proud to be american, horrified to be californian
it's a rare moment where i am speechless. so instead, i will loan this space to another, more verbose than i at the moment, even though he is 100% more effected than i am about the outcome of proposition 8:

Yes We Can - But We Did Not

"According to the state of California, I am less important than a farm animal. I write this at half past midnight on November 5th, 2008 and so far 63% of the population of California has voted that chickens should have the right to extend their wings and cows should be able to turn around... but only 48% believe that I deserve equality under the law. It might still turn around. But it shouldn't have ever been this close.

I wanted to celebrate tonight. When Obama was declared the President-Elect I could not enjoy the experience. He spoke so eloquently of an American Dream that I have no access to. In the history of American society minorities have slowly gained rights as we march towards the freedom that our forefathers envisioned. We have moved beyond the times when interracial marriages were illegal, when women could not vote, and when the color of your skin made you available for purchase... much like the cows that were liberated this evening.

Not to say I didn't support California Proposition 2 which called for more humane treatment of livestock in the state of California. I voted in favor of the measure and stand behind that decision. But tonight, 25% of the population voted to protect the cows and not me.

How am I supposed to go on? Tomorrow I have to walk into my office where statistically more than half the people I interact with think I am less of an American. They think I'm less of a Californian. They think I am less.

I am not less.

I deserve more.

I deserve more than having to fight for the same freedoms as all other citizens of this state and this country.

I deserve more than asking millions of strangers for permission to marry someone I love.

I deserve more than the bigotry and discrimination that has been spewed at me.

I deserve more than the cows do.

I deserve equality.

I do not have it."

jeffrey is a dear friend of mine, and one of the many in my life who were told overnight that california has jetted itself back to 1950, where apparently "separate but equal" settled in, and that they were not allowed to marry. i have attended the weddings of couples who are now be told their Love is wrong in the eyes of the government. i have watched in disbelief as respected friends of mine cast their vote to discriminate against their own friends and family, completely putting aside the tenet of separation of church and state. i would appreciate someone helping me to understand why people hate Love.
current mood: i feel sick.