The path to social justice is often a long one in America, and this week the California Supreme Court placed another roadblock to a more egalitarian society.
The Court upheld Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state of California.
Oddly paradoxical, the Court at the same time upheld the 18,000 marriages, which took place during last summer.
For many who support marriage equality, the courts ruling was a blow to the hopes that the judicial system could right a wrong and would move promptly to protect a vulnerable minority against the will of the majority.
During my work last year on the “No on Proposition 8 Campaign,” I endured remarks unsympathetically tossed out by other Cal Poly students, which would brutalize the soul of any person who seeks fairness, love and brotherhood.
Some may argue that its time for the LGBT community and allies to “get over the vote,” and the voters have spoken.
But I caution such mind-set, because what gays are working toward is more than just marriage, they are fighting for their lives.
By telling the LGBT community to “get over it” is implying their personhood is meaningless and their community has no room at the American table.
The LGBT community will not and cannot be satisfied until they are equal under the law.
The LGBT community will not and cannot be fulfilled until verbal or physical brutality has ended.
“But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” These are the revolutionary words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sorrowfully, for gay men and lesbian women who are looking to cash their check of justice, empathy and fairness, have come to realize their check has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
Our current laws are products of deeply embedded beliefs, which seek by law to criminalize, marginalize and shun the homosexuals.
Due to this relentless effort by many to stamp out homosexuality, many gays are forced to find ways to hide in the straight man’s shadow desperately trying to “fit in” to the heterosexual world, or at the least to go unnoticed in such an environment.
Deplorably, many gay men and women view secrecy of their sexual orientation as the key to survival.
According to the FBI 2007 “Hate Crime Statistics Report,” crimes against a particular sexual orientation was the third highest accounting for 16 percent of all hate crimes.
The percentage of hate crimes against the LGBT community has been on a troublesome upward path for the past decade.
Once again, America is at ethical crossroads. We have been here many times before; when American’s were at odds over ending slavery, women’s suffrage and school integration.
Today, America faces another question in regards to gay rights.
How America treats it’s vulnerable groups will define our society.
Let there be no doubt that there is a sense of urgency that now is the time to stand up for hope and not fear, now is the time to stand up against bigotry, we must not back down, because there comes a time when silence is betrayal.
–Aaron Burton
Fourth-year political science student
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