While the struggles of gays and African Americans share comparisons it is wrong to view them under one movement. Today there are no fire hoses or police dogs attacking gay activists, and while hate crimes do take place, we are assured that our judicial system will bring the appropriate punishment to the perpetrators. But it is also wrong to think the Civil Rights struggle should only encompass African Americans. The term “faggot” and phrase “that’s so gay” have replaced the “n-word” as the most socially acceptable derogatory slur that stems from the degradation of a minority group. Additionally, both movements depict a minority fighting for equality and while we are told that such minority interests are protected against the majority under the Constitution, this is clearly not the case in California.
By a simple majority vote, California passed Proposition 8, easily adding another amendment to the longest State Constitution in the US. Although there have already been three laws suits stating Proposition 8 was an illegal Constitution revision rather than an amendment because it fundamentally alters the guarantee of equal protection, these are projected to fail.
Many prop 8 opponents, especially first time younger voters who mostly opposed the initiative, awoke to this news Wednesday morning in disbelief. How could the most liberally progressive state uphold discrimination and inequality? The answer is fairly simple though: religion. Religion has been used to oppress minorities and restrict civil liberties since the early days of our Nation. Of the seven in ten voters who described themselves as Christian, two-thirds of them voted in favor of the ban. A Los Angeles Times article highlights another factor of the ban.
“Jeffrey Jackson of Lynwood said he struggled with how he would vote on Proposition 8. On the one hand, as a black man casting his ballot for Obama, he said he had a deep and personal reverence for civil rights. On the other, he is a Pentecostal Christian. In the end, it was that religious faith that guided his decision. "It's straight biblical," said Jackson, 46. "It's just not right."
To my surprise and disappointment it was ultimately the California black vote that decided the Prop 8 outcome. Exit polls showed that will Asian Americans opposed the measure and Whites and Latinos split evenly, Blacks heavily favored a ban on same-sex marriage by roughly 70 to 75 percent. Even though Obama himself opposed Prop 8, this was not widely advertised most likely for fear of affecting key swing states.
Blacks are not only passing the Civil Rights torch to the LGBT community, but also helping to throw it even farther back.
Since his 2004 keynote speech I have actively followed the career of Senator Barack Obama and am truly elated about his election. Yet, November 4th will also mark the day in which a right was taken away and equality was pushed back in the closet.
