Yeah, there was also some stuff that was not so good, stuff that's keeping me from wholeheartedly joining in my officemates' celebration despite our champagne and chocolate donuts.
Arizona passed Proposition 102 pretty resoundingly, 53.5% to 46.5%. Pima County (Tucson) was the sole county rejecting the measure, and that was by fewer than 4,000 votes. Even counties that went for Obama and rejected 2006's attempted constitutional amendment voted for this one. More than 152,000 people in my county and more than a million in my state decided they get to sit in judgment of me and mine. What a great feeling my partner and I woke up to this morning. Thanks, Arizona. The kicker? Prop 102 was pretty much single-handedly resurrected by Tim Bee (R-Tucson), State Senate President, in hopes of energizing conservative voters enough to support his attempt to win Gaby Giffords' US House seat. Bee got his ass handed to him by the popular Giffords, so I sure hope shitting all over gay folks was enough of a consolation prize for him.
Florida probably figured it filled its rationality quota by going to Obama, and so passed its own no-gay-marriage amendment without even breaking a sweat, 62% to 38%.
The news from California is even more disheartening. As of half an hour ago, Proposition 8 (eliminating the current right of same-sex couples to marry) was winning by slightly more than 4% with 96% of the vote counted. As shitty as I felt this morning, I cannot imagine what it would feel like to wake up to the news that your marriage is going to be summarily nullified by the state, courtesy of several million people who you've never met.
And then we have Arkansas, which voted to bar unmarried couples from adopting or serving as foster parents to children, a measure whose supporters freely admit was designed to target gay couples. Enjoy your stays in state homes and lousy foster care, kids! Even if it feels like you're the ones actually being punished, take solace in the knowledge it's really the gays being punished, and your own rewards will come in heaven. Well, unless you grow up to be gay.
So today I'm deeply relieved that John McCain and Sarah Palin have been kept far, far away from the White House and Supreme Court, and gratified by the gains in the House and Senate, but I can't feel the unbridled joy and completely renewed faith in America some of my friends are experiencing. I'm officially a second-class citizen in the state I pay taxes to. There's a lot to be happy about today. Equal protection under the Constitution is not one of those things.
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