I’ve been a outspoken advocate for gay rights since I was in the 7th grade, when I wrote my social studies thesis paper on the right of gay Americans to serve in the military. After I presented my paper, my ultra-conservative teacher told me that while he still didn’t think that being gay was right, I had convinced him that regardless of what he thought, it was not his right to discriminate against people for being gay. Mr. Espinoza, wherever you are, this one is for you.
Tomorrow is a huge day for America, with a important and historic presidential election. But for California, and for this blog, the day has special meaning. Tomorrow we will vote on whether or not we amend the constitution of this state to include discrimination – to strip the new found rights of gay and lesbian men and women to marry and have a legal foundation on which to build their families. We can not let this happen. So wherever you are in the state tomorrow, and whatever you are doing, go vote. I don’t care if you are tired, if you are sick, if you have never voted before, if you don’t think politics has anything to do with you, if its hard for you to get off work, if the voting lines seem long, or if you think the presidential election is in the bag. You need to walk out your door, and walk to the polling place and vote no on Prop 8.
Even though I have been a advocate for gay marriage since middle school, this year has brought a greater sense of appreciation for what gay marriage actually means. This year I’ve blogged about new found legal gay weddings in my home state, stood on the steps of San Francisco’s city hall as the very first legally married gay couples walked out, and wept while I danced a celebratory hora at our LGBT shul the week that the Supreme Court decision was announced. Watching the faces of established gay families and lifetime partners as they were finally able to make their partnership legal has given me a sense of the value and sacredness of marriage that I didn’t fully comprehend before. It has been such a gift to experience all this in the year that we are going to be married.
So for all those reasons, go vote tomorrow. Tell someone else to go vote tomorrow. Stand up for human rights, for equal rights, and stand up for all that is good and pure and true about marriage. Stand up and vote no on Prop 8.
Picture from this weeks amazing New York Times Vows column
