Valley reaction to gay marriage decision

May 26, 10:58 PMSan Fernando Valley ExaminerWyatt Shev

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117 protests, 96 cities- the gay marriage movement continues to pick up steam

Today, the California Supreme Court ruled 6-1 against lifting the current ban on same-sex marriages.

The (narrow) victory of Proposition 8, last year's general election ballot initiative that sought to preserve the sanctity of 'traditional' marriage, has sparked much controversy in the traditionally gay-friendly San Fernando Valley.

In anticipation of a negative result from San Francisco's Supreme Court- populated primarily by Republican appointees- countless activist groups have made preparations for a series of nationwide protest rallies this evening. 

Protests were planned for all the usual mega urbanized suspects- New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and five separate rallies in and around the city of Los Angeles. According to DayofDecision.com, there are about 117 protests in 96 cities taking place in North America this evening- two located in Canada.

I couldn't find any protests listed on the site that were based in the San Fernando Valley, but with rallies in Downtown, East LA, Santa Monica, UCLA and gay hub WeHo, it's safe to assume that LA County is pretty much covered, with record numbers of activists hitting the streets. Recent reports from NBC-LA suggest numbers of more than 5,000 peaceful protesters are currently marching from West Hollywood to Hollywood.

It seems local Valley businesses and institutions are jumping on the pro same-sex marriage bandwagon too.

According to the SFV Business Journal, the San Fernando Valley Bar Association has reaffirmed it's position supporting the gay community's right to marry. Although the SFVBA has obviously taken issue with the court's decision, Association President Tamila Jensen assures that the organisation respects the independence of the judiciary, which is set to take a lot of flak over the coming weeks.

It seems the people of California are most definitely divided. Proposition 8 won out by a margin of less than four percent. It's success was fuelled primarily by a somewhat underhanded, heavily financed campaign straight from the coffers of the Mormon Church- which, if you ask me, is kind of a strange choice when it comes to defending the sanctity of 'traditional' marriage. But how long can this latest blow against our basic civil liberties stand?

If history is anything to go by, not very long at all.

The people who oppose same-sex marriage today are the same kind of people who opposed the suffragette movement and the Civil Rights Movement, who pointed fingers during the dark days of McCarthyism. They fear that which they do not know, and believe you me, they don't know a helluva lot.

So relax, people. Women and African Americans have the same rights as everyone else these days, and my proudly socialist neighbor has never been hauled off by shadowy government agents in the middle of the night. At least not yet. So it's pretty easy to reach the following conclusion- no civil rights movement has ever failed.

It's simply a matter of time... and unswerving perseverance.