2008 Woodie Awards
Protests of gay marriage ban in California too much, too late?
Josh Richman
Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: News
As thousands gather in cities across the nation Saturday to protest the passage of Proposition 8, a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, some are asking, "Where were all these people a few weeks ago?"
After all, so many fired-up advocates of the right to same-sex marriage could have proved a powerful grass-roots army to knock on doors, work phone banks and get out the vote against Prop. 8. Many volunteers worked against the measure, to be sure, but not this many, and the outpouring of emotion since last week's vote has led some to wonder why it did not come earlier.
"I think after the election many Californians woke up and couldn't believe that discrimination had been written into our state constitution, that a narrow majority had actually voted to take away the rights of a minority," said Stuart Gaffney of San Francisco, who with his husband, John Lewis, were among couples that sued and led the California Supreme Court in May to overturn the state's statutory ban on same-sex marriage.
That case and ruling inspired same-sex marriage foes to pursue Prop.8, which by changing the state's constitution sought to render the court's ruling moot. Gaffney and Lewis worked long and hard against the ballot measure.
"The experience of having your rights taken away is one that naturally people need to respond to," Gaffney said, noting that it is easier to get angry after the fact, even if one saw it coming. "It's a natural human emotion, when you see an injustice has been done and rights have been stripped away, that people say, 'This cannot stand.'"
And it's apparently a spontaneous, unharnessed force.
"I can tell you that the protests taking place around the state and the country have nothing to do with the No on Prop. 8 campaign. These protests and rallies are being developed at the grass-roots level," No on 8 spokesman Bill Bradley said.
By the same token, supporters of the ban on same-sex marriage say this bubbling up of emotion is unseemly and disrespectful of the majority who voted for it.
After all, so many fired-up advocates of the right to same-sex marriage could have proved a powerful grass-roots army to knock on doors, work phone banks and get out the vote against Prop. 8. Many volunteers worked against the measure, to be sure, but not this many, and the outpouring of emotion since last week's vote has led some to wonder why it did not come earlier.
"I think after the election many Californians woke up and couldn't believe that discrimination had been written into our state constitution, that a narrow majority had actually voted to take away the rights of a minority," said Stuart Gaffney of San Francisco, who with his husband, John Lewis, were among couples that sued and led the California Supreme Court in May to overturn the state's statutory ban on same-sex marriage.
That case and ruling inspired same-sex marriage foes to pursue Prop.8, which by changing the state's constitution sought to render the court's ruling moot. Gaffney and Lewis worked long and hard against the ballot measure.
"The experience of having your rights taken away is one that naturally people need to respond to," Gaffney said, noting that it is easier to get angry after the fact, even if one saw it coming. "It's a natural human emotion, when you see an injustice has been done and rights have been stripped away, that people say, 'This cannot stand.'"
And it's apparently a spontaneous, unharnessed force.
"I can tell you that the protests taking place around the state and the country have nothing to do with the No on Prop. 8 campaign. These protests and rallies are being developed at the grass-roots level," No on 8 spokesman Bill Bradley said.
By the same token, supporters of the ban on same-sex marriage say this bubbling up of emotion is unseemly and disrespectful of the majority who voted for it.
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