Hoping for Justice

On Wednesday night, Steve, Aidan and I drove to Riverside to attend one of 28 candlelight vigils  in California to unite in solidarity and send a unified message, on the eve before the California Supreme Court Justices were to hear the oral arguments on the validity of Prop 8.

Inland Empire equality seekers turned out in great numbers and we participated in a passionate march around the streets of Downtown Riverside.  I saw many old friends and met many new ones.  It was wonderful to be in the company of people that believe in justice for everyone; regardless of the gender they happen to love.

 At the end of the vigil, we all sang "This Little Light of Mine."  (awwww...how cute are we, right?)

The hearings were quite interesting.  I came away hopeful, yet a bit apprehensive at being too confident.  If you didn't hear the oral arguments and would like to, you can hear it here just click on "MP3 Broadcast of March 5th Hearings."

In a Time.com article, it was pointed out the reservations of two of the justices who helped to create the gay marriage historic decision.  Justice Joyce L. Kennard said, "You would have us choose between these two rights: the inalienable right to marry and the right of the people to change their constitution. You ask us to willy-nilly disregard the right of the people to change the constitution of the state of California. But all political power is inherent in the people of California." 

However, I believe that the majority is not always equipped to make decisions for society as a whole.  That would be a tyranny of the majority and place the majority's interests above all else. It is still essential that decisions must remain Constitutional and judgment must distinguish those which are reasonable and fair from those which are tyrannical, unfair, and intolerable to the minority.  It is essential that tyrannical laws are prevented from being passed and this is what I hope the California Supreme Court remembers.

The Federalist Papers contain many references to the "tyranny of the majority."  In Federalist Paper 51, James Madison wrote: "It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure."  Think of the damage that could be done if the majority always "ruled."  The Founding Fathers were mindful of the principal that the majority cannot simply do away with the rights of the minority.  I hope that the justices of the California SC remember this basic fundamental.  We shall know in 90 days; hopefully sooner.  Until then, keep those "little lights" shining.  


Over & Out, j-boo

 

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Love Will Prevail

If you care about equality for everyone, please watch this video and then sign the letter to the state Supreme Court here so that "gaycists" don't prevail.


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

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Bittersweet

I am so disheartened today. On the wake of such a monumental milestone of Obama becoming president-elect, it is so bittersweet to know that the majority of Californians just YANKED away civil rights from so many!! In an election with resounding liberal triumphs, the principle of equality suffered such a discouraging defeat as California voters actually approved a ban on same-sex marriages.

To me, the euphoria of the Obama win is a bit marred today by the cruel bigotry directed at the gay population. It was not long ago that interracial couples were fighting for the right to marry one another. It took years of reasoning, protesting and battling to educate the ignorant as to the ridiculousness of such a limitation. Today, we look back in horror and disgust that our laws ever included such bigotry and racism. Yet this simple principle; that equality, freedom and justice is for ALL and applies to EVERYONE, still remains so difficult for the "sheeple" to understand.

To those who voted "Yes" on Prop 8, am I to assume that the United States Constitution doesn't mean much to you?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"

sounds so much better than,

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal UNLESS YOU'RE GAY".

or that

"nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"

sounds so much better than,

"nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws UNLESS YOU'RE GAY".

The irony is incredible and disheartening. I was so overcome with emotion this morning that I literally had to cry to get out some of the frustration from knowing that so many amongst us have declared that it is alright to treat another person as though they matter less.

I could write it a million different ways and still not be able to express the intense emotion and vexation I feel over this. I just cannot believe that people's fear, divisiveness, hatred, ignorance and self-righteousness gets SO CONVOLUTED and ends up resulting in actually TAKING RIGHTS AWAY and deeming anyone unworthy of such basic equality.
Shame on the bigots (and shame on the Mormons, in particular) for bearing false witness, distorting the truth and abridging the rights of other citizens.

It is such a bitter pill to swallow, but we just can't allow falsities or shallow tactics to deter us from fighting harder for the equality for ALL. The fight must continue. We WILL make a difference. We have to. One step forward - two steps back is what we were handed ... but we've got to get three steps in and educate and bring awareness to the severity of this injustice until "they" GET IT, CHANGE and once-and-for-all allow everyone in this nation the right to move forward, to be equal, and to be free!!!

j-boo


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Music & Equality

Last week was sprinkled with all sorts of my favorite things.
Among them, was a healthy dose of music, that was prevalent throughout.

On Tuesday, October 28th, The Cure's long-awaited album, "4:13 Dream" came out. Brynn and I hopped over to Best Buy when she got out of school that day and EACH got a copy of the fantastic-ness, so we didn't have to "share." ;)

I also got my paws on a superb AFI rarities which I find myself playing QUITE often. My kids especially love track #12 "I Wanna Get a Mohawk (But Mom Won't Let Me Get One)." Though that would NEVER be an issue in our house (ha ha).

On Saturday night, we took the kiddos down to the Hollywood Palladium, a venue that has significant importance in our lives, as it was the location of Steve and my VERY FIRST DATE, back in February of 1989, when we saw The Sugarcubes and The Primitives play. Bjork was the lead singer of The Sugarcubes at that time and screamed/sang so passionately, that she literally lost her voice half-way through the set. She was incredible; as was that night - and without the Palladium as a part of our memories, who knows HOW or IF we ever would have become the little family unit that we are today.

The incredibly inspiring and compelling band, Rise Against, was the headliner on Saturday and WOW, what a show it was! Especially given the significance of this week being election week and their passion for making a difference in political circles (as you can see from the video I shot below). It was a moving performance and we thoroughly enjoyed the night and getting to experience it all together.
**I somehow didn't catch a shot of Brynn while we were there - but she was, of course, rockin' out too**

Sunday, we took the boys with us to a rally for NO on PROP 8, where we stood for EQUALITY for ALL and tried to spread the message so that enough people take a stand tomorrow on Election Day and make sure that we protect basic human rights for EVERYONE! It was an interesting afternoon. While we did get many "honks" of support throughout the day, it was incredible to see vehement opposition and the anger and hatred from the "yes" side as they drove by yelling obscenities, flashing a particular finger more times than I can count, and assuring us all that we were headed straight for Hell.

I guess when you have that much bigotry and fear inside, you only see things one way and unfortunately, it is such a pathetic and ignorant way indeed. I truly do not understand how a civilized person in the year 2008 could not want everyone to be treated the same. It was not long ago that interracial couples were not allowed to be married and today, we look back in disgust and horror that a group of citizens could be treated with such disregard and inequality; yet the principle seems so hard to grasp for so many today.

Over these last few months, Steve and I have become increasingly aware that we live in an ultra-conservative area of California and that bigotry abounds around us. We are just hopeful that tomorrow, the REST of the state counterbalances the overwhelming side that we are exposed to in our neighborhood. Here's a photo of our yard (**we had to be overzealous to balance this suburb out a bit - ha)

I can't believe that tomorrow is finally Election Day!
Here's to hoping that a little change is in the making.

Over & Out,
j-boo

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