 | THE “8 AGAINST 8″ CAMPAIGN: 8 Days – 8 Bloggers Against Proposition 8 (October 20, 2008 – October 27, 2008)By Grace Chu |
Grace the Spot usually brings the funny. Or at least we try to. But there is nothing funny about Proposition 8.
Prop 8 is no joke. It’s not an ordinary law. Ordinary laws can be invalidated by the California Supreme Court. If Prop 8 passes, it will be enshrined in the California Constitution, which cannot be overturned by the California Supreme Court. Basically, it is like kryptonite to the loving same sex couples who wish to enter into life-long commitments in California. Ever see Superman and see what kryptonite does to him? Yeah. If Prop 8 is used against decent same sex couples who just want to be treated like equals under the law, it’s like that. It is the exact opposite of funny. It is serious.
Today marks the launch of the 8 Against 8 campaign at www.8against8.com – 8 lesbian bloggers – 8 days in an effort to crush Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that will prevent same sex couples from marrying in California. Eight lesbian bloggers have come together in a coordinated effort to help flush the discriminatory ballot initiative down the toilet, where it belongs.
The bloggers include yours truly and the following: Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend, Dorothy Snarker of Dorothy Surrenders, Lori Hahn of Hahn At Home, Kelly Leszczynski of The Lesbian Lifestyle, Sinclair of Sugarbutch Chronicles, Riese of This Girl Called Automatic Win , and Renee Gannon of Lesbiatopia.
Even if you have already donated to fight this atrocious ballot initiative, please give again. Every $10, $5, or even $1 counts. The opposition is ahead in the polls. You can give up that latte, that glass of beer, that ticket to see Zack & Miri Make a Porno. This is way more important. Follow this link, donate, and help kill Prop 8.
Please give to the cause, and spread the word by word of mouth. E-mail your friends and direct them to www.8against8.com. Blog about the campaign. Put the URL in your Facebook and MySpace status messages. Put the URL on Twitter. The Pro-8 people are making a huge stink, and we implore you to spray some Lysol to make things in California smell more pleasant and to help stop the bacterial spread of bigotry and discrimination: DONATE, DONATE, DONATE!
Even if you do not live in California, showing your support to defeat Prop 8 is important, because California has always been a leader in civil rights. History has shown that, if California is won, the rest of the country will soon follow. Don’t let California go the wrong way.
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October 20th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Please consider another perspective. Yes on Prop 8 does not deny you the right to enjoy “lesbiatopia,” nor does it deny you any rights as a domestic partnership… it’s just not marriage!
October 20th, 2008 at 7:06 am
It takes away rights that have already been granted. It’s something that should concern everyone.
October 20th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Kat, was that even in English?
October 20th, 2008 at 9:45 am
I couldn’t agree with you more – didn’t another struggling group already have the “seperate is not equal talk” decades ago –
October 20th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Amen tuffdawg! Seperate is not equal no matter how you slice it.
October 20th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Wow, Kat… So you would deny civil rights to a whole group of people?! If you don’t think gays should get married, then join a church or temple or whatever of your religion that does not marry same-sex couples. But don’t make the state endorse a particular religious perspective that denies THOUSANDS of rights to same-sex couples. If you can get rid of civil marriage and figure out a way to give all couples the same legal rights (like suing for wrongful death, alimony, inheritance rights, property ownership, custody, spousal privilege in case of a criminal investigation or trial, and etc.), then good on ya! If not, then stop fighting against people’s civil rights. Domestic partnership is not marriage, civil unions are not marriage. Neither of these provide all the rights to a married couple. It’s bad enough the feds don’t let you have gay marriage–which means you’d best not fall in love with a foreigner, or you’re screwed.
October 20th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Oh, and I assume you would have also been against Loving v. Virginia, in which the EXACT SAME arguments (biblical, cultural, traditional-marriage…) were used against inter-racial couples. Straight couples. Nice.
October 20th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Thankyouthankyouthankyou Graces!
Way, WAY too many queer people and queer allies think that we have this in the bag already, or that somebody ELSE is going to do what needs to be done to be sure that 8 is defeated.
THAT COULDN’T BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
The one thing that’s certain is that if we all do nothing, it will pass, and LGBT civil rights will be rolled back a decade. More worrisome: what other current rights would the christian right wing begin to consider rolling back, by propositional fiat? I mean heck. This could be the tip of the iceberg.
Thank you for all the energy and enthusiasm. It has been an extremely long, tiring, disspiriting battle. We can turn it around if EVERYBODY does something, anything.
And after all that, a tit for Kat’s tat: WRONG-O! One: The CA State Supreme Court looked at every single rationale for denying gay people access to the same institutions we support w/ our taxes, and they simply couldn’t justify them. No reason for separate but (almost but decidedly not quite) equal. I mean really. Look at my daughter or son and tell them they don’t quiiiiiiiiite deserve the fiscal/legal family stability that would come the marriage of their parents. And two: At the base level, any bigot in the state would be emboldened to deny something critical to a same-sex partner if they weren’t married. It already happens now. A nine-year-old Riverside girl was in the hospital, wanted her moms to be there with her. Hospital staff denied access to her non-bio mom (bio-mom: okay). Even though they were domestic partners and the non-bio mom was her other parent. Why? Duh: Marriage is the only thing that really counts, in EVERYONE’S eyes, including and most importantly in the eyes of a bigot.
NCLR was called in to do education at the hospital. But legal recognition of this girls’ family unit would have done the trick.
Take this example and basically multiply it by 70,000 because that’s the minimum number of kids being raised by LGBT people in California right now. (Our Family report here.)
Sorry, Graces, for Bogarting your comments! And thank you again for what you’re doing!
October 20th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Thank you, Polly, for the positive feedback!
We ask that the same support be given to the 7 other bloggers working with us. Without the collaborative effort, we would not have been able to make as big of an impact!
Also, keep passing the word around … there is a lot more time ahead of us!!!!! Every donation counts!
October 20th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Ooo, yeah, baby. I’m getting carpel tunnel (sp?!) this morning, wandering around and thanking all the other bloggers. Six down, two to go.
After all the thanks, I’m parking the fundraiser graphic thingie in my sidebar.
And then look and see whether, on top of all the cabbage I’ve shelled out for No on 8, I can afford to send big donors tempting gifts like you enterprising gals are doing. I swear I would kiss the ASS of anyone who donated anything, period. I swear. It’s just hard to arrange, what with the geographical distribution of folks and my kids’ bedtimes and all.
October 20th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Woo!! We passes the $1000 marker already!!! Thanks to all who have donated!!!
October 20th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Don’t forget, a similar amendment is being proposed in Florida this November as well. Amendment Two would deny rights to any couple that is not married – including straight couples. It’s a bit different since we don’t already have the right to marry here, but it’s still just as important to make sure it doesn’t pass!
October 20th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I think it’s funny that this crazy Kat person is going around posting on everyone’s site with a mention about Lesbiatopia…. except on Lesbiatopia. Does anyone else think this is weird?
On a separate note… Grace, you are a genius for coming up with this amazing fundraising and thank you so much for allowing me the honor to participate with such a fabulous group of my favorite lezzy bloggers.
October 20th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
aww thanks.
but yeah, i actually encourage people like kat to keep trolling LGBT sites, because it only makes us want to work harder. kat, come back and say something that will just inspire me to raise more money. kat, you’re my muse! seriously! thank you and your ilk. you’re the reason i’m working so hard at this.
October 21st, 2008 at 1:15 am
We in Canada have been successful so far in fending off such amendments that our “progressive” conservative government has threatened a few years ago. Although I am not particularly pro or against marriage, IMHO, legalizing marriage for same sex couples is not just about equal rights. I think it has increased acceptance of queer people by the average public (though haven’t run it through a market research machine).
I watched the film One Summer in New Paltz earlier & am very impressed with all the brave people in US advocating for same-sex marriage. I wish you all best of luck in this matter!
October 21st, 2008 at 11:07 am
I’m pretty excited about the prospect of Prop 8 being rejected, and I’m sure it’s not possible without the efforts of people (and bloggers such as yourselves) reminding everyone that this is not a done deal, and that there are a lot of people out there who a) live in a tunnel and don’t see the rest of the world outside themselves, b) assume that everyone else will vote, so they don’t have to, or c) are simply clueless because they avoid politics like the plague.
Thank you so much for the time energy (what POSITIVE energy!!) you all have put towards your brilliant campaign. I love that groups of people become large groups of people and as long as we use them positively, our voices can and will be heard and acted upon.
You and all your readers rock.
October 21st, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I have tried to make a donation here from Denmark via 8against8.com, but the website seems not to be willing to receive my MasterCard payment and told me to talk to my credit card provider, and I have just done that.
They say that it must be some error at 8against8.com, as neither MasterCard nor my bank have any qualms whatsoever to let me digitally spend some money in the US — which I’ve done lots of times before, by the way, without any problems.
Have tried both Safari and Firefox several times, and will try again later. But if I don’t succeed in donating, I hope YOU will succeed in raising as much money as possible, and that the heinous prop8 will fall on its ass!
And, of course, I’m with the clear majority of Europeans that hopes for OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!
October 21st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I will let EQCA know ASAP about the glitch in their donation page. I hope to get this resolved. A donor from South Africa had the same issue.
October 21st, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Thank you Grace Chu for spearheading this important campaign, and thanks to everyone for supporting and donating to the No on Prop 8 movement!
October 21st, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I’m not old enough for a credit card.
Would it be at all possible for me to somehow donate with Paypal?
October 21st, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Note: Only American citizens or residents are legally allowed to donate money to a referendum campaign committee.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:46 am
True. EQCA told me this yesterday. But American citizens abroad may still donate.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I solved this by paypalling a blogger in the US so she can make my donation in her name.
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 am
Mazel tov! Congrats! And continue to rock on!
(Post-goal cheers.)