As the sun went down and temperatures dropped on March 4, people gathered at the corner of Main and Broadway to take part in a candlelight vigil and march on Santa Maria City Hall. In a matter of hours, the California Supreme Court would hear arguments in the legal challenges against Proposition 8, that divisive ballot initiative that passed in November 2008 and defines marriage as “between a man and a woman.”
The vigils took place in cities large and small throughout California. In Santa Maria, Pacific Pride Foundation’s executive director was one of the speakers who addressed a crowd that had gathered to show their support.
David Selberg was quick to point out that civil unions, while recognized at the state level, don’t afford the same protections as does marriage at the federal level. According to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act—signed into law by President Bill Clinton—the word “marriage” means “only a legal union between one man and one woman.”
Selberg noted a current court case in Massachusetts involving Dean Hara, the widowed spouse of former U.S. Representative Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of Congress. According to a press release from Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Hara was denied Studds’ pension and health insurance when the congressman passed away in 2006.
“We’re not asking other states [to recognize same-sex marriage],” Selberg said. “We’re asking the federal government to recognize benefits, joint tax filling, and more than 1,000 other rights that straight couples have [at the federal level], but are denied to same-sex couples.”
Rebecca Kiniry, a homemaker, attended the vigil with her four daughters.
“We have a lot of friends [that Proposition 8 affected], and this is the right thing to do,” she said matter-of-factly, nodding to the people who had gathered.
Along with Pacific Pride’s Selberg, one of the speakers was Pastor Charles Arnold of the United Church of Christ, Valley of Flowers, in Vandenberg Village.
“We want people to know that we are not part of that narrow-minded view,” he said, referring to the voters who passed Proposition 8. United Church of Christ is the only major denomination that’s “open and affirmed,” he claimed.
“That means you’re not only welcome, but affirmed means anyone who wishes to come doesn’t have to sit in the back,” he explained.
When asked why he felt Proposition 8 passed in the first place, Arnold wasn’t shy about calling the opposition on what he says was misinformation.
“They said ‘they’ were going to start teaching about homosexuality in the school systems,” he said. “That scared people. It just was not true.”
In the end, it looks as if proponents of same-sex marriage will have to take their case back to the ballot. On March 6, the L.A. Times reported that the California Supreme Court had strongly indicated it would rule that Proposition 8 was valid in its abolishing the right for gays to marry.
“Gosh, I hope they’re wrong,” Selberg said of the prediction.
Still, while hoping for the best, he said they’ve been planning for the worst.
“If the Supreme Court justices validate Prop. 8, I’m sure our next step will be moving forward on a ballot initiative,” he said. “We need to reeducate the voters in a more personal way than the last campaign.”
He acknowledged that last year’s campaign strategies against Proposition 8 could use some refining.
“We need to change the way we’re interacting with the voter, let them see who we are much more personally,” he said. “We didn’t do that with a commercial about a garden wedding with a straight couple.”
Contact Staff Writer Nicholas Walter at nwalter@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 12-19, 2009.