While Equality California has decided to not move forward with a repeal Prop 8 ballot measure for 2012, the group Love Honor Cherish, which helmed an unsuccessful signature gathering campaign in 2010, has decided to submit ballot language and start the process of getting a repeal Prop 8 measure on the ballot for 2012.
Currently, Prop 8 is in the hands of the courts in California. Most recently the California Supreme Court heard the case for whether Prop 8 supporters have standing to appeal Judge Walkers ruling to overturn the proposition. We’re still awaiting their decision. If they find no standing exists then Prop 8 goes away forever. If they find Prop 8 supporters have standing then the appeal case goes back to the courts to decide if Walker’s ruling will stand.
It’s possible the court case will be over by the end of this year and the likely outcome is that Prop 8 will indeed be overturned by upholding Judge Walker’s historic ruling, and that legal same sex marriage will become enshrined forever in the state of California.
Certainly Love Honor Cherish is acting now because of pending deadlines and time frames which will permit them to proceed with a signature gathering process if this all falls apart in the courts. The real question remains, do we want to continue to vote on our civil rights? I stand by my position, which is no. I won’t say I’m certain Walker’s ruling will win the day, but I can say for certain that dealing with this travesty of equality by putting it in the voters hands seems to be a losing battle. Remember, we put it on the ballot, then they put it on the ballot, and over and over and over again.
We have much more power and chance of success by sticking with the courts, as history has proven, as well as the recent demise of DADT, which was sent into overdrive when federal judges ruled it unconstitutional. It’s also unfortunate that so much is made of recent polls which show that the “tide has turned” on the issue of same sex marriage and gay rights. We never mention how that fails to translate to the voting booth, which is very different from random polls and historically dominated by a conservative citizenship. We all need hope, but we need a good dose of reality far more.
