We met with California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom this week to mark the 10th anniversary of San Francisco's "Winter of Love" that he initiated when he was mayor of San Francisco. It was in Washington, D.C. in late January 2004 while attending President George W. Bush's State of the Union speech when he hit upon the idea of allowing city officials to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He returned to implement that plan in February and we all know the result: over 4,000 couples went to City Hall to get married. Images of lines snaking around the building and of happy couples were beamed into living rooms on the nightly news, which began the shift for mainstream support of marriage equality.
Now, a decade later, 17 states have marriage equality but in California, it was a rocky road. We achieved same-sex marriage, then had it struck down by the state Supreme Court. That same court ruled a few years later that we could marry, then the passage o Proposition 8 took away that right. And finally, last summer, the right was restored when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a technicality that Prop 8 proponents lacked standing, which let stand a federal court decision that gay and lesbian couples were entitled to the same marriage rights as anyone else.
Of course the marriage equality fight isn't over nationally, but Newsom sure hopes it gets done sooner rather than later. We do, too. Because as Newsom pointed out, there are "so many other things to be done in the LGBTQ community. That's why it's important to get this done," he told us.
Newsom is the politician most associated with marriage equality, and his early support caused consternation among his Democratic colleagues, all of whom now see that Newsom was on the right side of history. Perhaps most significantly, after President Barack Obama famously "evolved" and publicly came out in favor of same-sex marriage, it was easier for many politicians to evolve, too. Newsom understands that and begrudges no one. "When you come to the right point ... you celebrate," he noted.
His one OMG moment in the last 10 years came when Obama gave his May 2012 interview and said he supported marriage equality just a few months before his re-election. That moment touched off a sea change around the country, most notably, Newsom said, in the African American community. "They rallied around those words," he said, adding that just four years prior, during the heat of the Prop 8 campaign �" and Obama's first presidential race �" he recalled seeing African Americans holding "Elect Barack Obama �" Yes on 8" signs.
So, yes, much progress has been made in the march to marriage equality.
But while Obama provided tremendous help in the march toward marriage equality there are still two major issues that he must now act upon �" immigration reform and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
There are likely only a few months left for Congress to complete any substantial work before members hit the campaign trail ahead of this year's midterm elections. That's why, in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Obama laid out a modest agenda. But one of the things he talked about was immigration reform, which seems to have momentum. According to recent news reports, House Republicans are preparing to unveil their own immigration reform plan. In the words of a New York Times report, that could potentially offer "a small opening for President Obama and congressional Democrats to pass bipartisan legislation before the end of the year."
While the Senate approved an immigration plan last summer, the House plan would probably be different, meaning another vote would be likely. The House plan is expected to call for border security and enforcement measures, as well as providing a path to legal status �" but not citizenship �" for many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, according to the Times. That is short of what the Senate bill contains, but at this point we'd be happy with anything that offers a way for people to obtain legal status and the benefits that come with it. Congressional Republicans from California, unlike many of their colleagues, are in support of immigration reform because they've experienced the long-term damage caused by Proposition 187, which was championed by Republican former Governor Pete Wilson in the mid-1990s. While the measure passed, it was ruled unconstitutional and was effectively killed. But many, many state residents have not forgotten and the Republican Party has paid dearly, so much so that now that there is not one Republican who holds statewide office. No wonder California's GOP members of Congress favor reform.
During his speech Obama talked about using executive orders to accomplish what Congress won't do. Specifically, he said he would sign an executive order to raise the minimum wage for workers under federal contracts to $10.10 per hour. With ENDA stalled in the House, Obama should sign an executive order so that federal contractors cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. We were deeply disappointed that he did not mention that in his speech, nor did he urge House action on passing ENDA. LGBT organizations have been pushing for more than a year for the president to sign an executive order and have been puzzled by his inaction. While the White House supports ENDA, the president should take action now to at least help those employed by federal contractors.
LGBT job discrimination most certainly contributes to the income inequality that Obama also discussed Tuesday, but again, LGBTs were not mentioned in that context. Signing an executive order would allow for some protections for some LGBT employees amid the House's inaction.