A Vigil of Hope

Yesterday was a sad day. I was in tears or near tears many times. I made comments like "chickens have more rights than I do now," a reference to the passing of Prop 2. I was feeling very low, even though I am not in a relationship and don't even see one in the near future. It wasn't about me though - it's about justice. It's about fairness. It's about being treated equally instead of as a second class citizen. I ended the day outside San Francisco City Hall with a candle in my hand and some 2,000 people surrounding me. We got together with very little notice and very little planning, but it was what needed to be done. We gathered to cry together with our sisters and brothers in the struggle. We gathered to vow that the fight for equality will continue until ALL are treated equally. We gather to buoy the spirits of those who had married in the past few months and also those who had worked so hard to defeat Proposition 8.

We lost this battle, but the news is not all bad. There were about five million ballots cast opposing Proposition 8. There are a lot of folks on our side!

Kate Kendall, Executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights spoke. So did State Senator Carole Migden and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin. There were other elected officials and lots of grassroots lgbt activists. I bumped into some friends from church and I saw many familiar faces. Even though in the midst of those I had never met, I felt loved. I felt like I was with family. It felt good.

At the candlelight vigil we also learned that The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and NCLR had filed a writ petition with the State Supreme Court urging the court to invalidate Prop 8. There was a petition campaign (I have already signed and told many friends). Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred (representing Robin Tyler and Diane Olson) is filing a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court and would contain "a new and controversial legal argument as to why Prop 8 is unconstitutional." Also, City Attorney Dennis Herrera has joined Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and Santa Clara County Counsel Anne Ravel in filing a petition for a writ of mandate with the California Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8. The legal battle goes on.

When shall we overcome? Someday . . .