11/14/2008
Mega Prop 8 Update 11-14-08: News, Protests, Links, Video
National protests Saturday in every state across the nation - Join the Impact.
EXCLUSIVE: Shepard Fairey, creator of the iconic Obama "Hope" image, has designed a poster for Prop 8 and the LGBT campaign for equal rights. High-res versions now available HERE.
Marriage equality foes now using Elton John as an ally because of these remarks.
Civil rights groups ask California Supreme Court to stop enactment of Prop 8: "Civil rights groups today filed a petition with the California Supreme Court to stop the enactment of Proposition 8 because it would mandate discrimination against a minority group and did not follow the process required for fundamental revisions to the California Constitution. In the petition, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Equal Justice Society, California NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. argue that in order to protect the fundamental rights of all Californians, a higher standard is required to overturn the right to marry. Minority communities cannot be stripped of their fundamental rights by a simple majority vote."
You wish it was 1,000 Bill. Multiply that by 10. O'Reilly warns wingnuts that this is just the gateway drug in the culture wars: "So you can see the debate over gay marriage is now a full fledge national battle. As talking points said last night the election of Barack Obama has emboldened secular progressives who feel it is their time. Gay marriage just the beginning. Other cultural war issues will also be in display very shortly. These include limiting gun possession, legalizing narcotics, unrestricted abortion and the revocation of the Patriot Act."
The State Supreme Court has asked Attorney General Jerry Brown to reply by Monday to lawsuits challenging the legality of Prop 8, suggesting the court is taking them very seriously: "The filing the court requested from Brown's office will not address the ballot measure's validity, but will focus instead on the initial questions of whether the justices should accept the suits for review - and, if so, whether they should suspend Prop. 8 while they decide the case, said the state's lawyer, Christopher Krueger, a senior assistant attorney general. Suspending Prop. 8 would allow same-sex marriages to resume."
NAMES quilt creator Cleve Jones and Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black have called for a seven-week sustained campaign to secure equal rights for LGBT Americans.
USA Today: After passage of Prop 8, support for same-sex marriage grows.
Phyliss Burgess, the Prop 8 supporter in Palm Springs who had her cross torn from her hands and stomped on by a group of 'No on 8' protestors plans to press charges.
Californians Against Hate "filed a complaint with California's Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), alleging The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints failed to report nonmonetary contributions that helped pass the measure, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman." Salt Lake Tribune: "Fred Karger, the advocacy organization's founder, wrote in a letter to the FPPC and attorneys general Edmund G. Brown Jr. of California and Mark Shurtleff of Utah that the church 'has been highly secretive about its massive involvement in the campaign, but we managed to piece together evidence of some of their more visible activities done directly to communicate with California voters.'"
GAVIN NEWSOM: On Prop 8, the fight continues.
California county clerks are confused as to when same-sex marriage ban begins: "County clerks across California are clamoring for legal advice to resolve confusion about when to begin the gay-marriage ban that voters passed last week in a ballot initiative. At least three same-sex couples have obtained marriage licenses since the Nov. 4 passage of the measure overturning the state Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage."
The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Invalidate Prop 8 campaign to raise funds to fight the legal battles against Prop 8's passage has raised more than $60,000 and sent more than 2,300 postcards to Mormon church President Thomas Monson, acknowledging that a donation has been made in his name to invalidate Prop. 8 and restore fundamental civil rights to all Californians. Here's their press release (PDF) on the disbursement of those funds.
Bill O'Reilly's disgusting take on the Prop 8 battle. He hates gays so much, and he really still wants that war pitting gays against Blacks, and activist Jasmyne Cannick seems to want to assist him:
Perhaps Cannick should listen to Reverend Irene Monroe and Whoopi Goldberg. Please, no racist flames against Cannick. She has the right to her opinion even though imho it's pretty inflammatory.
DAVID MIXNER: Proposition 8 and race. "Among the most foolish has been the dialogue around the African-American vote in California. It has been tinged in places with racism, not based totally on good knowledge, lacks a historical perspective and certainly doesn't create an atmosphere to build a better coalition..."
Sign at Kim Light/Lightbox Gallery in Culver City, Los Angeles reads: "WARNING: This area may contain homosexuals, which are known by the State of California to be harmful to the sanctity of heterosexual marriage."
A lesbian mother in Fresno has been asked to resign from her position as president of the PTA at her son's Catholic school: "Robin McGehee, who enrolled her son Sebastian at St. Helens Catholic School, says she went to a vigil for the 'No on Proposition 8' campaign last Thursday. After that, a priest from the Diocese of Fresno told her to step down because she had gone against church teachings. The PTA's vice president, Tiffany Rodriquez, confirmed that McGehee was removed. Rodriquez herself resigned in protest of her removal."
"Letters containing a suspicious white powder" were apparently sent to two Mormon temples in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City: "The temple in the Westwood area of Los Angeles was evacuated before a hazardous materials crew determined the envelope's contents were not toxic, said FBI spokesman Jason Pack. The temple in downtown Salt Lake City, where the church is based, received a similar envelope containing a white powder that spilled onto a clerk's hand. The room was decontaminated and the envelope taken by the FBI for testing. The clerk showed no signs of illness, but the scare shut down a building at Temple Square for more than an hour, said Scott Freitag, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City Fire Department. None of the writing on the envelope was threatening, and the church received no calls or messages related to the package, Freitag said." Or, of course, they were sent there by anti-gays wanting gays to be seen as domestic terrorists.
Prop 8 victors, particularly Dave Leatherby, owner of the Leatherby Family Creamery in Sacramento, upset by personal attacks: "Leatherby and his family donated about $20,000 for the passage of Proposition 8. A devout Catholic and father of 10, Leatherby supported the measure for religious reasons. He said his business has been targeted by bloggers as a result, and that he is particularly confused because his business has participated in the annual gay pride Rainbow Festival."
BLACKLIST CITY:
L.A. Times: Boycott talk spreads...
According to the Hot Blog, "The Festival Director of FIND's LA Film Festival, Rich Raddon, came up on a “Yes On 8” donation list this morning. $1500...And I must say, positions amongst FIND insiders are widely varied. The phrase 'witch hunt' has been used... as has 'I can't see ever sitting down at a meeting table with him again.'"
EL COYOTE: Here's a great report on Marjorie Christoffersen's meeting at popular Los Angeles Mexican restaurant El Coyote over her donation to Proposition 8. And two videos:
The CEO of Cinemark cinemas, Alan Stock, gave $9999 to the "Yes on 8" campaign. It's a huge international chain of cinemas. The Sundance Film festival will be using some of Cinemark's theatres to screen its films.
Damage control at Marriott hotels. Here's the reason for the damage control.
Posted 5:55 PM EST by Andy Towle in California, Gay Marriage, Mormon, News, Proposition 8 | Permalink
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Jasmyne Cannick really needs to learn her history. Yes, the churches played a big role in the civil rights movement, but it was not borne out of the churches.
She completely disregards the influences of Latinos on the civil rights movement. The legal strategies used were copied from the legal battles that Latinos fought more than a decade before.
The strategy that the lawyers used in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was very heavily influenced by the strategy used in Mendez v. Westminster.
Jasmyne Cannick has no concept of historical context. She is divisive, unthoughtful, and harmful to our campaign.
Her article in the LA Times is even worse than the stuff she was spouting to Bill O'Reilly.
Posted by: Eric | Nov 14, 2008 12:04:00 PM
I'm getting a little tired of people using the term "witch hunt" in connection to boycotting and blacklisting. A witch hunt is a hunt for something that _doesn't_ exist (the witch) in a condemning, accusatory manner.
In all of the current cases, there is no witch as the people targeted are bigots and demonstrated that fact by donating money.
Posted by: what | Nov 14, 2008 12:04:22 PM
ERIC,
we get it: Black Americans were too stupid to think up anything on our own. Fine. I've learned this past week that your attitude is indeed the attitude of most white homosexual men...probably more than 75%. I guess most black gays would say to me, "Du'uh...told you so."
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Nov 14, 2008 12:13:19 PM
JOIN THE IMPACT organizer believes WE SHOULD LEAVE THE MORMONS ALONE. Read it and weep:
1. However golden the destination one should always know the driver of the specific car you hitch a ride with. Do they actually have any idea of how to get where you want to go? Do they even know how they drive or are they a child who took the keys and went for a joy ride?
Amy Balliett, the 26-yr. old Viral Whiz Kid from Seattle who created the "Impact" demos this weekend, told 365gay.com that she
(a.) does NOT BELIEVE IN BOYCOTTING THE MORMONS.
Gee, I guess Andy and Corey and Whoopi and the thousands of others who demonstrated at the Mormon Temple in NYC, and thousands of others across the country doing similar things SHOULD BE ASHAMED.
(b.) Sounding as confused as she does spineless, she also said, emphasis mine: "The government has to provide the rights. THE CHURCHES SHOULD DEFINE WHAT THEY WANT TO CALL THOSE RIGHTS. But any citizen engaging in a consensual relationship with someone they want to spend the rest of their life with SHOULD HAVE TO CHOOSE THE CHURCH that is going to GIVE THEM the TYPE OF MARRIAGE THEY WISH TO HAVE."
http://www.365gay.com/features/prop-8-young-activist-urges-join-the-impact/
2. CA Attorney General Jerry Brown says he will DEFEND Prop 8 in court just as FOUGHT AGAINST marriage equality before the state Supreme Court. He apparently thinks he's required to because of his job. We used to call that the "Eichmann Defense" named after Adoph Eichmann, the "architect of the Holocaust" whose defense when the Israelis tracked him down in Argentina and took him back to Israel for trial was, "I was just following orders."
Prop H8TE is our "Nuremberg Law" and anyone who supports in for whatever reason should be condemned, challenged, and punished. So will you be voting for him when he runs for CA Governor?
3. Jasmyne Coulter also defended Isaiah Washington after he called TR Knight a "faggot" and Michael Vick's torture of dogs, claiming they were "victims" of the "white gay mafia."
4. DO NOT send money to LA Gay Center infamous for accepting blood money from COORS and whose director was one of the "leaders" of the fucked up NO campaign! Send donations DIRECTLY to Lambda Legal, the gay legal group actually fighting the case to overturn H8TE.
Posted by: Leland Frances | Nov 14, 2008 12:15:27 PM
Cannick wasn't nearly as awful as I had been expecting and fearing. She wouldn't say what O'Reilly wanted her to say (what he put her on the show specifically to say) so he just said it himself and then cut off the opportunity for response.
Posted by: Sportin' Life | Nov 14, 2008 12:16:28 PM
I could right pages; legal briefs and historical/biblical references; that counter any claim that taking away rights based on a majority vote, may it be handicap rights, etc, is constitutional. News flash: "All men are created equal". With the pioneering efforts of Benjamin Franklin, our forefathers fled religious persecution and established a nation, NOT "In GOD we trust" as our politicians/right wing from the mid-20th Century would have us believe through the re-write of historical documents, but "In SCIENCE we trust". Thus began what has become a blurred line between Church and State, a fact that has our founding fathers spinning in their graves (more than Bill OReilly spins facts on his show).
The fact of the matter is the state of California, Arizona and Florida allowed the people to make a decision that was influenced by millions of dollars from Churches and bigots to misinform and public with scare tactics and lies right out of the Karl Rove handbook of politics. We have tolerated Religion enough to allow stories and TALES written thousands of years ago in many different versions by many different men, but the reality is the bible is simply a collection of stories meant to control men and deviate natural history. Science has proven this fact, and it will continue in doing so.
As another poster stated, I find it alarmingly amusing that individuals chose to cherry pick certain Biblical passages to suit their bigotry, much as was once done to justify (wrongly) that slavery is fair game, when so much Biblical "law" is disregarded (such as wearing cloth with more than one fiber or shaving is punishable by stoning, how amusing no one wishes to live by that law, but determines that "marriage" is such a sacred institution). Interesting to note that the Catholic Church did not even recognize marriage until 400-500 years ago, and before such did not discriminate between gender in unions until it was decided that marriage must be "protected".
What is it that the religious community is so afraid of? Marriage has been treated as a joke by so many. Britney Spears was married numerous times, divorced, not to mention another "protect marriage" advocate Newt Gingrich, Mccain, Rudolph Guiliani, etc. who have cheated and divorced numerous times. Oh, but wait, how dare another human being who actually LOVES someone come in and redefine their bastardization of "marriage". Simply put, protecting "marriage" is simply the new Jim Crow law of the 21st Century. Keep us out of your bigotry and religion, and allow us the same rights you have, until then, STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES.
Posted by: CJ | Nov 14, 2008 12:19:07 PM
guess I'm alone here, but I'm not so quick to dismiss Cannick's point (if I understood her point).
It think that she's arguing that the rhetoric of the gay rights movement sometimes draws exact equivalency to the African American civil rights movement and that is just not going to resonate with African Americans.
I think that's a legitimate point. That's not to say that I don't see nearly exact equivalency in some areas (e.g., inter-racial marriage rights and gay marriage rights). But if the way this is communicated by gay civil rights activists to the African American community is not working, I don't think it's a bad thing to rethink the communications strategy.
Posted by: darbnyc | Nov 14, 2008 12:22:14 PM
Andy:
Can you please post a consolidated list of international, natioanl, state, and local businesses and institutions that we can boycott? The facebook stuff are too random.
We need a focused, go-to site on boycott.
Posted by: Landis | Nov 14, 2008 12:27:56 PM
I have worked with Jasmyne Cannick on several projects and the woman is a certified nutjob. A complete egomaniac looking out only for herself. Do not trust her. Do not allow her to be a spokesperson for the queer community. She is a spokesperson for Jasmyne Cannick, and that is all.
Posted by: henry | Nov 14, 2008 12:36:55 PM
Perhaps if the gay community was more inclusive of racial minorities...if they had a more diverse public face, rather than a white face...these communities would've voted no on 8. when these communities only see white people as gay, it's as if gay people of color do not exist! the media, including the gay media, does a poor job in having the true representation of our community. she has a good point, the gay community in general needs to outreach much more in communities of color.
Posted by: Jason Sanqui | Nov 14, 2008 12:37:20 PM
Gary, I can bet you are right on that! These supposed crimes by us liberals, including now today two envelopes of 'white suspicious powder' sent to mor(m)on churches, will be shown to be inside work on the bigots part to paint us as criminals. Just watch, time will prove it!
As for that idiot O'Slimey, he is just so wrong on so many levels where do we start? Maybe with the facts: 1000 people at our march in NYC???? A thousand??? Bill, honey, please... I would have thought at least a vague inkling of math would have been a requirement to pass high school... try counting again, or at least have the balls to be honest about how many of us there really were instead of lying to your viewers as you always do to get your (fallacious) points across! Add a zero on the end of that and you might have a little, teensy bit more truth to your blathering...
And why should you be surprised that we will be up in arms about Prop 8? Sure it's great that Obama was elected, but do you think that will make us magically wipe the rest of your poisonous conservative slate clean and forgive all the other shit that you heap on us all the time? Forget it, O'Bigot, you have a LOT to learn!
As for that idiot at Leatherby's Creamery being confused at why he is being boycotted 'since he has participated in the gay pride rainbow festival' but then voted YES on Prop 8... take your sanctimonious surprise and shove it where the ice cream don't freeze! What the hell did you think the people you make money off of (that's the reason you are at the festival, right? To sell your wares?) would do when you trash their rights? Ask for more ice cream? Jeez.... some people are just dumber than a box of bricks!
Posted by: CK | Nov 14, 2008 12:37:26 PM
SHADTEA, you are so out of line and full of shit... those personal attacks of yours on Andy are disgusting! He has stayed neutral in the race baiting... did you not read that he said flaming her is wrong because she should be allowed her opinion?
Posted by: CK | Nov 14, 2008 12:41:48 PM
I think any scapegoating of the black community for prop8 victory is a cop out for the sorry campaign run by the No8 politicos. But lets also not forget the very real homophobia that exists in a large segments of the California African-American community, both in churches and hip-hop culture. I've heard about it from my black brothers all my adult life,and its painfully evident in some rappers' lyrics. That's just reality and we've all got to deal with it with some creative, calm dialogue and outreach over years. Its not something that's going to be overcome with a snap of the fingers.
Posted by: Tim | Nov 14, 2008 12:48:26 PM
Wow, Jerry Brown will really defend Prop 8? That would be a real stain on his legacy as a lib.
o'reilly really gets a big splash for his culture warrior stance, but don't ratings show that he gets about 3 million viewers a night, on average? That's in a nation of 300 million people? His high profile, IMHO, doesn't seem to be merited based on Nielson ratings alone.
change of topic: i posted in a comment section last week & nobody responded, but i'll add it here again: gays linguists who know Arabic who are fired by DA/DT from their military positions lowers the security of America, whether it's a blue state or a red state. Reinstating those people should be a high priority for EVERY american. Fuck protesting a Mexican restaurant, for God's sake, and take on the Pentagon for this egregious policy! WTF, people!?
Posted by: Daniel | Nov 14, 2008 12:51:00 PM
For more information on the mom kicked off the PTA for anti-8 advocacy, there are two news stories at the moment online:
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=6500667
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/video?id=6502685
Posted by: JR | Nov 14, 2008 12:51:17 PM
@ ShadeTea - Your comments are just worthless personal attacks. Sincerely lame and lacking in class. The amazing work that Andy has put in over these last months to covering both this historic election and tragic passage of prop 8 are simply to be commended.
Posted by: Gregus | Nov 14, 2008 1:00:34 PM
I think its unfair to go off on Andy and his site over a few bigots who post here.
This nonsense about blacks has more to do with the issues of those posters who have issues with them, and, it has nothing to do with gay rights.
In today's San Fran paper, they broke down how this city voted, and, some of the strongest opposition was in the toniest part of town, same part Diane Fienstein lives in and who by the way waited until the very last minute to come out against 8, so, this black bashing is just way lame way for racists to go off like they would and have on any issue on this site with a black face attached. And in the latino and Asian parts of town as well, so, if, it gets voted for in one of the most "liberal/progessive" cities in the world, we have more work to do than just wth blacks.
Cannick? She has a right to her opinion, after all, she is speaking for herself, just like the rest of us, even those who disagree.
Posted by: Sebastian | Nov 14, 2008 1:11:10 PM
Derrick, I don't think that's what Eric was saying.
And I agree with his point that Jasmyne Cannick is fairly unschooled in her history of the civil rights movement. She makes some valid points about the lack of outreach in the No on 8 campaigns, but she is totally out of order claiming herself as a spokesperson for African-Americans.
Posted by: gwyneth cornrow | Nov 14, 2008 1:12:49 PM
I've long defended Mixner on these pages from the rabid Clinton hordes (his getting the boot was the start of the end of my support for WJC and company), but I suspect he's again going with the devil he knows here. If anything, coalition building isn't going to work when there are/were no active black leaders out there trying to persuade black voters to oppose Prop 8. Where was Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton during the debate? All the burden is/was on the gay community? Has it really come down to begging?
Posted by: anon | Nov 14, 2008 1:16:04 PM
"The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosives and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own; for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to The Twilight Zone.” It was a suspicion that one of the neighbors might be an alien that provided the tension in 1960's classic "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" written by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. This morning an email declaring that a Roland Spongberg and his company WKS Restaurant Corp. (El Pollo Loco, to you) had contributed $6000 in favor of Prop 8. Yesterday it was El Coyote's Marjorie Chrisoffersen, a Mormon, coughed up a scary $100, and has likely regretted it. Tomorrow, it could be you. There are lists. The Los Angeles Times publishes one such list. The follow the donors list is a compendium of people who gave for and against the Proposition. People have been microscopically investigating these lists looking for people to blame.
The facts seem to indicate that blacks and Latinos made the crucial difference: “California's black and Latino voters, who turned out in droves for Barack Obama, also provided key support in favor of the state's same-sex marriage ban. Seven in 10 black voters backed a successful ballot measure to overturn the California Supreme Court's May decision allowing same-sex marriage, according to exit polls for The Associated Press.”
But, let’s talk these lists. They are public record, so each time, any contribution is made to any party or cause, it becomes public. It seems nothing could provoke wanting to be less involved in politics than this— should you be on the “wrong” side of an issue.
We are angry. We take to the streets to make clear our frustration and opposition to our rights being taken away. And we scour these lists to find out who thought differently and contributed to that difference of opinion. The monsters have arrived on Maple street. While all this fingerpointing suggests a new vigor in gay politics, it also points to some paranoid, extremely undemocratic behavior. Elton John recently declared that he didn’t find the cause great for gay marriage when there is a legal partnership. He was called a an old queen, a wash-up, and many more personal insults, this of course by people who have contributed significantly less that Elton John to gay causes like AIDS research. We have become intolerant of anyone who holds an opinion different than ours. There is no discussion.
Posted by: man | Nov 14, 2008 1:19:53 PM
Note to other commenters: Shadetea has been deleted and banned. Please keep commentary civil. Thanks.
Posted by: andy | Nov 14, 2008 1:40:35 PM
Call me very naive! I was bemoaning the fact that in my S. Texas town of 60,000, that the only movie theater is owned by cinemark, when I started to wonder who in my "red" state would have contributed to Prop. 8. I went to a site that listed contributions both for and against Prop. 8 and did a search for the state of Texas. I am horrified to see that proponents of Prop. 8 from Texas for the most part gave no less than $1,000 and many gave $5,000, or $10,000. There were vitually NO contributions for less than $1,000. When you go to the opponent of Prop. 8 contributors from Texas, there are $50, $100, $200 contributions, with very few big dollar contributions. My eyes have been opened! Obviously the average citizen from Texas and I suspect the rest of the country more than likely did NOT contribute to Prop. 8, but some organized "religion" was able to convince their followers to drain there pocket books. I am saddened and disgusted, but this does show what we are up against in our fight.
Posted by: Bruce | Nov 14, 2008 2:00:16 PM
For an amazing take on this from an African American John Amechie and I wish Cannick would read this as well.
http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2...hope- 001328.php
I found this in the comments section of Joe My God and everyone I sent it to found it inspiring. If you get the chance check it out.
Posted by: MCnNYC | Nov 14, 2008 2:09:28 PM
Derrick,
I never said blacks are too stupid to think up things on their own. If that's the way you feel, I'm sorry.
I simply pointed out that she calls out the gay civil rights movement for not understanding the historical context of the black civil rights movement when she doesn't even understand the historical context of the black civil rights movement. Her comments were inaccurate and counterproductive.
By the way, I'm also a person of color. You can write me off as having the attitude of "most white gay men" but saying things like that just burns bridges with other communities of color and with whites.
Posted by: Eric | Nov 14, 2008 2:09:43 PM
Andy has done a SPECTACULAR job covering prop 8.
The segment after the Besen-Cannick debate was terrible. Luffa lover and all-around bigot Bill O’Reilly and block head Laura Ingrahm want there to be division because it suits there purposes. It is the only way Republicans can get back into power. Don’t let that happen.
Boycott every company that donated to eliminating gay people’s RIGHT to get married.
Eric, thank you.
Paull R, don’t insult me or gay people. In 1970, a gay couple in Minnesota got married. They went to court to have it legally recognized (Baker v. Nelson). Marriage equality has also been led by GAY people.
Gay couples need to make themselves visible from now until November 2010 when the repeal of prop 8 will be on the ballot. Do the outreach NOW!
Posted by: Bill | Nov 14, 2008 2:12:08 PM