Black LGBT Calls Prop 8 "Shameful and Wrong"

The Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition sends out a press release denouncing the passage of Proposition 8.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 5, 2008

CONTACT:
Ron Buckmire
PHONE: 323-314-2949

Jordan/Rustin Coalition expresses dismay at passage of proposition 8
Black LGBT group calls it a “shameful and wrong” act and vows to
continue working for full equality under the law

(Los Angeles, CA, November 5, 2008) The Barbara Jordan / Bayard Rustin Coalition
(known as the Jordan/Rustin Coalition), the primary organization devoted to organizing African Americans for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in Southern California expressed dismay at the impending passage of Proposition 8 by California voters and described it as a shameful and wrong act. With over 99% of the vote counted, the state constitutional amendment to declare marriages of same-sex couples as neither “valid or recognized in California” is leading (52% YES to 48% NO) by over 400,000 votes out of nearly 10 million cast and is almost certain to pass.

"It is shameful and wrong that the people of California have apparently voted to eliminate a fundamental right of a single group of Californians while at the same time electing the first African American president," said Jordan Rustin Coalition board president Ron Buckmire. "We call upon the Supreme Court of California to declare this amendment unconstitutional under either the State or Federal Constitution. Our system of laws does not allow the rights of a minority to be decided by the whims or biases of the majority of the electorate."

In 1992 Colorado voters passed Amendment 2 which would have amended that state’s constitution to prohibit any legislative body in the state from enacting anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation. That ballot measure was immediately enjoined from going into effect and was found unconstitutional by every court that examined it. Finally, in 1996, Colorado’s Amendment 2 was declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in a 6-3 landmark decision named Romer v. Evans. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, declared
“that Amendment 2 classifies homosexuals not to further a proper legislative end but to make them unequal to everyone else. This Colorado cannot do. A State cannot so deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws.”


California’s Proposition 8 is attempting to make legally married same-sex couples strangers to its laws. This California can not do.

Exit polls from CNN indicate that African Americans made up nearly 10% of the California electorate on the historic day that an African American man was first elected President of the United States. African Americans make up about 6% of the California population, according to 2006 figures from the U.S. Census. 74% of Black women and 64% of Black men voted for Proposition 8, according to CNN's exit polls. These exit polls also show that in California 5% of voters were lesbian, gay or bisexual and that nationwide 4% of all presidential voters were lesbian, gay or bisexual and voted for Barack Obama over John McCain by a 70% to 27% margin.

In 2000, Proposition 22 passed by a margin of over 22 percentage points, while yesterday Proposition 8 has passed by less than 5 points. Clearly, Californian voters are becoming more accepting of marriage equality as time goes by. The election results also show that we face challenges in convincing our fellow Black brothers and sisters of the righteousness of the idea of equal access to civil marriage for all Americans. The Jordan/Rustin Coalition will continue to work in the African American community to promote ``equal standing for all” under the laws of California and the United States of America.

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ABOUT the Barbara Jordan / Bayard Rustin Coalition

The mission of the Barbara Jordan / Bayard Rustin Coalition (or Jordan
Rustin Coalition) is to empower Black same-gender loving, lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender individuals and families in Greater Los Angeles, to
promote equal marriage rights and to advocate for fair treatment of everyone
without regard to race, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.