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H8 Upheld: Our Response on the Streets of L.A.

On D-Day, I awoke to a text message saying, “CA Supreme Court upholds Prop. 8. Honors 18,000+ marriages. It is now crystal clear that we must go back to the ballot, and we are going to win.” What a way to start a day; I wanted to go back to sleep.

I was nervous about the outcome of this decision; even though I mentally prepared myself for the worse, this injustice decision is still a kick in the head.

Congratulations to the couples that got married during the Marriage Equality limited time offer.

At least your marriages are still valid in the state and that gives us something to celebrate. People were already jumping to conclusions that this was going to divide our community but it has just brought us closer. We are in this together and we are going to keep fighting for Marriage Equality. Although this is a minor set back, it’s just giving us more time to build our army bigger and stronger and we will REPEAL PROP 8 IN 2010.

Yesterday afternoon, shortly after the decision, I attended a No On Prop 8 Protest Rally organized by the Latino Equality Alliance, with a little help from their friends, including Bienestar, in East L.A. I joined over a hundred people at the steps of the East Los Angeles Recorder Office (where marriage licenses are issued), just down the street from where the No On Prop 8 campaign office was. Outraged at the outcome, people gathered with their signs and chanted for equality. Yes we’re pissed off and we’re going to let everybody know it. The media was prepared for the aftermath of the Court’s decision and we were ready to share our history. CNN, L.A. Times and Advocate were just the few, of many, covering the rally.

Lt. Daniel Choi, Iraq War Vet being discharged from the military under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, was in attendance and he started out by sharing a love poem in Arabic and then translating it in English:

“You are free

You are free in front of the noon day sun

You are free before the moon and you are free before the stars

And you are free when there is no sun

You are free when there is no moon and there’s not a single star

But you are a slave; you are a slave to the one you love because you love him

And you are a slave to the one you love because he loves you back”

He said the author wrote this because, “LOVE IS WORTH IT.” His speech can be viewed at UniteTheFight.org and he will be attending the Meet in the Middle for Equality rally this Saturday in Fresno.

Robin Tyler & Diane Olson, one of the first to receive a marriage certificate, was in attendance along with Denise Eger, the rabbi that married them, and Gloria Allred, their attorney that represented them in the original case that won the LGBT population in California the right to marry. The couple stated that they will continue to fight for marriage equality no matter how long it takes. Gloria Allred had made a poster of a quad of the California Constitution Article 1 Declaration of Rights Sec 7. (A), with a picture of a lesbian wedding cake and a gay wedding cake. The quad quoted:

"A person may not be deprived of life, liberty, or

property without due process of law or denied equal protection of the

laws; provided, that nothing contained herein or elsewhere in this

Constitution imposes upon the State of California or any public

entity, board, or official any obligations or responsibilities which

exceed those imposed by the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th

Amendment to the United States Constitution"

As a result of the Court’s decision, after the “equal protection of the laws,” she had handwritten in, “except for gays and lesbians.” The crowd booed at the Court’s decision. She said, “This is wrong and we are going to change this.” We are going to fight this and we are going to win! Si Se Puede!

Girl Afraid, taken from a Smiths song, is in love with Flickr and obsessed with You Tube.