Ok California
Seriously, WHAT is taking so long? 30% of precincts are reporting, two and a half hours after polls close? Get your scene together already!
And are you seriously telling me that 58% of you can vote for a historic candidate, can vote a black man into the White House and break the color barrier in a totally amazing and awesome way, and 53.1% of you are bigoted fucks? Seriously?!?!?! How can you cast a historic civil rights vote while voting to take civil rights away from other people? If Proposition 8 passes, it cheapens everything for me. Everything.
California is supposed to be a model for the rest of the nation. This country looks to us for groundbreaking legislation. Banning gay marriage would be a slap in the face of the huge step we took today, as a nation. I am hoping that these polls shape up but quick, because I am pissed, and I am tired, and I want to go to bed and know that when I wake up, the freedom to marry is available to all Californians.
While I am glad to note that 2 appears to be passing by a healthy margin, I am deeply saddened to learn that Californians apparently care more about farm animals than people. And that huge sums of money from out of state were allowed to fund the coffers of 8 supporters. Much of that vote was bought by a church, and that horrifies me on a deep level too.
I went from being totally elated and stoked tonight to feeling completely disheartened. California, please, do not do this.
Hear, hear!
we’re at 76% counted and down by 300k with probably just over 2 to 2.5 million uncounted. it’s done. we lost, and we lost likely by a solid two or three points, which means we failed as an entire state, not just our backwaters.
our constitution has been trampled on, and that which made us great, our state commitment to equality that surpassed even that of our federal government, has been lessened.
i think a lot of finger pointing can be done here. i personally would have liked to see more than the tepid support obama and biden gave it - but then, since both have made it clear they are not in favor of same-sex marriages, i don’t know why they would have. i would have liked to see the national democratic party make this a priority, but then, they’re too worried about watering down their growing support in the south. all i know is, when a republican governor is one of the strongest public voices opposed to this level of discrimination, something has gone seriously awry.
we lost more than just a vote today.
Brendan, I am so with you right now. I feel totally betrayed by California. This election was a great thing in many arenas. Americans came out in force to support Obama, and to support reproductive rights, but they shat all over LGBT Americans. This is a really sad day for me, and a sad day for California.
I, too, am really disappointed in Obama/Biden for not coming out hard against 8, because they were afraid of losing votes. This is one of the things that made me not want to support Obama to begin with, his inability to stand behind what he believed in. And the DNC’s failure to act…gah. I am incredibly said right now. 95.4% are reporting, and 61.2% of people voted for Obama. 48% of California voted against bigotry and hate.
In the spirit of trying to find a silver lining behind this spectacularly dissappointing failure of our fellow Californians…
Our CA supreme court found that ’separate, but equal’ is, in fact, not equal and thus unconstitutional. Californians apparently feel that marriage is to be defined as one man/one woman, etc.
Given these two facts, is it not incumbant that all references to marriage in California law be struck down now? Perhaps to be replaced by an all inclusive ‘civil union’?
For my part in this debacle I apologize. I noticed over the last 10 days or so that the anti-prop8 demonstrators were being dwarfed and shouted down by the ignorant pro-prop8′ers in larger and larger numbers here in SR and Windsor. I should have added my support and must admit to feeling a bit shamed for not having done so. But then, who’d a thunk it possible in this state? Not me.
Scott, I personally would like to see marriage taken out of the hands of the state, and put in the hands of the Church, where it belongs. All people, gay or straight, who wish to register partnerships with the state should do through civil unions. Marriage ceremonies should be a private matter.
I also eagerly look forward to an amendment banning divorce, since “protecting marriage” is apparently very important to many Californians.
i don’t think obama failed to stand with it more strongly for political reasons. he did it because he isn’t in favor of same-sex marriages. as the chicago trib has him saying:
“I’m a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs, say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.”
separate but equal has been his stance all along, and he only came out with tepid support when it became about ‘equality’ and they stripped the word gay from anything he associate with. and he continued to refuse to be photographed with newsom because of his overt support for the gay community.
it’s not that he was afraid of losing votes. it’s that he doesn’t believe in the cause. plain and simple.
Yeah, which is another reason I had a tough time supporting him. Biden at least has come out pretty strongly for gay marriage.