So we have this proposition on the ballot in California. A decision of the State Supreme Court made gay marriage legal and now we have Proposition 8, which would make it illegal.
Naturally, there are commercials all over the place…and to see some of them, you'd never know the issue at hand has anything to with gays or marriage. Some of the "no" spots speak of equal protection under the law without discussing what exactly is being protected. Some of the "yes" ones speak of "tolerance" but their notion of tolerance is respect for the rights of those who choose to oppose gay marriage. Some of both could make you wonder how many voters will really know what they're voting on…or whether a "yes" vote means "yes" or "no" to gay marriage.
(The "yes" votes I've seen seem to be getting a bit more honest. For a while, they made it sound like the point of Proposition 8 was to stop sex education from being taught in schools, protect the tax-free status of churches and limit the power of "activist judges." Nothing in the actual Proposition 8 mentions any of that.)
A few months ago, polls showed 8 going down to a solid defeat. That's when a lot of us who see nothing wrong with same-sex wedlock (and everything wrong with barring it) thought the game was over and we could bite our nails over the presidential race, instead. That'll teach us to get cocky. Current polls suggest it's neck-and-neck and that the vote, like some whose relationships it would impact, can go either way.
This is quite disappointing and not just because it might lose. It's disappointing because it means the vote will probably be close…and that means the losing side will just try again in the next election. We'll be fighting this battle again…and again and again. Perhaps that was inevitable but some of us had hope. Then again, I still think gay marriage is inevitable and that it will some day seem ridiculous that it was ever an issue. Maybe if we get out the vote, we can make that day happen sooner…and minimize the injustice until it does.