Possible Life After Prop 8 (or "Equality just for the heck of it")

I'm sitting at work and just had a bunch of different friends (not at my work) post messages celebrating the fact that Proposition 8 has been overturned in California. I figured that deserved a late-afternoon blog.

In case you missed it, Prop 8 in California created a state constitutional amendment which basically stated that "marriage" (and all of the legal rights and benefits it offers on the state level) could only apply to heterosexual couples.

Today's ruling by a federal judge in California stated that Prop 8 directly contradicts the 14th Amendment of the Constitution - denying gays and lesbians "equal protection under the law."

Interestingly, it seems that most of the people who were in favor of the prohibition didn't show up to court. Or they showed up but without any solid facts. On the other hand, people fighting to get it over-turned showed up with solid support and concrete facts and statistics and made a smart and winning case.

Apparently, without the money and backing of the Mormons from Utah (who actually funded a large portion of the advertising and rallying which got Prop 8 passed in the first place), the proposition didn't have much of a leg to stand on.

I know there are a lot of people out in the world who think it's silly for gays and lesbians to want to "marry" when we could all have "domestic partnerships" or "civil partnerships" or whatever they want us to call it. These seem to tend to be the same people who say that allowing same-sex couple to use the term marriage would "demean" the institution of marriage.

But, here's the thing: I know gay couples who have been together longer than 90% of Hollywood celebrities, yet they aren't guaranteed the right to speak for each other in a hospital, or to share property, or to share parental custody of children. All because they can't "marry."

And, really, which couple is going to lessen the meaning of the word "marriage" - Elizabeth Taylor and her seven (or is it eight?) marriages or a couple of gay men who have been together for 40-plus years? (Is anyone else struck by the irony that the fight to protect the term "marriage" is taking place in California?)

I fully realize that this is simply one more step in a very long process, and that there's an odds-on chance that this ruling will be challenged and keep going through the courts.

But today is exciting, nonetheless.

After all, every step forward is... well... another step forward.