California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who has asked that the courts overturn Proposition 8, writes in the Huffington Post on the eve of the hearing.

The case touches the heart of our democracy and poses a profound question: can a bare majority of voters strip away an inalienable right through the initiative process? If so, what possible meaning does the word inalienable have?

…

Fundamental rights in California are recognized and protected by our constitution, which declares in Article I, Section 1 that “all people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights” and “among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.”

These fundamental premises of a free people were declared when the constitution was first adopted. The initiative process came much later in 1911, when the immediate concern was to give the people power over the railroads, which were seen as having a stranglehold over the legislature. In creating this initiative process, there was no discussion or any evidence of intent to permit a simple majority of voters to take away the pre-existing rights deemed inalienable by Article I.

In 2008, the California Supreme Court was faced with the question of how the values enshrined in Article I apply to same sex marriages. It concluded that the concept of “liberty” includes the right to form the enduring relationship called marriage and that no compelling interest justified denying this right to same sex couples. Just like the right to be free from discrimination in housing, citizens have the right to be free from discrimination in state-granted marriage licenses.

With this Supreme Court decision, same sex marriage has the protection of Article 1 and, like other inalienable rights, cannot be taken away by a popular vote — whether it be 52% (as was the case in Proposition 8 ) or 65% (as it was for Proposition 14).

I believe, therefore, the Court must conclude as I have that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and should be stricken.

Oral arguments begin at 9am PST on Thursday, March 5, and can be viewed online here.

Meanwhile Catholics for the Common Good are urging their flock to pray and fast to uphold Proposition 8.

Vigils supporting marriage equality will be taking place throughout the state tonight. Visit www.eveofjustice.com for more information.

GayAtheist revealed a document this morning providing proof that the Church of Latter Day Saints donated $30,354.85 to ProtectMarriage.com on 11/3/2008, the day prior to the election. The Late Contribution Report was not filed until January 15, 2009.

View the Late Contribution Report.

They cannot hide behind the lies any longer. This is probably one of the main reasons why ProtectMarriage.com filed a lawsuit asking that late Prop 8 donors not be disclosed publicly, which was thrown out yesterday. It also adds even more credibility to the charges leveled by Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate and the investigation by the CFFP.

Those who voted yes on Proposition 8 have been called many things in the aftermath of  the election. Haters. Bigots. Hypocrites. Christianists, and those are only a few of the more kind labels. But never have I heard anyone refer to them as un-American.

Tom Hanks has come under fire recently for retracting his statement from last week where he said voting for Proposition 8 was un-American. Unsurprisingly, some in the LGBT community are up in arms over the retraction, despite the infrequency of such a charge. 

The LGBT community is still smarting from the unhealed wound that is Prop 8, myself included. I married my partner in September of 2008, and there’s a reasonable chance that by the summer of 2009 it will be rendered invalid. (Catholics, Mormons can expect a bill if that happens).

There are multitude of reasons of why marriage equality lost in November. One I keep coming back to is a failure to cast the role of the villain in the battle against Prop 8. Unlike Prop 6 in 1978, there was no John Briggs to debate, and no Anita Bryant to galvanize  our base. Instead in 2008 we had the Catholic and Mormon church, two amorphous beasts that were nearly impossible to vilify in the minds of the public. 

Since the election, many in the LGBT community have been quick to accuse and eager to demonize, perhaps in an effort to finally cast the “villain” we never had the opportunity to confront. Unfortunately, we are not always right in this rush to judgement. Naiveté, retractions, misstatements and quotes taken-out-of-context can erase years of LGBT favor and support. Even members of the LGBT community are not immune. 

Among many, Reverend Rick Warren now fills the role of villain quite nicely, Prior to the election, Warren made a video supporting Prop 8, and later compared gay marriage to incest and pedophilia. But who was talking about Warren prior to the election? Where was the outrage then? Drowned out by the noise against the Mormon and Catholic church? Granted Warren himself leads a church (an unfortunate pattern), but at least we could have put a face to the hate, a person to focus on, and someone to discredit. 

Which brings us back to Tom Hanks. 

First his original statement (via Fox News):

“…and the truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen, there are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them. I do not like to see any discrimination codified on any piece of paper, any of the 50 states in America, but here’s what happens now. A little bit of light can be shed, and people can see who’s responsible, and that can motivate the next go around of our self correcting Constitution, and hopefully we can move forward instead of backwards. So let’s have faith in not only the American, but Californian, constitutional process.”

And now his retraction (via a publicist):

“I believe Proposition 8 is counter to the promise of our Constitution; it is codified discrimination. But everyone has a right to vote their conscience; nothing could be more American, To say members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who contributed to Proposition 8 are ‘un-American’ creates more division when the time calls for respectful disagreement. No one should use ‘un- American’ lightly or in haste. I did. I should not have.”

I anticipate the reaction in the LGBT community will be swift, viewing the retraction as cowtowing to the religious right. And considering the reaction already among some in the LGBT community, you’d think that Tom Hanks not only retracted his “un-American” comment, but whole-heartedly endorsed Prop 8 as well. Hanks only retracted the “un-American” label, which really seemed misapplied in the first place. Isn’t refusing to vote even more “un-American?” Regardless of what or who you are voting for?

Nor did the media or bloggers help by mischaracterizing the retraction as an apology, when the words “sorry”, “apologize” or “regret” appear nowhere in the statement.

What is important however is that “Discrimination should not be codified.” survived in the retraction. This says a lot more about Tom Hanks than any “giving in” does. Last time I checked Americans could still be bigots and hate mongers and racists. It doesn’t make them un-American. It makes them undesirable elements of society.

In such a toxic environment it’s easy to turn on friends, or those who been supportive of our cause. I too have been guilty of rushing to judgement (sorry Josh Brolin).  But these are the people we cannot afford to lose. Tom Hanks and Melissa Etheridge are not the villains. Barack Obama is not the villain. 

The LGBT community is still angry, and if that anger continues misdirected, we will lose more than friends and supporters, will lose our cause, and ourselves.

I… we… need to remember that hate, intolerance and ignorance are the villains, and those individuals who personify them. I don’t count Tom Hanks among them.

A reminder below of just how short our memories are…

Proposition 8 and the election in general has brought out the worst side of us, as evidenced by overt racism at the McCain/Palin rallies and the growing tensions in California over marriage equality. Hate is finally out of the closet and on display for the whole world to see. In California, some Proposition 8 supporters compare gays and lesbians to Hitler, while others see us bringing about the end times. There seems to be no limit to what they will say or do.

I’ve put together a list of eight reasons why voting No on Prop 8 might not be such a terrible idea, particularly if you don’t want to be associated with the lot below. Here they are, in no particular order

1. People who want marriage equality are well, like, Hitler

Brad Dacus (pji@pacificjustice.org, (916) 857-6900) a spokesman for Proposition 8, spoke passionately in Sacramento equating their struggle against gay marriage and saving the soul of America, to the people of faith in Germany who left the soul of their country to Hitler.  Really?

2. The Mormons

By far the largest financial contributors to Proposition 8, Mormons have a long history of veiled hate and intolerance. Their church mobilized against the Equal Rights Amendment in the 70s. Blacks were not allowed into the temple until 1978, frowned on interracial marriage, and expelled gays and lesbians from their church who are unable to go straight. Sounds like an inclusive group to me.

3. 2012 Letter from Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family, one of Prop 8’s largest contributors, have released a fictional letter written by a Christian circa 2012, telling the story of what’s gone wrong with America in the first 4 years of an Obama presidency. Notable highlights include gay scoutmasters will be able to sleep in tents with young boys, schools can teach homosexuality as a personal choice, counselors and social workers can nolonger discriminate against homosexuals, and gays will target Christian book publishers, through defacement and censorship,  including cyber attacks against those booksellers carrrying their books. Are you kidding me?

4. The Call

Organized by religious leaders across the country, the Call brings together people to pray for the passage of Proposition 8 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego this weekend. James Dobson of Focus on the Family has decided at the last minute to join event, at the urging of Rev. Jim Garlow, who later goes on to say that he fears the end of western civilization if Prop 8 doesn’t pass.

Don’t these folks have something better to pray for? Like world peace? Or food for the millions starving across the globe. Or cures for the sick? This is how they choose to spend there time?

5. Yes on Proposition 8 Sends out Blackmail Letters

Last week the fine folks behind Proposition 8 sent out blackmail letters to many businesses that had made No on 8 donations, threatening to “out” them if they didn’t make a matching donation to Yes on 8. Truly tasteless.

6. Cyber attack of No on Prop 8 Website

After sending out an urgent call for donations to match Yes on 8’s recent funding surge, the No on Prop 8 site was attacked by hackers, denying contributors from making donations for several hours. Hackers can be bigots too I guess.

7. Tom McClintock

Tom McClintock who is running for Congress in Southern California is quoted as saying:

“Lincoln asked, ‘If you call a tail a leg, how many legs has a dog? The answer is four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it one,'” McClintock said in a statement. “And calling a homosexual partnership a marriage doesn’t make it one.”

McClintock is no friend of the gay community.
 
8. Orange County, California

Yes,  the whole county. There’s nothing orange about it, it’s red, through and through. A bastion of support for Proposition 8, Yes on 8 signs are everywhere, from neighborhood lawns to billboards. Some of Proposition 8’s biggest contributors are from Orange County. Donors skew heavily conservative, religious, and Mormon. I suspect gays and lesbians are, well, unwelcome.

So, if you are planning to vote Yes on Prop 8, then you are associating yourself with the fine class of people mentioned in the examples above.  Is that what you really want?