From Street to Strategy

Freedom
Action
Inclusion
Rights

This is a group spawned by the question, what next? Check it out.

www.justFAIR.us

The rest is still unwritten.

Hey gang,

I'm feeling loads better. And seeing as only the lovely Scott cared to play in the previous post it is back to me to do the writing. Please look to the clip above if you have not done so. It is a a pretty heated battle of words from both sides of the Prop 8 debate. Clearly, you know where I stand. "On the right side of history" as Dan Savage would declare.

Yes, the buzz phrase that has taken hold of the American lexicon since a black man won the White House. Being one that loves a way with words I find this turn so intriguing. It immediately justifies those that agree with you on such a broad spectrum they could never turn back. Likewise when "on the wrong side of history" you instantly become a monster of such ill repute history must deem it so.

And though I love a crushing blow just as mush as the next argumentative S.O.B., this one has got to go. It is far to soon to unleash the future of the human tale on someone, right? I mean it hasn't even happened yet! So for the purpose of preserving the sanctity of impact. Please give history its back.

Then again it doesn't take a fortune teller to know equality is right. ;)

All for one cause

This goes out to the friends and readers of this blog.

I want to hear what everyone currently thinks of the state of California and Prop 8. For instance how does it affect you? Do you see this as the genesis of a new Gay Rights Movement? How do you see this changing the national scene? It must since there are nationwide protests, right? Really whatever you are thinking or feeling right now, I want to hear it. Please write it in the comments section. It would be great to get a sense of living history.

Thanks.

'Til Saturday

Hey gang,

Still sick here. I have strep throat. Resting up for the protest at City Hall downtown on Saturday at 10:30am. Hope to see you there. In my current state of sickly haze I can't properly form a thought for this site. So I'll let the LA Times do it for me.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/californias-gay.html

Now let's hear your slogans! I saw some great signs in Silverlake this past weekend. Mine was, "let freedom have 2 rings." What's yours?

Update

Hello all. I will make this brief. I'm fighting some dreaded sickness that comes complete with sore throat, body aches, congestion, and I'm just guessing here - a fever.

But I wanted to take a moment to say what a success Saturday was in Silverlake. The protest drew an estimated 12,000 people (according to the LA Fox news affiliate). This is amazing. And I will say I saw straight allies marching along with the GLBTs. Also a good celeb contingent cared to come out. So thank you - Wanda Sykes, James Franco, Drew Berrymore, and Alec Mapa. I'm sure there were more, but those are who I'm aware of.

There will be more protests to come. So if you missed it, join us next time. There will be a big one this Saturday at City Hall in downtown LA. It's at 10:30am. I think it will be a good one. Please join!

List of EQ CA gatherings

I'm glad they are stepping up. Here is a good foot forward.

http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/cd/month.asp?c=kuLRJ9MRKrH&b=4028667

A friend of the law

This is from my friend Scott, a very successful and capable legal mind here in LA. He has this to say about the current campaign against Prop 8.

As far as my legal take, it is really disgusting/troubling that civil rights are being put to a POPULAR VOTE. If desegregation had been put to a popular vote in Alabama in the 1950s, which way would things have come out? A long-recognized role of courts is to take a counter-majoritarian role if necessary and protect minorities from widely held prejudices or passions. It's one thing to amend the Constitution to require chicken coops to be bigger....quite another to strip human beings of civil liberties that the state supreme court has ruled are rightfully theirs. The Constitution should not be so easy to amend. That said, I am not sure I want to see this overturned in the courts. That may just turn more people against us. I think we have to regroup, work really hard in the next 4 years or more to change hearts and minds, and have another go at it. It's frustrating to wait but the next time it gets on the ballot we need to be confident we can win.