Prop 8 again

by Mel Green

A few months ago, a slim majority of California passed Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California after five or six months of it being legal.  Since then, we've been waiting for the California Supreme Court to decide upon the measure's legality under the California constitution.

Today, by a vote of 6 to 1, the justices upheld it.

I can't say I'm surprised.  Nor, however, am I particularly demoralized: I think we've already begun seeing a sea change. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine… New Hampshire is close, New York not far behind. Things are starting to go the other way. And younger voters overall favor equal rights, while older voters who don't are gradually dying away.  As one person commented in one of my online communities,

This will be a pyrrhic victory [for opponents of marriage equality]. The 20-somethings are for gay marriage by a 3-1 or more margin. You'll see a reversal on Prop 8 within 5 years with a 55-45 vote at least. It is a lot better when it happens through the political process than from the courts (e.g. abortion). I realize this is no solace for those who have to wait.

I couldn't have said it better myself. And note that the later states in which same-sex marriage is being established are all establishing it through the political process.

Meantime, it was of some comfort that the 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place in California during the brief period of marriage equality were ruled, in the same decision by the California Supreme Court, to be valid.  It delighted me to know that Artemis & Lori, whom I met last November during an Anchorage protest of Prop 8, just a few days after their wedding in Palm Springs, California, are still recognized as having a valid marriage — at least, in California.

After work today, I bussed downtown to join the small protest of the California Supreme Court's decision.  Like the one last November, this one was held at the Atwood Building in downtown Anchorage.  It was organized more or less at the last minute, so there were only a few people present — a total of seven during the time I was there, before I had to get home to take care of the dog.  But it was good to be there anyway, & to get at least a few honks from supportive passers-by.

Related:

• See Mel's complete set of photos from the 15 November 2008 and 26 May 2009 protests of Prop 8 in Anchorage at her Flickr photostream.
• For a history, both public & private, of the fight for marriage equality in Alaska, see Mel's post Same-sex marriage: A personal history (posted 9 May 2009).
• For the story of another Alaska couple whose 2008 marriage in California is still valid, see Bent Alaska's post 18,000 Marriages are Upheld, but Not One More.