Gay is Not the New Black, but Proposition 8 is Still Wrong

There are a couple of opinion pieces out today that posit black support for Proposition 8 was partially due to the rallying cry "Gay is the new Black!"

From conservative Dennis Prager:

Gay is the new black is one of the mottos of the movement to redefine marriage to include two people of the same sex.

The likening of the movement for same-sex marriage to the black civil rights struggle is a primary argument of pro same-sex marriage groups.

(Blacks) voted overwhelmingly for Californias Proposition 8 which amends the California Constitution to define marriage as being the union of a man and a woman. One reason given is that blacks tend to be socially conservative. But another, less verbalized, reason may well be that blacks find the comparison demeaning and insulting. As well they should.

On a side note, I love the giant, bold font. I guess Townhall was getting complaints from people who couldn't quite read it from space.

From The LA Times' editorial:

Many in the gay community believed, perhaps naively, that shared minority status would create a sense of sympathy between the two groups, and that casting gay marriage as a benchmark in civil rights history would cement that bond. Yet some African Americans were more offended than impressed by the comparison of the right of homosexuals to marry and the right of blacks to vote or to share public accommodations.

I find the argument that some, perhaps most, black folks take exception to the mantra entirely reasonable. That they would deny an entire class of people the right to marry based on a "Would-you-please-pass-the-jelly?"-style fit of pique at having gravy spilled on their shared cultural struggle? Wholly absurd, Batman. The comparison is clumsy, and a massive overreach, like saying "narcolepsy is the new death," but it is clearly an attempt to draw a specific parallel.

The Times piece also discusses an open letter to the LGBTQ community that calls for unity, and sheds doubt on those exit polls. While I agree that blaming black voters, and by extension Barack Obama, for Prop 8's passage is wrong, I also think that not a single black person should have cast a vote in favor of Prop 8.

I also think that no thinking, feeling human being should have done so, but a member of a group of people that has endured the very same type of discrimination has a special duty to act in defense of their brothers and sisters.

The problem with this debate is that opponents of gay marriage feel as though they are being asked to grant something. This is fundamentally wrong. The rights of human beings cannot be granted or taken away. They are intrinsic. All that remains for us to do is respect or violate them. In denying gay couples equal protection under the law, we are violating their civil rights.

You don't have to "believe in" gay marriage to oppose Prop 8. It isn't an intangible thing, like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. You can reach out and touch it. You can see it before your eyes, just as you can see the grief caused by our failure to recognize it.

Legally speaking, there's no difference between marriages and civil unions, yet the support for each differs greatly. Is this a linguistic difference? Because the dictionary already recognizes gay marriage. Is it a religious one? Because we are a nation of laws, not of religious tenets. Recognition by the law does not require recognition by your church.

Before anyone gets the idea that there is some special rottenness on the part of black supporters of Prop 8, however, it is worth noting that even within the LGBTQ community, there are many who are prepared to leave their own brothers and sisters under the bus with a Transgender-exclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

It is also worth noting that, without even looking, I know that the overwhelming number of votes cast for Prop 8 were done so by straight white people. The same is true of votes cast against Prop 8. Furthermore, in a recent poll, 28% of Democrats supported no legal recognition at all of same-sex couples. For shame!

Enlightenment, or lack of it, knows no color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. It is high time we stop chopping ourselves up into factions on these issues, and realize that there is only one right, and one wrong. Only then can the rights of the few be protected from the tyranny of the majority.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues - Thur at 10pm, and Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.