Shortly after Mayor Gavin Newsom was elected, he sparked what would become a modern day civil rights movement. In February 2004, Newsom authorized the city clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Lines wrapped around City Hall with couples who were anxious to get married. One month later, according to the National Conference of State Legislators, the California Supreme Court put a stop to the marriages claiming that Newsom had overstepped his boundaries. The court later invalidated those nuptials.
In 2005 and 2007, the California Legislature approved bills that would lift the ban on same-sex marriage. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed both bills. Finally, in 2008, the California Supreme Court overturned the ban on same-sex marriage by a 4-3 vote. The gay community was now free to exercise their right to marry their partners, a freedom that was short-lived. California voters gathered enough signatures to place Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex marriage, on the ballot.
Sadly, it has been almost a year to the day that this proposition passed with 52 percent of the vote. The California Constitution was amended to strip away an existing right from a minority. Section 7.5 of the California Constitution now reads, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
Not only does this revision segregate and treat California gay residents as second-class citizens, it also breeds contempt and anger. The current unjust marriage laws of California must once again be amended so that everyone may have the freedom to marry whom they choose.
Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the civil rights movement, was a staunch advocate for challenging unjust laws. King penned his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" while serving 11 days for protesting against unjust laws of segregation. In his letter, he clearly states what he feels an unjust law is: "A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law ... an unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law."
A law should serve to unite and uplift the human spirit instead of separating groups of people, thus making them feel less than and not equal. King explains that laws that separate people give both sides a false sense of who they really are. The oppressor feels that they are in control and superior while the oppressed feel less than and inferior. In reality, neither is true, King feels that we are all equal in the eyes of God. Any law that goes against this moral fabric is unjust. Additionally, any law that denies a person their constitutional rights is unjust. Black people were denied the right to vote, just as gay people in California are now denied their right to marry. Therefore, while King felt that it is everybody's responsibility to abide by just laws, it is also everyone's responsibility to defy laws that serve to separate and degrade. The marriage laws of California do not abide by the morals of equality, thus making the laws unjust.
The current marriage laws of California are immoral since they are not aligned with the American dream of freedom and equality for all. The Declaration of Independence states that, "... all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence was written so that the 13 colonies could declare independence from the British, who were imposing severe limitations on the colonists'freedoms. This document was created to seize freedom from the majority and to unite America's citizens regardless of their differences. King felt that it is through this moral belief that just laws are born. Unalienable rights can be interpreted as rights that are given to us by our creator simply because we are born. The minority, according to the words of the Declaration of Independence, shall equally enjoy unalienable rights that are enjoyed by the majority. By denying gay men and women the freedom to marry whom they choose denies them the natural rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," a right that is shared by straight couples but not equally shared with gays. The unjust, immoral marriage laws of California cannot stand as they are, according to the Declaration of Independence.
Denying gay couples the right to marry breeds feelings of superiority for those that would oppress gay rights and feelings of inferiority for the gay couples who cannot marry under California law. Both feelings could not be further from the truth. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George, who was appointed by a Republican, has written numerous opinions on civil rights cases. While he defends the rights of the gay community, he states that, "gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects second-class citizens." Webster's dictionary defines a second-class citizen as "a person considered inferior in status or rights in comparison with others." Sadly, the gay community has adopted this term as a label for themselves. Although this term appropriately fits the gay community by definition, it offers them a false sense of inferiority. The message it sends is that the love a gay man or woman feels for someone of the same sex is invalid. A gay man cannot help falling in love with a man, the same way that a straight man cannot help falling in love with a woman. It's the law of nature and neither is superior or inferior to the other. These are the fallacies that are produced from unjust laws, according to King. The truth is that a straight black man is equal to a gay white woman. Skin color, gender, and sexuality mean nothing in terms of equality. We are all human, thus making us all first-class citizens. Any law that states differently deserves to be abolished.
Another example of the superior/inferior complex is the fact that that there are currently 18,000 same-sex couples that the state does recognize as legally wed. When the California Supreme Court overturned the ban on same-sex marriage, gay couples joyously exercised their freedom to marry. Between June 16 and November 4, 2008, an estimated 18,000 gay couples were married. On November 4, California voters reinstated the ban with the passage of Prop 8. This year the state high court, while upholding Prop 8, also preserved the existing same-sex marriages.
This presents a unique situation for the government and gay residents of California. How can state government uphold and recognize 18,000 same-sex marriages while denying the rest of the gay population the freedom to marry their partner? California Council of Churches Executive Director the Reverend Rick Schlosser asserts that, "There are thousands and thousands more couples in California in long-term loving relationships who would like to have those relationships solemnized and recognized as well." The reinstated same-sex marriage ban conjures up an image of a little boy asking why his friend can have something and he can't. This is the key factor in the ongoing battle for marriage equality. The state government simply cannot deny same-sex marriages while there exists same-sex marriages that are legal and recognized by the state.
Those 18,000 same-sex couples, whose marriages are legal in California, serve as a beacon of hope for the gay couples that are still denied marriage rights while concurrently serving as a thorn in the side of injustice. The divisive, immoral marriage laws of California must be amended so as not to exclude anyone from the freedom to marry whom they love.
It is only a matter of time before the unjust, shameful California marriage laws are overturned. When King wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" he expressed how the civil rights movement was an unstoppable force. Black people of that time were tired of not being allowed to vote, being segregated, and treated as property instead of human beings.
King declared, "We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our demands." King was explaining that the civil rights movement was too big to stop, that the black community's resentment with injustice would not be quelled until blacks were treated equally.
Today the battle for marriage equality has grown into a movement that cannot be stopped. Same-sex marriage is now legal in five of the 50 states. And California has 18,000 legally married same-sex couples. The battle for marriage equality is inseparable from the American dream of freedom for all. Marriage equality cannot be enjoyed by some of the minority and denied the rest. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before the unjust marriage laws of California are overturned. It is time for the United States to embrace the differences of its citizens and to recognize marriages of the same sex are just as equal to those of the opposite sex.
Greg Lawler, who is openly gay, is a student at San Francisco City College.