In case you didn’t notice, the Opponents of Equality are steaming mad that you refused to join their gang and beat up on lesbian and gay Californians by defending Prop 8. In the latest ploy, they’re beating the bushes to find someone with legal standing to continue their campaign against my family.

Apparently they were able to convince the Imperial County Board of Supervisors to let the religious group Advocates for Faith and Freedom use the County’s standing to try to defend the indefensible. Good luck to them.

I am heartened that this seems headed in the right direction: instead of the Federal government deciding if two people can get married, instead of the State government deciding if two people can get married, it might be the County government who decides if two people can get married.

Maybe, someday, it will be the two people themselves who can decide to get married!

Sincerely,

The Silicon Valley Mercury News had a wonderful summary of your actions in response to the Prop 8 ruling:

“California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who twice vetoed legislation that would have legalized same-sex marriage, has surprised gay rights supporters by urging a federal judge to allow gay couples to resume marrying in the state without further delay.”

THANK YOU! I can’t imagine a more triumphant statement of how far you, and this state, have changed in the three years since AB 43 was on your desk.

Sincerely,

I just heard that former Republican Senator Ted Stevens died today in a plane crash. I hope you get a moment to remember the achievements of this long-time politician.

• He had a zero rating with the Human Rights Campaign.
• He voted against adding sexual orientation to the definition of “hate crime” in 2001.
• He opposed the Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA).
• He voted in favor of the hateful “Federal Marriage Act” in both 2004 and 2006.
• He opposed the Mathew Sheppard act.
• He had a 14% rating on supporting minorities through affirmative action.

It seems that the Big Tent party got a little smaller today.

Sincerely,

As a gay man in California, I am terrified of what will happen when the court issues its decision in Perry vs. you. I have a house, family, and two small children to protect, and tensions are running high. Regardless of what Judge Walker determines, when he announces his ruling, there will be some who lash out against their neighbors with physical violence.

It has already started. In response to the uptick in gay bashings this spring, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck explained that “the LAPD often notices a spike in gay-related hate crimes whenever Proposition 8 news makes major headlines.”

I have no doubt that those who would deny me my right to marry will not think twice about punching me in the face, running me down with their car, or setting my house on fire.

Governor Schwarzenegger, since you started this with your veto of AB 43, your neutral stance on Proposition 8, and tacit support of the hateful language in the Republican Party Platform, will you speak out now to help deflate this tension, and possibly save lives?

I wish you would voice your support of lesbian and gay Californians and their right to equal treatment under the law, and denounce those who deny freedom to others, especially the Opponents of Equality who operate through both quiet intimidation and overt physical violence.

RE: House Bill 444

Dear Governor Lingle:

I’m a gay dad who is trying to be the best husband and father that I can. I am extremely fortunate to live in a state that has had civil unions for over a decade. This simple policy of “equality” helped us thrive and build a family without having to fear the heavy hand of Government meddling with our lives and livelihoods. It is easy to forget that some of my fellow Americans have to live in places where their relationships are legally less important than others, simply and only because of who they choose to love.

I just don’t understand why this is a difficult decision for you. You said that you are concerned about “the intensity of the feeling on the part of the public,” but that doesn’t make any sense. HB 444 would not have reached your desk, especially in an election year, without the people of Hawai’i behind it.

Plus, there is no downside to the bill. Civil unions have been around for years, and have always wound up being a positive experience for everybody. No place that has had them is even considering getting rid of them. All it does is level the playing field for all your citizens.

If the people are actually confused on this issue, you have an opportunity to lead them. Your fellow Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed over 50 LGBT equality bills into law – talk to him. Republican mayor Jerry Sanders said that he supports equality because he “could just not bring myself to tell an entire group of people in our community they were less important, less worthy or less deserving … than anyone else simply because of their sexual orientation.” The former Vice President, Republican Dick Cheney said “I think that ‘freedom’ means freedom for everyone.” Former Republican President Abraham Lincoln said “those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”

Equality is a traditional value and deserves to be fostered, not vetoed. Please support HB 444.

Thank you,

In July of 2007 I wrote to you to ask you to sign AB 43, the bill that was heading to your desk that would have ended the segregation of same-sex and opposite-sex marriages in our state. When you vetoed it, you gave a bunch of excuses, especially saying that you had to veto it, or you would be sued.

Well, now you’re being sued. Perry v. Schwarzenegger is hearing arguments tomorrow – broadcast to all the world – about whether you can enforce a law that breaks generations of a most sacred traditional value: that every citizen is entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

You refused to step in to stop the Opponents of Equality from redefining equality in our state. You failed to protect me and my children from the tyranny of the majority. And you were a poor steward of the Constitution that generations of Californians used to define fairness and equality, from those that would take it away.

So we went over your head. Now the Federal courts will decide if you can reach into the population and carve out a group of people, and assign them different rights because of the way they were born or what they believe.

It is sad that it has come to this: it is much more important to have the majority of Californians support marriage equality than to have a law about it. You could have helped, but now you’re being sued. Hurray for justice.

Sincerely,

As a gay dad in California I have a vested interest in SB 572 Harvey Milk Day.

Since you vetoed it last year, four important things have changed. And it’s a mixed bag, but bear with me.

• The California Supreme Court observed that homosexuals are a protected class in California, no different from every other group that has been systematically oppressed.
• Harvey Milk was the subject of an Academy Award winning movie.
• Harvey Milk was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• About 2,520 California teens have killed themselves because they are gay.

This last point is why SB 572 is so important. Only Harvey Milk Day will ensure that our children are taught the important lesson of hope that they need to survive.

I know that you and your wife Maria are inducting this Time Magazine 100 Heroes and Icons of the 20th Century into the California Museum; I also know that opposition to Harvey Milk Day comes from the oppressors we still have lingering around, literally killing our kids.

We don’t need somebody stuffed into a museum, we need a living lesson of hope and a clear message that the acts that killed Matthew Shepherd, Trevor and Harvey Milk are not tolerated in California. I hope you do the right thing for our children and SIGN SB 572.

Sincerely,