Yesterday, California met in the middle of the state - the primarily agricultural city of Fresno - to begin the next phase of the Prop. 8 battle: no lawsuits, no academic theories, no manifestos and not an elected official in sight. We have only one job left: to win votes, and there is a large crop of them to be harvested in California's Central Valley. A huge number of Fresno's voters - about 70% -- voted for Prop. 8. We came to Fresno to let the 30% know we've got their back, and want to build on their good will.
The most striking thing about the rally was the sheer quality of the new generation of leaders who have taken their places naturally. The event was the brainchild of Fresno mom Robin McGehee, who was kicked out of her child's Catholic School PTA for speaking out about gay marriage. She sold the idea to some of California's gay rights organizations, and put about $15,000 of her own (borrowed) money on the line to make it happen. She was especially moving when she directly addressed President Obama about his promises to the gay community. "Show me you have the courage," she said.
Lt. Dan Choi spoke, and is proving himself to be a formidable and inspirational leader. He began his speech quoting - in Arabic - a poem from Kahlil Gibran about love. It is a sin against this country that Lt. Choi's power, intelligence and eloquence have been so casually rejected by our national leaders. But the loss to the nation's defense is the gay movement's gain. It is no mystery to me that the President will not so much as address Lt. Choi. I can think of no one who could more properly shame the President in a face-to-face meeting than the man he is responsible for firing.
Since this is California, Hollywood stars are required to be present at any public event, and while Will & Grace's Eric McCormack was fine, it was T.R. Knight from Gray's Anatomy who was most impressive. After pointing out that the Supreme Court's decision had divided California into three groups for marital purposes: heterosexuals, the 18,000 homosexual couples who are married, and the remainder of homosexuals who aren't, and can't be - he said that while it was bad enough before the decision being a second class citizen, as an unmarried Californian he'd be damned if he'd settle for being third class.
Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black, too, is now at the very top of the class of our movement's new leaders. The Mormon Texan who moved to California's Salinas (an agricultural area near the coast, but politically not too different from Fresno), has been a tremendous political asset to us this year, speaking from an experience that lies right at the heart of the people we most need to convince.
Rick Jacobs comes from a more political background than any of these, but his leadership at the Courage Campaign shows that he understands the job we have left to do better than many of California's existing gay leaders. Our incumbent luminaries have nailed down the left in California, but still seem out of their comfort zone when dealing with anyone who doesn't already agree with them politically. Jacobs has that skill. When the crowd booed an insulting remark he quoted from the Prop. 8 campaign, he immediately hushed them, explaining that you get no political payoff from that. He reiterated a thought that had been brilliantly expressed earlier by the teenage daughter of a same-sex couple: "We must do the hard work of not judging the people we need to persuade."
The whole day and issue were summed up for me listening to Frank Sinatra on the drive down. While Sammy Cahn's lyrics have been cited before in this context, they are always worth repeating and thinking about:
Love and marriage, love and marriage
It's an institute you can't disparage
Ask the local gentry
And they will say it's elementaryTry, try, try to separate them
It's an illusion
Try, try, try, and you will only come
To this conclusionLove and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
Dad was told by mother
You can't have one without the other