|
Compiled by GayToday
|
San Francisco—Californian supporters of Proposition 22—"Limit on Marriage"—were
successful at the ballot box Tuesday and voted down state recognition of same sex marriages.
4,160706 (61.4%) were in favor the limitation although 2,617,838 (38.6%) were opposed
to it. Political pundits marveled that nearly 40% of the electorate favored gay marriages.
The proposition had been introduced by state Senator Pete Knight, a homophobic right-winger
whose son is openly gay and whose brother died of AIDS.
| 
The No on Knight campaign, and its ads (above), tried to show there was no need for the prejudiced proposition to pass |
Major financial backers supportive of Sen. Knight's proposition were members of the Mormon and
Roman Catholic churches.
A joint statement was issued late Tuesday by No on Knight's Campaign Manager Mike Marshall and No
on Knight campaign Co-Directors Gwenn A. Baldwin (executive director of the L.A. Gay &
Lesbian Center), Kate Kendell (executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights), and
Ron Smith (Republican activist):
"Tonight's vote is a disappointment, but it is not a defeat. It's a
beginning, not an end. In the battle against Prop 22, we turned a corner
on the road to full equality for gay and lesbian families. The proponents
of Prop 22 tried to shut down the debate over full equality for gay and
lesbian people and our families.
"Instead, we blew the doors of the debate wide open. The conversation is no
longer about if our families should have full protections, but about how we
should be afforded those protections.
"In fact, most people support the equality of gay and lesbian families.
Indeed, Prop 22 proponents were forced - for the first time - to go on
record in support of recognition for our families.
We know the Yes campaign intended a larger agenda with Prop 22. We also
know Californians were voting specifically on the definition of civil
marriage and not whether gays and lesbians should be afforded the same
rights guaranteed to heterosexual couples.
|
"In fact, America's full and complete recognition of the lives of gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender people and our families is as inevitable as it is morally
incumbent. According to a recent survey by the Wall Street Journal, the
majority of Americans believe same-sex marriage will be legal in their
lifetime.
"As Martin Luther King, Jr. said 35 years ago this month, 'The
arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'
"Because of our efforts in fighting Prop 22, our community stands together
tonight stronger, more galvanized, and more energized than we were a year
ago. And tomorrow, with more resolve and resources than ever before, our
movement will take the accomplishments of the No on Knight campaign and
continue forward in the struggle for full equality. Our community has many
achievements to be proud of in the fight against Knight:
|
Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:
California's Proposition 22:
Unintended Consequences?
William J. 'Pete' Knight
–Spacey Hero & Earthly Bigot
Anti-Gay Campaign Raises $4 Million—Sparks Fears
Related Sites:
No On Knight
No On
Proposition 22
Proposition 22
GayToday does not endorse related sites.
|
We successfully defined the full recognition of gay and lesbian couples
as a civil rights issue;
We built a broad and diverse coalition of supporters - ranging from
religious leaders, elected officials, celebrities, community-based
organizations, people of color groups, labor, and more - to say "No" to
anti-gay discrimination and to frame the fight for equality for our
families in civil rights terms;
California's
Gov. Gray Davis |
Nearly every statewide elected official, among them Governor Gray Davis
and Senators Boxer and Feinstein, as well as major national leaders such
as President Clinton, Vice President Gore, Coretta Scott King, and Dolores
Huerta of the United Farm Workers stood with us against Prop 22. This
coalition also includes an unprecedented number of Republican leaders,
among them Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, San Diego Mayor Susan
Golding, and Congressman Tom Campbell; |
Virtually all of California's major daily newspapers said 'No' to Prop
22 and anti-gay discrimination, including the conservative San Diego Union
Tribune and even Pete Knight's home paper, the Bakersfield Californian;
Through hundreds of news articles, television debates and community
forums, as well as thousands phone calls made and doors knocked on, more
people than ever before saw and heard about loving, committed gay and
lesbian families and learned of the discrimination we face;
A statewide field program reached hundreds of thousands of voters and
mobilized thousands of volunteers. In addition many new donors - gay and
straight - were brought into our movement for equality;
For the first time, our opponents on the right went on record in support
of basic rights and recognitions for gay and lesbian couples and families.
Prop 22 wasn't a battle that we chose, but from it we created an
opportunity. We are grateful to the thousands upon thousands of people who
gave their time, their money, and who shared their lives in the effort to
defeat Prop 22. We are also grateful to the millions of California voters
who said 'No' to Prop 22 today.
" Because of our fight against Prop 22, an unprecedented conversation took
place in California on the lives and rights of gay and lesbian families.
We will ensure that conversation continues. We will continue the struggle
for full equality under the law. And we will ensure that Prop 22's
proponents make good on their claims opposing anti-gay discrimination.
"Equality means full and comprehensive parental rights, including the
ability to adopt and the right to child custody. Equality means
inheritance rights. Equality equals family leave. Equality means joint
insurance benefits. Equality means the more than 1000 protections and
responsibilities granted spouses through civil marriage laws. Equality
means the freedom to marry. It's simple. It's common sense. It's only 14
words. "California's gay and lesbian families deserve the same legal
protections as all married couples."
|
