Robert Treder wrote:
And blacks will have voted as much for it as latinos, if not more so ... should we "disallow" black immigration too?
This is what is particularly striking to me. The black community, at large, seems to sway pretty hard against gays in general. I can imagine few things more hypocritical than a black man saying a homosexual man should not be allowed equal civil rights protections. The hypocrisy burns. I realize that the black community is a community with strong ties to the church, but this is an issue they should be intimately familiar with and logic suggests that that community should be the first to rally to the GLBT cause. I have NEVER understood the stance they take on this issue. (I remember how quiet the largely black rally was during the primaries when Obama was suggesting equal rights for homosexuals, for one)
While I'm not throwing in with threats of violence or stealing children away from families (this would not help in any way), I share Dutchess' anger at this. I was, quite frankly, surprised that Prop 8 held. I was not surprised by Florida, though the fact that the language goes against heterosexual civil unions and was still passed does slightly surprise. I expected better of California, and I hate to see the progress made just washed away. Last night was devastating for the GLBT community, and I think anger, disgust, and frustration are more than apt emotions at this point.
Looking at the larger picture, at this point I can only hope that a strong Dem congress and a strong liberal (for America) president can make changes that would help to further the cause. For example, what is the possibility that Obama might get rid of DADT? Such a measure would require some major political capital if we were to see him reelected in 4 years, but if he does win an 8 year term (WAYYYY too early for this speculative shit, but at this point what choice you have but to think long term here for some ray of hope?) could he not then overturn DADT? I think this would go a long way to helping matters, as one of the first places desegregation started was in the military. I don't see eliminating all marriage due to the language as being anywhere near a viable option, even if that's what the language says, and I'm not 100% that the "activist judges" could overturn Prop 8. Wouldn't that be the second time that the court would rule against what the majority believed? And so, I hope an Obama presidency can make some inroads into this issue. But he can only do it if he has the political capital to do so, which means fixing the economy (unlikely in such a short period of time), getting out of Iraq, having no terrorist attacks on his watch hit the US, and a whole other load of shit that just seems pretty damned daunting. I certainly don't see gay rights as being a top priority anytime soon for him.
It's Jodan, not Jordan. If you can't quote it right, I will mock you.