(article & photos courtesy Nigel Medhurst)
On Christmas Tree Lane, amid the twinkling colored lights, with the crisp smell of wood smoke in the air, a married couple walked arm in arm, listening to the melodious sounds of a group singing their favorite Christmas carols. The couple paused to listen to the group singing about decking the halls and sleigh bells in the night. The man and woman snuggled more closely together, exchanging glances as they enjoyed the familiar music, feeling filled with that nostalgic, comfortable holiday spirit.
A song that sounded like “Winter Wonderland” suddenly became unfamiliar. The words were different: they were singing about “wedding bells” instead of “snow bells ringing.” They were singing about “marriage rights” and “lawsuits opposing Proposition 8.” The couple noticed that the choir members were all wearing rainbow colored scarves. Realization slowly dawned: these were the people they had voted against last year. The group members were hugging and loving each other and they were singing about it. Young women huddled close. One man cuddled another from behind. The man and woman held each other closely and they sung. They rejoiced. These people were not going away, the couple thought. They were not shrinking into silence, into defeat.
Some listeners cheered; some listeners just watched; others made quiet scornful comments and moved on down the street. The event was equally complex. It was one part political, one part seasonal celebration–just having a good old time.
“It was a group of people out here singing in the spirit of the season which is compassion and justice. That’s what equality is,” Vickye Ashton, from Coarsegold, said. “Equal rights are a moral right. This was fun. It wasn’t some big angry demonstration. I had a good time.”
Organizer Jason Scott planned the event to attract a different sort of participant. “It is not a traditional protest but people who would not be inclined to come to protest would come to this,” he said. “Marriage equality is something that gets put on the back-burner and the objective is to make people realize this is something that LGBT’s live with every day.”
Scott added that the event was a celebration of the season and not a mockery. “It’s definitely not something against the holiday. It’s a way to join in the festivities and take advantage of the large crowds to raise public awareness and to not do it in an overly aggressive way,” he said. There were many traditional Christmas songs interspersed with rewritten carols that promoted the concerns of equal rights.
It was also a gathering for other groups to come out in support of equal rights. Jerry Thurston from Straight Advocates for Equality (SAFE) showed up to participate and show his support. He explained that the caroling was “a way to get in the holiday spirit but the larger objective is to support with GayFresno. Our SAFE motto is education, outreach and support. SAFE’s objective is to get more vocal and supportive. Our job is to convince people to be vocal in their support.”
For others like Alison Munroe, who is new to California, the event was a way to join in with the LGBT community locally and become politically involved. “We should be able to love who we want. The government shouldn’t be able to say who we love or not. Doesn’t God just want us to love? We got over the racism. Essentially it’s the same thing,” she said.
For others it meant a lot to have their community represented on Christmas Tree Lane. Angel, 20, a Fresno resident, received an email about the caroling event and showed up with his boyfriend and friends. “I am still mad about Prop 8 passing but it got me motivated to get out and do the work for 2012,” he said. He is fully aware of the work that lies ahead. “My number one present from Santa would be for gays to be allowed to marry,” Angel said.
