by Angela J. Bass/OAKLAND
When the California Supreme Court legalized gay marriage on June 17, thousands of couples danced to the alter to exchange their vows. An estimated 16,000 couples have been married since then.
Oakland resident Lisa Bach and her wife, Karen Verpeet, tied the knot in August and were among the many newlyweds holding their breath on Tuesday night as poll results on California’s Prop. 8, an attempt to amend the constitution to prevent gays from marrying legally, trickled in from across the state.
Lisa Bach married her girlfriend of five years in August, and was hoping on Tuesday that Prop 8 would fail.
The couple hunkered down in their living room with a small group gay and straight friends in nervous anticipation of how the prop would play out, but the gathering ended early on a bittersweet note.
“We were happy that Obama won, but sad that Prop. 8 looked like it would pass,” said Bach, who moved to California from the east coast because of its broad acceptance of the gay community.
Opponents say every Californian should have the freedom to marry the person they love, a right guaranteed by the California Constitution.
Proponents claim that validating gay marriage would give California schools the right to force feed students with lessons on same sex marriage, essentially injecting gayness into otherwise straight children.
According to the official “Yes on Prop. 8” website, a yes vote would “restore traditional marriage between a man and a woman.”
“This prop was 100 percent about religion,” said Bach, whose front lawn was decorated this morning with Obama and “No on Prop. 8” signs. “That’s where most of the [Yes on Prop. 8 campaign] money came from…but this is not about schools or religion; it’s about love. It’s completely wrong to amend the constitution with hate.”
Bach said she spent part of the afternoon on Tuesday standing on the corner of 51st and Telegraph in Oakland waving her “No on Prop. 8” sign but began feeling defeated when drivers failed to honk their horns or yell out their support.
“I’m really hurt to think that there are that many people in the state that don’t value equal rights,” she said.
With 96 percent of California precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning, Prop 8 passed with 52 percent of the vote.
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November 5th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Believe it or not, the young people out there are going to know about gays whether it is learned in schools or on the streets, sometimes it’s not even taught it’s just how a person feels about someone. No one should feel there’s something wrong with them because the person they love is of the same sex, whose business is it anyway?
November 6th, 2008 at 12:46 am
To the Gay community out there who feels left out, not recognized as God”s children I say to you keep fighting for your rights. I as a black man that grew up in the south in the 60 decade, I can assure you that change will come.