Kade Boehme NoH8 photo from Tampa, FL, Summer 2013
Wow. Today marks 7 years of the NoH8 Campaign. This is surreal to me, because it was just seven years ago, in November 2008, when we both made the huge progress of electing our first African American President, and California took a step back by voting Proposition 8 into law. (For those those don't remember) Proposition 8 was a voter referendum that effectively blocked gay marriage in 2008, after California State Supreme Court had ruled that denying same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. It was such a huge upset.
It's been 7 years. In that time many other states joined in either
their Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, and in some
instances, the voters approved the rights—which still gives me the
willies but at least it got done.
And... Then Prop 8 fell in federal court because it denied due process so LGBT Californians could once again marry. Then DADT was ended by congress after a LONG, tedious, painful battle with legislators, so that our men and women in uniform no longer had to fear losing their job protecting our nation simply because they were LGB (still working on the T, unfortunately). Then the parts of DOMA that denied federal benefits to LGBT couples was struck down in the Supreme Court of the US which... Was a seminal moment. That moment. Because then we went back to court. And SCOTUS ruled that denying marriage equality was unconsitutional, thereby making marriage equality the law of all these United States of America.
It's been 7 years. And it's not over. There's still housing and job discrimination. Our trans* brothers and sisters and those in between are still struggling. There have been people making money off their hate, still, and who fight marriage equality as if the fight hasn't ultimately been decided.
And you know, I have to give respect to those who were fighting for even the most basic of our rights since long before I was born. This last decade has been a whirlwind, with ups and downs, and by no means is everything tied up.
But it's been 7 years. ONLY 7 years since Prop 8 and we said enough is enough. So we made 7 those years count.
It's been 7 years and we are Proud. #NoH8
And... Then Prop 8 fell in federal court because it denied due process so LGBT Californians could once again marry. Then DADT was ended by congress after a LONG, tedious, painful battle with legislators, so that our men and women in uniform no longer had to fear losing their job protecting our nation simply because they were LGB (still working on the T, unfortunately). Then the parts of DOMA that denied federal benefits to LGBT couples was struck down in the Supreme Court of the US which... Was a seminal moment. That moment. Because then we went back to court. And SCOTUS ruled that denying marriage equality was unconsitutional, thereby making marriage equality the law of all these United States of America.
It's been 7 years. And it's not over. There's still housing and job discrimination. Our trans* brothers and sisters and those in between are still struggling. There have been people making money off their hate, still, and who fight marriage equality as if the fight hasn't ultimately been decided.
And you know, I have to give respect to those who were fighting for even the most basic of our rights since long before I was born. This last decade has been a whirlwind, with ups and downs, and by no means is everything tied up.
But it's been 7 years. ONLY 7 years since Prop 8 and we said enough is enough. So we made 7 those years count.
It's been 7 years and we are Proud. #NoH8
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