The Non-Campaign to Beat Proposition 8

While the jubilation for most of the country brought about by the unifying victory of Barack Obama continues to provide balm for past American racism the pain of the election night, California gay bashing seems to not be soothed. The Mormon Church raised millions of dollars and lied to Californians (I guess it isn't a sin to lie) in an attempt to convince them that the continued stabilization of gay and lesbian families was going to hurt marriage and children. They were successful.

But the Mormon Church did not win the ban on family rights as much as the No on 8 campaign and Equality California lost it. Weeks ago, it became clear that the No on Proposition 8 campaign had made a conscious decision not to conduct outreach to Latino and African American communities. Latinos ended up voting it down by a only a slight margin and African Americans voted for the ban overwhelmingly. The margin of victory for reestablishing family rights for gays and lesbians lies in these communities. The old fashioned top down campaigns waged by Equality California and No on 8 somehow missed the news that you cant win statewide in the Golden State by ignoring Latinos and African Americans and hoping that they just won't show up at the polls. Combined, Latinos and African Americans are about 24% of the vote in California. If a serious campaign had been waged in these communities, victory could have been assured by "moving the dial" by just a few percentage points in each.

What is odd about the loss of family rights for California's gay and lesbians is that the losing old school campaign was built while the rules of campaigning where being demonstrably rewritten by the Obama campaign.

The Obama campaign's success was built upon not ceding territory to old myths on Latinos, African Americans, and young voters. The myth that Latinos would never vote for an African American was debunked by the Obama campaign, the idea of low voter turnout among African Americans and young people was also debunked. But in addition to ignoring basic myths on minority voting behavior, the Obama campaign knew that it had to still work hard to get the electoral results they wanted. They waged a campaign to win the votes and turnout model they needed.

To add insult to the Proposition 8 injury, minority communities are now being blamed for not responding to a campaign that never existed for most Latinos and African Americans until the last 10 days of the election cycle. We all need to give credit to at least one consistent effort by "Honor PAC", a gay and lesbian Latino PAC, to educate Latino voters against the ban. However, Honor PAC was severely under-funded. History could have been written differently and much pain avoided if Honor PAC was given the resources it needed.

Should a repeal of Proposition 8 be placed on the ballot in June, Latinos and African American organizers would be well advised to completely by-pass the top down pre-technology dinosaurs that ignore basic demographic information and wage a well funded small donor effort to correct this huge injustice that was brought to California by outside religious intolerance. If we learned anything over the last two years it is "Si Se Puede".

Mario Solis-Marich is a progressive talk show host who can be heard on AM 760 in Denver and AM 1150 in El Paso, Las Cruces, and Los Angeles. Mario can be streamed at www.GoToMario.com

Comments

[JohnBisceglia]

Do Americans really think that the Exhalted Hetero-Sexual Marriage's TWO SOULS are somehow MORE human and deserving of the legal rights & protections than the TWO SOULS found in a
Homo-Loving Marriage?

(if you caught that hyphenated distinction, ain't it insulting?)

Our souls are equal. Our children's souls are equal.

More and more of us will not pay into a federal system that excludes us, because it is immoral to deny our families and children civil marriage.
Stay Tuned, Tax Payers....­. The National Equality Tax Protest will be on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009.

[equalground]

John - You seem to be well aware and tuned into the gay movement. Is it accurate that Equality California, sponsors of most legislative efforts and No on Prop 8 advertising, and the comparable PAC's in other states are the same organization, under a different name, as the initial organizers of Gay Pride Parades.

[equalground]

Mario - What were the specific "family rights for California's gay and lesbians" lost in California? I understand the only right lost was the use of the term marriage to describe family relationships. Otherwise, they did and do have all the "right to marry" and of marriage laws in California, under the Domestic Partnership laws.

Is this correct? If not, what other family rights were lost?

[mickoo]

The Prop 8 failure was predictable in California. The seed for this loss was sown in the misplaced efforts to deploy courts to obtain marriage for LGBT folks. In 2004, over a dozen states passed marriage bans as a direct reaction to LGBT lawsuits for marriage. A few gay lawyers-on­-a-mission have thrust us into a war without making the case, and all our civil liberties are now on the line.

The well-funded Christian Right had (and still has) public opinion on gay marriage in their favor. Anyone honestly assessing the Prop 8 campaign will conclude the ban passed because our side was a communications and organizing mess (Blacks didn’t tip the scale nor did Mormon money manipulate the electorate­.). Lawyers hawking precedence and celebrities proselytizing normalcy just did not engage voters on a personal level with the sensitive social issue of same-sex marriage. Shocking.

And look what this ridiculous battle has reaped. Arkansas has used its marriage amendments as a catalyst to deny adoption, and "protecting marriage for one man and one woman" is a mainstream liberal value held by our new President.

Marriage is a religious institution with appalling record of abuse and dismal success rate. As a gay man, progressive, and feminist, I don’t want health care and civil rights to be administered via an institution that has not been purged of its chronic corruption and inequality. Systems wrought with anachronisms evolve or die, and we should let them.

[michaelbennefield]

........ye­s on prop 8....... thats what california decided. what give the courts the right to even try to over turn what we have decided on. If its like that then what is the point of putting it on the ballod. it should of been the churches desicion to make gay marrage leagal they are the ones that peform marrages,and if they want to keep marrage between a man and woman then so b it. but they didnt
they left it up to us and majority voted yes so let it b.i am proud of my state for making the right desicion

were is the voters rights

[Incredibledaze]

This article is wrong where it attacks the No on 8 campaign. I attended a forum in Oakland that was designed to talk about gay marriage with the African American community and it was held in a prominent church. Outreach efforts to hand out materials outside African American churches existed and I took part in them. To say outreach wasn't done is inconsistent with the facts and I am not sure how someone who did not volunteer with the campaign in any meaningful way would know this.

[getrational]

I was sickened by the passage of Proposition 8. However, I agree that we in the LGBT community did nothing to sell our position. I am inclined to think that even our supporters don't understand what rights marriage actually gives us (which are not that impressive when the marriage is only recognized by state government), and I am certain that many of those who voted in favor of the proposition fail to understand what the reality of being LGBT in this country is.

All that being said, I feel that the proposition would have passed either way. The Supreme Court overturned the Texas anti-sodomy law in 2003. It was at this time that we suddenly started hearing that "Gay marriage is next!" What the overturning of an arcana and absurd piece of legislation has to do with broad recognition of gay marriage eludes me now as it did then.

The reality is that this country is not yet ready for gay marriage. However, I believe that legislators are ready to give us anything but. So how about we start getting some of that anything (Federal recognition of bashing as a hate crime, adoption rights etc.) while we have the chance? This kind of legislation would function as a gateway to recognition pf gay marriage.

[JohnBisceglia]

Uh... "GetRation­al"...the reality is that this country is not yet ready for LGBT tax dollars. Because if they WERE, they'd treat us very differently.

To be polite....­..F. what people think or believe...­......so far those "thoughts and beliefs" had caused great suffering for the LGBTI community.

And since WHEN does ANYONE allow a government to tax them without equality? Who is the fool?

Thank GOD - many of us seem to be WAKING UP and using the substantial POWER we have - our wallets.

[JHuff68]

Since prop 8 specifies the word "marriage" , the CA supreme court should say marriage is reserved for religions and they won't be required to marry anyone (which i think it says now) and that from here on out, gays have the right to full civil unions which carry exactly and all the same state and federal rights, protections, etc as marriage. Obama will get rid of DOMA and that will be that.

[Jaidit]

The term "civil union" has no meaning in either California or Federal law. The term is used solely as a fallback position by those who oppose granting marriage rights to same-sex couples.

[JHuff68]

It is not the responsibility of a minority group to PROVE they deserve the SAME CIVIL RIGHTS AS THE MAJORITY. That is why the courts are there. PERIOD! This ballot initiative was unconstitutional to the CA constitution on it's face. PERIOD!

[MarkInEugene]

What's very troubling about the passage of Prop 8 is that it was funded by Religious Institutions that pay no taxes. It is wholly undemocratic in this American democracy, that we allow Non-Profit Religious organizations to fund multi-million dollar political campaigns with tax free dollars. Adding insult to injury, Gay and Lesbian Americans are forced into servitude to pay for the roads, schools and infrastructure that religious organizations benefit from. In return the churches spend their tax free dollars to oppress the very people who make it possible for them to enjoy a tax free status.

It's a crime in this country that citizens that don't ascribe to any religion are forced to pay into a system that subsidizes politically motivated religious organization who in turn oppress them.

If the Mormon Church can spend millions of dollars funding hatred and intolerance through political manipulation of public opinion, they should be taxed like any other political organization. I would enthusiastically support a Proposition on June California Ballot that removes tax exempt status to both the Catholic and Mormon church’s.

[thetown]

These futile attacks against the Mormon Church are going to turn off a lot of people to Gay Marriage if only for the fact that they don't like seeing people of faith attacked for excercising their rights to engage in the political process. The NO Campaign made several big mistakes that led to their defeat and now appear to making another HUGE one. Look for MORE Blacks, Hispanics, Catholics and Baptists to sympathize more with Mormons than with Gays. I swear, the No side needs to fire all their leaders and hire a really good PR firm.

[SeanGardner]

"the No side needs to fire all their leaders and hire a really good PR firm"

Absolutely!!! They came up short on the organizing. I know people all over Los Angeles County. And from what I heard, anti-PROP 8 forces were canvassing all over The Valley. But in the inner-city, deep in the inner-city, you mostly saw the pro-prop 8 forces. Communities of color should have been a major priority. The mormons were there. They were there in force. And they clearly visited, called, and even e-mailed all of those churches again and again and again. The PROP 8 forces could have matched that intensity, but didn't.

Instead of attacking blacks and latinos, the anti-PROP 8 forces need to admit that they, according to Mr. Solis-Marich above, "missed the news that you cant win statewide in the Golden State by ignoring Latinos and African Americans and hoping that they just won't show up at the polls."

PROP 8 opponents like San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom needs to call for an end to the scapegoating of blacks and latinos by white gay activists (which he strangely didn't do on Friday while on MSNBC), and then call for a summit of the most civil and thoughtful members of the anti-PROP 8 coalition. This summit should strongly recommend strategies for undermining or neutralizing the religious dogma that is responsible for this. It can be done.

[equalground]

As an additional suggestion, the leaders of the Gay community might consider meeting with the leaders of the Mormon church to understand specifically what is the core reason for the opposition.

The reason is not an interest in withholding civil rights.
The reason is not the biblical scriptures condemning homosexual behavior. I have never heard one of these scriptures read in a Mormon meeting or class.

Go talk to them and see what the issue is and what can be done to solve the issue.

Lots of time can be saved. Neither the Mormon church nor the members spend much time working to oppose the gay community, except at the goal line. Understand the goal line and everyone will be spared the grief.

The gay community in California has expereinced very little resistance from the Mormon community over the past ten years as they have written and rewritten Domestic Partnership laws. Marching on Mormon Temples will not help. I suggest gay leaders go talk to the Mormon leaders, not to threaten or demand, but to find out. Dan (Don) Savage demonstrated his complete ignorance of the Mormon community on TV this week. Maybe the answer is not in everyone understanding the gay community.

[Nikola Tesla]

Or we can let the courts strike down unconstitutional discriminatory legislation.

Apparently that's part of their job.

[equalground]

To emphasize your point. I have decided to join up with the national effort for a constitution amendment. Why? Because of the aggressive disregard for the law or anybody who opposes the gay community or even supports them. I have been figuring it out in recent years, which became clearer during the campaign, and crystallized since the campaign.

You may be interested to know that I campaigned for Tom Bradley to be mayor of LA and during his run to be governor. My father opened an office in Watts the day after the Watts riots were declared over. He also wrote a brief for the US Supreme Court when they declared the 1964 Prop 14 unconstitutional. The gay community in Californa likely owes my father for even being able to wage this fight. I am a democrat and always will be. I have defended the gay community my whole life.

Oh, my Dad was an active Mormon. So, don't believe everything you hear about Mormons and Blacks in the 60's.

If you can turn me to the national committee for a constitutional amendment, you need a PR firm.

[OhBigWoo]

Your ignorant neighbor is not allowed to decide what your Civil Rights should be. Not in The United States of America. The courts were created to protect the minority from the tyranny of the masses. Period.

[sjmaureen]

The Mormon and Catholic churches should lose their tax exempt status, please write your local representitives. Get active Nov. 15 is a national day of protest go to your local city hall at 10:30 am. and rally with other gay rights supporters.

[vipersdad]

There were so many strategies that No on 8 could have employed to make people think - instead they fell behind and were forced to play defense.

Look at how Americans feel about the "direction" America has been doing - how about hanging some of that around the neck of the 8 campaign? All this idealogy, Religious Zeal, and mean-spiritedness of the Religious right? I could have made a very dark scary campaign ad about those folks....t­hey need to be shown to be operating on a continuum that ends with Fred Phelps....

Look at the Hypocrisy of the Religious Right and the neocons...­.Ted Haggard, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Ralph Reed's associations with Jack Abramoff, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy Jr., Bruce Barclay, Matthew Joseph Elliott, and the list goes on and on... it's a panoply of hypocrisy sports fans - you can just barrage the viewers with that and ask the question..­.. "who is the right to tell ANYONE how to live their lives?"

Look at the moral bankruptcy of the Bush administration - torture, kidnapping, lawlessness, death, death, death and more death..... After 8 years of that - with the religious right running interference and cheerleading the whole endeavor, they resurface during this election to "rescue" marriage?

Those are 3... I have many more thoughts on how to position this..... I don't think these positions are extreme - I consider myself to be a moderate in most ways.

[M1]

I think this will necessarily be settled by the Court. I am a gay hispanic catholic and I tried talking with some of my brothers and sisters about prop 8 and they said it was a religious matter end of story. I really do not believe outreach will work due to the fact that the priests were telling them how to vote. Plus, Gays would have to spend every election seasons wondering about the status of their marriage. That is fundamentally wrong.

[FearlessFreep]

I fear that too many blacks are in the business of receiving outreach and tolerance, and not of giving it.

[stpintodalite]

What an awful thing to say. It's attitudes like yours that burn bridges instead of build them. News flash, there aren't enought Black voters in the entire state of California to have made a difference one way or the other. The Yes on 8 team had a better grass roots campaign and were better funded. Take a page from their book, reorganize and fight for what you want. Your comments serve no purpose other than to erode what little support for gay marriage exists in the African American community.

[AnotherTry]

WRONG! If all races voted with the same margin as whites, the measure would have failed. Those are the facts.

[hlhicks]

I fear that you are in the business of oversimplification and a reliance on stereotypes. I guess it is easier to blame the black vote which comprised a mere 6% of the total and ignore that the majority of Californians voted for the measure.