(On Our 2k Post this year)The Ups and Downs of the California Marriage Equality Fight


Step right up, folks. Get your tickets for the next exciting trip on the emotional roller coaster known as the fight for marriage equality. I tell you what, I've been on this ride for years, in fact it won't let me off, and I'm starting to feel a little woozy.
Buckle Up
March 7, 2000. "Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in the state of California." -- Text of Proposition 22.
Up, Up, Up We Go
On Top of the World
June 17, 2008. "By the power vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you married."
The Fall
November 4, 2008. "The projection in California shows Proposition 8 passing by a wide margin."
A Scary Turn
May 26, 2009. "Proposition 8...carves out a narrow exception applicable only to access to the designation of the term 'marriage,' but not to any other of 'the core set of basic substantive legal rights and attributes associated with marriage' such as the right to establish an officially recognized and protected family relationship with the person of one's choice and to raise children within that family...The initiative measure lawfully amends the California constitution." "The marriages of same-sex couples performed prior to the effective date of Proposition 8 remain valid." -- California Supreme Court decision in Strauss v. Horton.
A Number of Ups and Downs
Over the course of the Prop 8 trial, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, we were witness to both the courage of the plaintiffs and the cowardice of the defense, the righteousness of Ted Olson, David Boies and their team, and the ignorance of bigotry. We heard some speak about the strength of our unions, the intimacy of our relationships, and the consequence of institutionalized discrimination. We also were subject to some nasty allegations of pedophilia, domestic abuse, and the degradation we would cause the entire tradition of marriage.
A Steady Climb
June 16, 2010. "The Supreme Court has said that: Marriage is the most important relation in life. Now that's being withheld from the plaintiffs. It is the foundation of society. It is essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness. It's a right of privacy older than the Bill of Rights and older than our political parties. One of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause. A right of intimacy to the degree of being sacred. And a liberty right equally available to a person in a homosexual relationship as to heterosexual persons." -- Theodore Olson, closing arguments in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.
A Moment of Respite at the Top
August 4, 2010. "The evidence shows that, by every available metric, opposite-sex couples are not better than their same-sex counterparts; instead, as partners, parents and citizens, opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples are equal...Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional." Judge Vaughn R. Walker, United States District Chief Judge, opinion in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.
Hold on Tight
And so here we are. Hovering in that moment at the peak of the ride. A long exhale before a deep inhale. What will happen next? If this ride has taught us anything, we'll drop and rise, raise our hands in exaltation and grip the bar in white-knuckled despair. We have to commit to each other, and to ourselves, that we will celebrate each victory, and tackle each defeat, as a community.
Photo credit: Kevin Dooley

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