Rick Raw: Gay Marriage Ban Fallout Dec. 4th

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net www.rickatnight.com

The passage of the gay marriage ban initiative in Florida and California not only set back the gay rights movement, but it exposed an ironic conundrum among blacks. Of course, giving gays the same rights as heterosexuals makes sense to most liberal minded people, me included.

However, when this issue went before the voters, those of us who support gays rights to marry knew that this initiative would bring out the vicious right wing religious zealots, waving their Bibles and echoing the words of their hypocritical preachers.

Ah yes, but what we didn’t foresee was the exit polls showed that about 70 percent of blacks voted in favor to Proposition 8 in California and Florida. Both states are now free to amend their constitutions to ban same-sex marriage. More significantly, what happens to the gays who had already married before the ban went into effect? No one knows.

Ironically, gay right activists compare their struggle for equal rights to the long and bloody Civil Rights Movement. For some strange reason, blacks think that the gay rights movement is completely different from racial equality. Comprehensive polling suggests that only a small percentage of African-Americans think that homosexuality is genetic or inborn.

In contrast, among free thinking whites, tolerance and support for gay rights has been rising exponentially. In other words, whites think that if homosexuality is genetic, then gays should have the same rights as heterosexuals because living a gay lifestyle is not a sexual preference but a natural sexual drive. The scientific evidence is overwhelming.

So, what is at the bottom of this black voter conundrum? Obviously, there’s a disconnect between the gay rights movement and the African-American zeitgeist. A cultural divide exists in the black community that is also influenced by their fiery hell and brimstone preachers. Likewise, there are a significant number of black gays who get no support from their own community. Yes, this is a touchy issue among blacks, but one that needs to be brought to the surface.

Clearly, gay rights activists have not enlightened the black community of the worthiness of their cause. So, when black voters went into the voting booth, they thought, "Geez, gays getting married is disgusting." Somehow, gay activists need to parlay with black leaders to work out their differences and point out the similarities between the gay rights struggle and the Civil Rights Movement.

In my view, there is no earthly reason why gays should not get married and enjoy the same rights as heterosexual couples. Why not? It has no effect on my life or the lives of black heterosexuals. Somehow, religion and prejudice has corrupted reason among those who oppose gay marriage–black or white.

Everyone in show business knew that Emmy winning black comic actress Wanda Sykes was gay, but she didn’t talk about it or go to gay rights functions. To her, it was a private matter. But when the gay marriage ban was ratified in California and Florida, she spoke out at a gay rights rally for the first time criticizing her fellow African-Americans for being so intolerant."Now, I’m getting in their faces," she said. Black gay celebrities coming out publically will definitely help the cause.

How this injustice will play out during the Obama administration will be interesting. Gay rights activists have suffered a major setback. Now repealing these new constitutional amendments will be an uphill struggle. However, it’s just a matter of time before people of all races will see that homosexuality is nothing to fear or is no threat to heterosexual lifestyles. Time heals all wounds.