And so it begins

Today is guaranteed to be an historic election day with the possible outcomes involving either a female Vice President or a non-Caucasian male President taking the oath of office on Jan 20, 2009. The polls are open, the lines have long since formed, and here in Michigan we have, for the first time in our state’s history, 98% of the eligible voting population registered to vote. There is no guarantee that all those registered will actually cast a ballot in this election, but on at least one front the Obama campaign has won. They worked long and hard on their campaign to get people registered to vote in this election. They targeted those who often feel the candidates are so out of touch with their lives that they don’t bother to register. They targeted those of poor, minority, and uneducated neighborhoods in portions of this state that most of us pretend do not exist. They canvassed every college campus they could find and registered voters right up to the last minutes of the deadline all across this state and the rest of the country. In that respect, Mr. Obama has already won. Now we wait to see if all those that his campaign volunteers managed to register will cast their votes in his favor.

Today is guaranteed to be an historic election day with the possible outcomes involving either a female Vice President or a non-Caucasian male President taking the oath of office on Jan 20, 2009. The polls are open, the lines have long since formed, and here in Michigan we have, for the first time in our state’s history, 98% of the eligible voting population registered to vote. There is no guarantee that all those registered will actually cast a ballot in this election, but on at least one front the Obama campaign has won. They worked long and hard on their campaign to get people registered to vote in this election. They targeted those who often feel the candidates are so out of touch with their lives that they don’t bother to register. They targeted those of poor, minority, and uneducated neighborhoods in portions of this state that most of us pretend do not exist. They canvassed every college campus they could find and registered voters right up to the last minutes of the deadline all across this state and the rest of the country. In that respect, Mr. Obama has already won. Now we wait to see if all those that his campaign volunteers managed to register will cast their votes in his favor.

While the choice of our next president hangs in the balance, and will certainly take center stage of the news coverage today and tomorrow, there is another election I am following closely. One which I care about just as much, if not more than the fight for out nation’s top office. On the West coast of this great country there is a battle raging that will directly affect my life, and my rights in the very near future. Not long ago this very same battle was fought, and sadly lost here in Michigan but this time the stakes are higher. California has already legalized same-sex marriage in their state and over the last few months, have married thousands of same-sex couples. Now, with millions of dollars generated by the Religions Right, they are going to the polls today to cast their vote not only for our next president, but also to defeat or approve Proposition 8, which would amend their State Constitution to end same-sex marriage in California forever.

While it might be obvious to some why I care about the outcome of this election in California, the obvious reason is only the tip of the iceberg. The backers of Prop 8 have all stated that this is their “last stand against Gay Marriage.” That should they lose their fight to amend the California State Constitution “it will not be long before gay marriage is in every state across the nation.” While they see this as a horrific chain of events, I see it as the beginning of an end to legal discrimination against same-sex couples across the country.

Beginning on the east coast, Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in their state and got the ball rolling. Not long after their decision, the 2004 elections saw 11 states with ballot measures pass and write discrimination into their state constitutions, Michigan was sadly one of those states that year. Even sadder, it was nothing more than a political chess move for either republican party to get the conservative voters to the polls and re-elect President Bush to a final term. It worked like a charm and every one of those 11 states who passed their anti-marriage amendments had close results in the presidential race as well with the majority of those going to Bush. Now, just four short years later, we have arrived at the pinnacle battle of this fight for equality, California.
If the voters of California, known for their liberal views on equality and tolerance, can manage to reject Prop 8 it will send a clear message to the rest of the country that writing discrimination into State Constitutions shall not be tolerated. It will re-energize the legal fight to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which flies in the face of our nations Constitution guaranteeing full Faith and Credit to all citizens. It will turn the tide of change in our favor and, eventually, DOMA will fall. And THAT, ladies and gentleman, the fall of DOMA is what we have been fighting for since the day it was signed into law by President Clinton shortly before leaving office in his last term. Without DOMA, all of the states who have passed constitutional amendments prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriage certificates will be forced to remove them. The Full Faith and Credit amendment of the US Constitution guarantees that a contract, which legal marriage is, deemed valid and binding in one state of the union, must also be recognized as legal and binding in every state of the union. Quite simply, a win in California today means that the tsunami of change currently building up on the West Coast will swell and begin to wash away the discrimination across the country as legal battle after legal battle chips away at DOMA. Soon enough the US Supreme court will have no choice but to hear the case they have been ignoring since DOMA was signed. Soon enough the voice of the people will be heard, and it is my hope that it starts today with the voice of California, a state who has long since been our loudest champion of equality and fairness and their resounding defeat of Prop 8.