‘I’m Gay, We Won’ But Still Lots of Work to Do

Yesterday the U.S District Court of Northern California handed down its ruling on the anti-marriage bill Proposition 8, overturning a ballot initiative passed in 2008 after a lengthy and heated debate across the state and the country over marriage equality.

Judge Vaughn Walker, himself an openly gay man, ruled that the provisions in the bill are in violation of equal protection and due process in the Constitution. The decision is an important victory for supporters of marriage equality, but the immediate effects of the ruling will likely be minimal. An appeal of Judge Walker’s ruling is expected to be filed almost immediately, and the defendants of Proposition 8 were granted a stay of Judge Walker’s ruling, meaning gay marriages will still be prohibited in the state until the appeals process is over.

The decision is still a huge victory for proponents of gay marriage. At Bravo! Bravo!, a restaurant in Washington, D.C., last night, supporters of LGBT rights gathered out of excitement and celebration. “I almost cried,” says Aiyi’nah Ford, who works with LGBT rights group Full Equality NOW! DC (FENDC), about when she heard the announcement made. FENDC hosted the event to celebrate the ruling.

“I left work 15 minutes early, and left by saying ‘I’m gay, we won, I’m done’,” she says. But as excited as many of those who gathered to celebrate the defeat of Prop 8 were, they also recognized victory, as big as it is, is just one step in the context of full equality for the LGBT community.

Despite the jubilee on display Wednesday evening, there was also plenty of muted reflection on where the movement for full equality currently stands.

“It was a bittersweet moment,” says Ford. “I understand that I still have a long way to go.”

President Barack Obama was spared no punches from crowd. Many of the attendees say they voted for Obama in 2008, or even actively campaigned for him. But his first 18 months have been a disappointment for the LGBT community.

A number of LGBT issues that have not yet been addressed by the current administration, including the repeal of "don’t ask, don’t tell," the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. “It’s the first time that we have a president who knows that it's like to be discriminated against. How is it that he is able to allow this?” asks Ford.

“President Obama has been slow, really slow,” says Jamie, a D.C. summer intern from California who asked not to use her last name because she was not yet out to her family.

“This means a lot. The blood and tears that went into that campaign have finally paid off,” she says. “But we have to keep fighting and move things forward.”

For FENDC, the next fight will be next week, when the the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a group who has been fighting against same-sex marriage around the country and was a big supporter of Prop 8, will arrive in D.C. to crusade against marriage equality.

Colin MacDonald, a California resident and student at George Washington University, is one of the organizers of FENDC’s counter-events scheduled for August 15. The counter-protest shows that the Prop 8 ruling yesterday is just one step in the longer fight for LGBT equality.

“[Judge Walker’s ruling] is enormous in the sense that this is the first time a federal judge has ruled on marriage equality,” says MacDonald. “But we’re not just going to trade marriage equality for discrimination in the workplace. In the end, this campaign is about giving everyone a chance at the American promise.”