannot be decided by a majority vote. Many asked why we did not fight this before. The truth is,

A Straight Man’s Thoughts on Gay Marriage

After Prop 8 passed in California, I had strong feelings of anger, sadness, and depression. I struggled to comprehend that over 5.6 million people in California saw me as a second-class citizen. Although I knew others were in the same predicament as I was, I still felt as though my wife, Julie, and I were all alone. After attending a gathering to discuss the passing of Prop 8 at the San Diego LGBT Center, I began to feel a little better and have some hope.

Something else that tremendously helped me shift my focus from those who voted for the proposition to those 5.1 million (plus) people who voted NO on Prop 8 was Brian, one of my coworkers. Brian is a married, straight man, with a beautiful two-year-old daughter. Brian and I had several discussion on various topics, including the true purpose of a constitution, marriage as a whole, love, religion, same-sex marriages, and struggles for rights in U.S. history. Through all of these discussions, I began to feel hope and a growing pride in those who stand with us in our struggle.

In my Nested Lez column in this month’s edition of The Lavender Lens, I highlighted a portion of an email that Brian had written to a coworker about marriage. Below, the text of that email is presented in its entirety.

Change Comes Slowly – San Diego LGBT Center Prop 8 Gathering

Hello Nested Lez Readers.

I want to address the issues that have stemmed from last night’s elections – our first African-American President and the passing of California’s Prop 8. However, right now, I know that anything I try to write will be distorted my my hurt and my anger regarding Prop 8.

I will address the election, but I need some time to process my emotions a bit. That being said, I want to share an email message from

Letter from Betty DeGeneres – Support Gay Marriage

I am on the email list for Equality California. It is a great way to stay updated on the fight to keep same-sex marriage rights in California. If you aren’t on their mailing list, I strongly encourage you to join.

In an email that I received today, there was a message from Betty DeGeneres (yes, Ellen DeGeneres’s mom). In case you are not on the mailing list, I wanted to share the email with you and encourage you to make a donation to help Equality California and to vote NO on Prop 8. Here’s Betty’s letter:

Support Same-sex Marriage Equality – Vote NO on CA Prop 8

On Saturday, July 12, 2008 (exactly 5 years after our commitment ceremony), my partner Julie and I went to the County Administration building, turned in the necessary paperwork, and got legally married. Unlike our commitment ceremony (we had always considered it a wedding), which had about 100 guests, there were four witnesses to our civil ceremony. We considered it a renewal of our vows, but it was so much more.