Gay Pride... or Hubris?
Are you gay, out and proud? Well, good for you; everyone deserves to be happy. On the other hand, LGBT revelers would be doing us all a nice little lavender favor by keeping in mind that despite the advances made, significant rights we've yet to gain won't be won by marching in parades, dancing on floats and carrying pithy signs -- or, for that matter, partying into the wee hour of the morning at the expense of human rights work to be done the next day. Sadly, confronting the harsh reality that LGBTs still don't have true equality isn't nearly as much fun as resting on our laurels and living for the day. But whether you call it hubris, complacency, smug satisfaction or the sin of pride, they're all signposts on a road that takes us two steps back for every one move forward.
But how can we ensure a future where equal rights under the law will be uncontested? Edge recently spoke to some activists and same-sex marriage advocates on the thorny issues that come as we progress towards that happy day when can all go back to marching, partying and screwing with well-won pride and relative impunity -- just as God and nature intended!
California: Progress and Regression
First of all, credit where credit is due: LGBTs living in or making the trek to California to secure a marriage license deserve a few moments of agenda-free wedded bliss. But after the honeymoon comes the sobering realization that come November, the voters of California may effectively repeal the right for same-sexers to marry. It wouldn't be the first time LGBT gains were taken away by motivated, well-funded and righteous opponents.
"With civil rights movements, historically, there is always a counteraction and we move one step back." says Equality Forum Executive Director Malcolm Lazin. "If we look at what happened in San Francisco four years ago, there was a counter-punch by the right wing movement that led 26 states to amend their constitution to prohibit same sex marriage."
Also citing the events in San Francisco as a cautionary tale of things to come is Simma Lieberman, a diversity and inclusion consultant in California (visit her website). Liberman questions the logic of many political pundits that believe that "the ballot measure is never going to pass." She attributes their attitudes, in part, to complacency around gay rights on the part of everyone from "older people glad homosexuality is no longer illegal who've gotten apathetic" to "young people who don't know what it was like to grow up with so much gay bashing." As for right wing opponents of gay rights, they're "never complacent. They're always laying in wait for something like this," Lieberman continued. "As those who are anti-gay become more vocal and summon up all of their power, we absolutely cannot afford to be complacent."
Tom Felkner (who, along with his partner Bob Lehman, was the first to legally marry in San Diego county) recalls a similar defeat back in 2000, when he was co-chair of the San Diego Against Proposition 22 movement (the first proposition to define marriage as between a man and a woman: "We lost in a fairly big way. It was difficult to get our own community to rally. They didn't understand that we're not fighting for marriage per se, but for our basic civil rights." Since then, Felkner says there's been a significant shift in thinking within the gay community as well as the rest of the state of California -- as confirmed by recent polls that indicate an increased willingness to Court decision overturning the ban, a poll said fifty-one percent of Californians were in favor of same-sex marriage. That is a huge shift."
Still, Lazin emphasizes the need to be vigilant in terms of ensuring the rights now guaranteed in California remain: "It would be a horrific defeat if those rights were removed by virtue of a constitutional amendment. The California Supreme Court decision and the November ballot vote impacts the entire U.S. gay civil rights movement." Freedom to Marry Executive Director Evan Wolfson takes issue with the assertion that there's widespread complacency within the gay community. Perhaps that's because he, along with others cited here, have made it their life's mission to fight for and secure what others take for granted. Wolfson, who optimistically points out that recent polling in California shows that the November ballot issue is winnable, cautions same-sex marriage advocates not to wait to the last minute to get involved or count on someone else to do the foot work: "This will be the turning point for our movement nationally. On the strength of what we win and hold in California, we will have the momentum to bring victory over the succeeding years to every corner of the country."
But is all this emphasis on the right to marry taking time and effort away from more day-to-day gay rights issues? That's the provocative question posed by University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law Professor Lawrence Levine. With so much attention on that specific debate, he wonders if "this obsession with marriage rights keeping us from our efforts to get rights of which there is much greater consensus -- such as employment discrimination."
Preoccupied by the battle for marriage, Levine cautions us not to "lose sight of the fact that in 2008, in most states in America, a person can be fired from is or her job simply because of their sexual orientation." For Levine, the marriage battle is a double-edged sword, noting that on the one hand, "Once we fight for mar equality, whether we get it or not, other things such as employment discrimination might be seen as so benign that we'll be more likely to get it." On the other hand, though, "There will be an entrenchment of people who will fight anything that has to do with gay rights because they see it as a pathway to gay marriage." For better or worse, Levine says, marriage has become an obsessive topic that deflects time and attention from other issues: "We don't talk about gays and lesbians in the military or hate crimes."
(Photo: California residents Doreena Wong, left, and her partner Jennifer Pizer celebrate the California Supreme Court's decision to overturn a voter-approved ban on gay marriage.)
Moving Forward: What We Can Do
Whether it's a commitment of time or financial support, everyone who has a personal stake in the continued expansion of LGBT rights under the law can do their part. Lieberman, who identifies the November California ballot vote as a "critical moment for change," emphasizes that it comes down to who shows up at the polls: "It all depends on how many people we can reach and how many of us go out and vote." In the meantime, Lazin encourages couples who are contemplating marriage to "take same sex marriage. There's no greater political statement than coming out and being married and helping us share in the legal protections and communal value of marriage." Lieberman concurs, stating: "The more people who get married in the next few months, the more others will get used to it and see it as 'normal in their eyes. We can reach a tipping point. It brings it down to the human level, and it becomes harder for non-LGBT people to see us a dangerous amorphous group."
For Wolfson, it's "not rocket science how you achieve political change. You get involved in campaigns by contributing time and money and asking others to do the same." At what he identifies as a crucial and historic moment, Wolfson encourages "each one of us to personally talk everyone we know, gay and non-gay, about how we need them to step up and support us. We must break our silence and ask people we've never asked before to take a political stand to understand what is at stake." He recommends sending e-mail, volunteering, and supporting organizations like Equality California, Lambda Legal, GLAAD, the National Gay & Lesbian Take Force and Freedom to Marry.
Money, which not only talks but has the power to change, can often make the difference when opposing well-funded foes of gay rights. Lieberman notes that gays outside of California can make a difference by opening their wallets to donate money as well as "calling their own call mayor, governor and representatives to tell them they support gay marriage. Let them know you're a voter and you support gay marriage and civil unions."
For Felkner, "The message I'd put forth to people from other states is that we have to be mobilized as a community politically." Citing what happened in 2000 vs. where we are today, Felkner observes that "we have a very well organized local campaign; we had 50 people come to our first steering committee vs. six in 2000. They understand the issue and they're motivated." Felkner says the recent favorable poll on the issue have galvanized many: "When you have hope, you're more likely to push forward. It gives you the boost and energy to take a stand and work at it." On our own local level, he emphasizes that lasting change is created by those with access to initiating and facilitating public policy; hence the need for more LGBTs in all forms of political office: "We need to be getting onto the school boards, the city council, wherever we can get involved in the political process. If you're not sitting at the table, you're on the menu."
(Photo: Pro- and anti-gay marriage advocates outside the California Supreme Court in San Francisco.)