By Jill McLaughlin
(this article originally appeared as a letter in the Chicago Free Press)
Like many of the LGBT community, I recently joined the protests against the passing of Proposition 8. One sign at these protests in particular spoke volumes about why we can’t rely on politics as usual to protect or grant us our rights as human beings: “I voted for the first black President and all I got was this lousy marriage ban.” While many LGBT people voted for Obama, Obama stated repeatedly throughout his campaign that he did not support gay marriage. Even though he opposed Prop 8 he did not call on people to vote against it. Obama furthermore throughout the campaign said that he wants to expand Bush’s faith based initiati ves. Obama moreover refused to call out Dominionists such as Sarah Palin as a danger to the separation of church and state.
LGBT people of California lost on November 4th. We are talking about the same state that in the 1970s was galvanized by Harvey Milk to fight—really fight—to stop Proposition 6 which would have permitted firing gay and lesbian school teachers. Milk saw the urgency of this situation. He and the Castro community knew that if something like Proposition 6 passed it would undoubtedly take hold across the country. He and the LGBT community mobilized and stopped Proposition 6 and they got a city ordinance that gave the San Francisco’s LGBT civil rights. Milk knew the importance of directly confronting and challenging the hatred and ugliness of the religious right. In doing so the LGBT community won the support of many around the state who voted down Prop 6.
We are faced with a similar scenario now. Proposition 8 passed in California, but it doesn’t need to pass in other states and it can be repealed. The homemade sign at the protest has another lesson: If LGBT people or any minority which has been attacked by the Bush Program’s theocratic agenda wants to have their rights as human beings respected and protected, we need to understand that we must act together outside official politics in a mass way and stay in the streets to demand it. We cannot fight these outrages as individual groups or one at a time. People who see this injustice and know it’s wrong must join with those who are being oppressed. We cannot rely on politicians like Obama who seek common ground with the very people who want to take our rights away. We have seen a tremendous outpouring of righteous anger over Prop 8 in the streets across the country and we need to keep it going.
Sadly, there will be many among our fellow Americans who will gladly make compromises with the Religous Right for many reasons, including — so I’ve been told — the sneaking suspicion among many Americans that the Religous Right’s assertion that we’re living in the “End Times” is entirely accurate, and the fear of being “left behind” dominates the minds of many of our fellow citizens, whether they publicly say so or not.
After all, the last thing “our fellow Americans” want is to be caught playing on the wrong team (such as the LGBT team)when the “end of the age” happens, and they find themselves facing the wrath of an LGBT-loathing “God”. They’re more interested in saving their butts, than to make the bold choice to stand up with an oppressed minority whom “God” despises, and who will punish them for their “sin” by tossing them all into a “lake of fire” without a twinge of regret or sorrow.
We live in some very strange and frightening days, don’t we?
Ive pretty much lost the desire to see Obama Sworn in!! I was looking forward to a new beginning, but now I doubt it will happen! Tom