A good day to be gay

I don’t mean to gloat – oh, who am I kidding, I’m totally gloating – but yesterday was a pretty fucking good day to be gay. Prop. 8 was ruled unconstitutional, again, this time by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This is a Joe Biden-worthy Big Fucking Deal. This is a federal court. This is probably headed to the Supreme Court next (with a possible pit stop first to the full Ninth Circuit). Granted, the marriage ban stay remains in effect. And the ruling was relatively narrow, meaning is upheld it would only apply to California. But still, a win is a fucking win. High five, gays and friends of gays. High fucking five.

Also yesterday, avowedly anti-choice and rigidly conservative Komen for the Cure Vice President for Public Policy Karen Handel, who was behind the Planed Parenthood funding debacle, resigned from the group in a defensive huff. How dare we think someone who during her failed, Sarah Palin-endorsed run for Georgia governor who vowed to defund Planned Parenthood and said in her own campaign blog that, “I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood” have a political agenda when defunding Planned Parenthood? How dare we! Though, lest you think this resignation is only a win for the pro-choice/progressive forces of light, it’s also a nice don’t let the door hit you in the ass for us gays. Because during that same failed gubernatorial run, Handel said she was “wholeheartedly” against gay marriage, civil unions, domestic partner benefits and gay adoption. And when asked why she was against civil unions and gay marriage her response was this: “Why is marriage between one man and one woman? (Laughs). Are you serious?” Like I was saying – door, ass. Buh-fucking-bye.

Look, we don’t always win. In fact, we’ve been on the losing team for pretty much ever. But the good news has always been that we’re on the right side of history. So yesterday was a bit like Big Gay Christmas. Because as important and essential as it is to continue to fight injustice, we should also celebrate and revel in our victories. That doesn’t mean we rest on our laurels. But as Martin Luther King said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” So on that long road toward equality, we have to appreciate each little bend in our direction.

And in the end, it is the very words of the court decision itself that speak the loudest for justice. You can read the full opinion here. As Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the majority opinion:

“All that Proposition 8 accomplished was to take away from same-sex couples the right to be granted marriage licenses and thus legally to use the designation of ‘marriage,’ which symbolizes state legitimization and societal recognition of their committed relationships. Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”

Yeah, it was a good day to be gay yesterday. And, really, everyday. Because we know where that long arc is going. And we won’t stop until it gets there.