 When I woke up after the November 2008 election, I woke up with the reality that about half the people I saw on the street in my hometown of San Diego did not want to see my lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community have equal marriage rights under the law. Moderating the CoverItLive (CIL) live-blogging/chat room thread, I saw some LGBT folk in the Northeast realize, like I did last November, that just over half of their families, friends, neighbors, and people they see in the street voted against their equality, with regards to marry, under the law.
I put out the poll early on in our live blogging coverage about which election result our blenders were following closest:
I'm one of the 2% who said the election result I was following closest was the basic civil rights election in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I cared about that most because I believe it was the one that spoke to the basic civil rights issues of trans people and community most directly, and because the opposition fought that piece of legislation with the Bathroom Meme -- the Bathroom Meme that states crossdressed men and trans people are going to invade public restrooms to prey on women and children.
And, as I pointed out in the Godly Perverts And The Bathroom Meme, one has much more to fear from Godly Perverts in women's public restrooms than one has to fear from crossdressed men and trans women.
That this is the second municipality in a row (the first being Gainesville, Florida) where voters rejected those who used the Bathroom Meme in an attempt to and deny basic civil rights to LGBT people...well, I think this says something positive about America regarding America's views on housing, employment, and public accommodation for LGBT people.
Still, I'm with Pam and many other baristas and blenders in this though: Civil rights aren't things that should be subject to mob rule. As happy as I am in winning in Kalamazoo, I'm not happy at all that there was a referendum on a basic civil rights ordinance for LGBT people.
Will the next stop for the Bathroom Meme be Tampa, Florida? From Tampa Bay Online's Tampa City Council to vote on transgender protections:
The city council is expected to vote Thursday on a proposal to expand Tampa's anti-discrimination laws to include transgender individuals.
The proposed ordinance, if approved, would extend laws prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation, sex, race and religion to include "gender identity or expression" as a protected class...
Let's hope that if this passes we don't end up with another "mob rule" referendum on the ballot. |
