Quickly, I want to recognize today as an historic one for tolerance in the US. As the American people elected their very first black president in Obama, one could not help but celebrate the immense leaps that have been made for the civil (and basic human) rights of blacks in America. Today feels like a monumental accomplishment for a movement that was started before I was born.
And so, it seems surprising and paradoxical that while the American people were busy affirming rights for blacks, they were simultaneously stripping them from another group. In California yesterday, voters passed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. Effectively, this now decreases the number of states where same-sex couples can get married from three to two. As far as I can tell, there’s still uncertainty over what’s to become of those couples who were already married during the period of time that same-sex marriage was legal in California. I believe that California’s decision yesterday violates the civil rights of gay and lesbian people, and shows a residual lack of tolerance.
On the road to tolerance and civil rights, today marks a definite high point. But it’s not the peak, and there’s certainly a lot more climbing to do! In Canada, as well as the US.
Jason, you’re right with Obama as president, this is a monumental accomplishment. You’re also right that what California did isn’t exactly expressing equality. I wonder what will happen to those couples. What is Canada’s stance? Maybe same-sex couples should move to Canada. But then again, that’s not being very fair, either. It hurts me to see that not everyone is treated equally.
Comment by Kristen — November 6, 2008 @ 5:46 pm