Changing Hearts and Minds

What a historic day it was in California and for the nation yesterday! Federal Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in favor of two same sex couples who wanted to get married in California but were denied.  The trial known as Perry v. Schwarzenegger is the first same sex marriage federal trial.  In his ruling, Judge Walker stated that Proposition 8 "does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples."  The decision effectively struck down California's infamous ban on same sex marriage, Proposition 8.  As expected, the decision was immediately appealed by those supporting Proposition 8 and a stay on the ruling was granted.  What this means is that, Judge Walker ruled that Prop. 8 violates the 14th Amendment of due process and equal protection under the law. Despite the ruling, as of right now, no same sex marriages are being performed until the 9th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals can hear the appeal from the Yes on 8 side.  Until then, we can not depend on the timeline of the courts and that they will necessary rule in our favor.  We must continue to change hearts and minds through having conversations with voters about why marriage for same sex couples is the right thing to do.  But without a doubt, yesterday's ruling will go down in the history books as one of the most significant civil rights cases in the history of the United States.   On a personal note, Judge Walker's decision was a reaffirmation of the work that I am doing at Equality California.  We can not become complacent and think that the fight is over, we must still do the work to go back to the ballot box in 2012 in the case that the court does not go in our favor in the future.  Above is a video of a speech that I gave at a rally after the decision was announced at Fresno City Hall.  Approximately 300 people showed up touting "No on Prop 8" and "You can't vote on love" signs.