So as I’m sure most “Alas” readers know by now, the marriage equality movement lost eleven out of eleven ballot measures this election. I’m not surprised; there were only a couple of states where we had any chance of winning, and even they were long shots.
What you may not know is that we won a major victory this election day, as well. Every single Massachusetts legislator who voted against the Massachusetts anti-SSM amendment won re-election.
From Mass Equality‘s press release:
Additionally, there were eight open seats where a pro-equality candidate faced a candidate who supports the discriminatory constitutional amendment. Of these eight open seat elections, six were won by pro-equality candidates.[…]
While no pro-equality incumbent was defeated in last night’s general election, two incumbents who supported the amendment lost their seats to pro-equality challengers in the Democratic Party primary elections.
So, hooray for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts – odds are, it’s here to stay.
And five or ten years from now – when it’s clear that Massachusetts divorce rates (already the lowest in the USA) haven’t skyrocketed, that teachers aren’t being fired for talking about moms and dads, and that children aren’t being taught mechanics of lesbian and gay sex in schools – the fear mongering tactics of the anti-equality forces will start sounding very shallow to more and more Americans.
And that’s when we’ll see many of today’s anti-gay ballot measures undone.
Exactly. The very fact that the anti-gay folks feel they have to “ban” gay marriage in the first place, is a sign that change is coming. They are simply setting themselves up for a humiliating defeat later on. As public understanding and acceptance of gay relationships continues to grow, we will soon see states passing legislation to explicitly RECOGNIZE gay unions.
“The difficult we do immediately … the impossible takes a little longer.”
I think you’re being unduly optimistic, amp. I suspect the people who think that the mechanics of gay sex will be explained to elementary school students are the same folks who still think Saddam Hussein caused September 11. I wouldn’t put too much faith in the notion that people will change their positions when the evidence proves their positions are wrong.
I think this election was an unmitigated disaster for gays and lesbians. It vindicates the idea that voters will turn out to support homophobic measures and that this can benefit conservative candidates. We are told, rightly or wrongly, that this election was won on “morals” issues, and that largely means opposition to equality for gays and lesbians. The GOP will almost certainly step up its homophobic rhetoric and policy initiatives in the future. And that, in turn, will create a more homophobic climate.
I’m having a really hard time seeing a silver lining here.
I think you’re right to take the long view, Amp. This issue splits on generational lines. More and more young people are going to grow up wondering why anyone would make a big deal about SSM, and in time these laws will come to seem like embarrassing throwbacks.
That’s my state! Yes, we rock.
I’m having a really hard time seeing a silver lining here.
Well, the GOP is very pro-gun rights, so we can at least be armed when dealing with homophobes.
I am deeply, deeply depressed. I really believe that if gay marriage had not been An Issue this year, that smirking warmonger in the White House would have been soundly defeated. i do not think any favors were done for the GLBT community by gavin Newsome, the MA court case, or New Paltz.
Consider what we have lost. Many of the amendments taht passed in the states distinctly BAR civil unions. It’s not just marriage, boys and girls, its any protection. AND, Bush now gets to make more and more court appointments. Heck, we couldn’t even keep the Senate from adding to the Republican majority.
We are screwed. We will be hunted down, and fired from our jobs, and beaten, as this country regresses into a 50s mentality. We are the new communists, and it’s cool to hate us.
I actually am surprised about Measure 36. Being an absentee voter and therefore out of the loop a little re: what Oregon is really thinking (but not out of the loop re: what liberal Oregon bloggers are thinking!), I just assumed it would go the way of measures 9, 13, and 9. And now, sadness.
It will probably take longer than my lifetime for us to achieve equality.
Think of us as being near the beginning of the civil rights movement. We will suffer setback after setback. Hopefully someday a great leader will rise, a Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. if you will. So far, we still have a grudging acceptance in society in that we are not as openly and violently confronted as African-Americans were during those times. Not that it isn’t bad. Unfortunately, many Black people do not understand the violence and oppression that is perpetrated against us. Fortunately, many do.
We will have our allies, few. They will grow in time like redwood trees, slowly but majestically. This will take time. We will win victories but we will suffer great losses.
With each generation the lives of youth will slowly get better. Already it is better to be a young GLBTQ person, even in this most awful of times, than it was when I was a child.
I do think our dear Ampersand is overly optimistic. This will take generations not years. We have been fighting for generations. But nobody will know the time when we will hear the words, “Free at last.”
This is not only about marriage, though marriage is important. This is not only about lesbians and gay men. Bisexuals remain marginalized, while trans and queer people are shuffled into the closet by the GLs and sometimes Bs. We still fight so much amongst ourselves and we will probably continue to long after we have achieved equality in the eyes of heterosexuals.
We work not for us, but for those who come after us. Because that is all we can leave; a legacy, a better tomorrow than yesterday and building upon the foundation that was built by those who came before us, sometimes tearing the whole thing down to build anew the stronger foundation we will need for true freedom and justice for sexual minorities.
Love,
Hanna
The one good thing I got out of the election night coverage was the poll numbers on SSM. 60% are for either SSM or civil unions. The tide is changing or has changed. The state constitutional amendments will be gone in a decade or two unless there is a federal amendment.
I live in Colorado Springs now, but moved here from Portland. I have to say, I too am extremely surprised and disappointed that 36 passed in Oregon. I’m in hugely conservative country here, but was always proud to know I came from Portland, where I always felt a lot of hope, but now…sigh…
I’m normally a lurker and love your blog. I just wanted to say thank you for giving me a hint of optimism this morning. I needed some.
We are the new communists, and it’s cool to hate us.
I actually think it has more to do with the Republicans’ realization that their longstanding appeal to racism is going to kill them as America’s demographics continue to change. Willie Horton, “illegal aliens,” “welfare queens,” and what have you were pretty good for mobilizing white voters, but that kind of thing also mobilizes African-American and Latino voters for the other side. I think they’re calculating that homophobia has the same mobilizing effect for their side but isn’t going to rouse particularly effective opposition. It’s true that young people are significantly less homophobic than older people, but it’s also true that young people don’t vote. And I don’t think that anti-SSM initiatives are likely to turn out straight young people, even the ones who favor gay rights.
But I also think that a lot of the current rabid homophobia is backlash against the basic cultural shift towards acceptance of gays and lesbians. And that shift, I think, is inexorable. It’s just a matter of surviving the backlash.
Unfortunately I was expecting Measure 36 to pass. I was actually surprised it was so close. There was a lot of backlash from moderate Reps and Dems alike against Multnomah County when they arbitrarily began issuing licenses to same sex couples. And I think a lot of these people look at the amendment as mostly symbolic – they didn’t realize the very real consequences it would bring.
And never forget there is quite the conservative undercurrent here – the OCA and Lon Mabon may not be as visible anymore, but those factions are certainly not gone forever.
Why do you say “arbitrarily” ?
I was very proud of the County Chair for taking a stand on same-sex marriage. And there are few other things about her I admire, believe me.
Pingback: Schrödinger's Cat is Dead
Pingback: Marriage Equality: State by State
Pingback: volsunga