Obama's Victory Day is a Sad One for Equal Rights

Amidst all the hoopla surrounding Obama's success in becoming the first African-American president, I am perhaps one of the few who find little celebrate. Yes, I was a supporter of Hillary Clinton, even going so far as to contribute to her campaign and even volunteered during the primary season. I made endless telephone calls and even showed up in PA for one weekend to canvass voters. But that to me is now all irrelevant. What saddens me is that in CA, AZ, and FL voters turned back the clock of progress on gay rights on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. It is truly ironic that in my home state, FL, Obama carried the state by a small margin but voters by more than 60 percent accepted Amendment 2. I guess voters can look past race, but gay, no. November 4 will go down in history as a sad day for gay Americans--it was when mainstream Americans once again treated gays as second-class citizens.

Blacks Might Sway Amendment 2's Vote

Read the article below about how African Americans hold the key for this Amendment 2 vote. It is unfortunate that so many black Americans in this state are so prejudicial toward the GLBT community. They lobby for civil rights all the time, but are ever so ready to deny them to another minority group. It makes no sense to me.

The line snaked across the parking lot, down the block and around the corner on the last day of early voting Saturday at the College Hill Library in Tampa, Florida. Voters in this primarily African American community waited for as long as three hours to cast their ballots. Massive voter registration drives and excitement over presidential candidate Barack Obama are expected to lead to record turnout in this election…And this year’s higher than average African American turnout could make a controversial amendment to the state constitution more likely to pass. WMNF’s Emily Reddy reports.

[Ice cream truck music.] The majority of voters at the College Hill early voting site wore Obama shirts, pins, and stickers. Vendors sold ice cream, barbecue, and bootleg T-shirts. Candidates shook hands and their supporters waved signs. Pastor Ernest Braxton walked back and forth beside the line carrying a sign reading “YesOn2.”

[Yes on 2…Vote for Obama and Yes on 2]

If Amendment 2 passes, the definition of marriage as “one man and one woman” will be added to the Florida state constitution. Pastor Braxton has been working the College Hill voting place every. He and many other religious leaders throughout the state support the amendment, saying Amendment 2 would protect so-called "traditional marriage" and that children are better raised by a married mother and father.

The opponents’ argument -- that the language of the amendment is so broad it would threaten unions similar to marriage, like domestic partnerships -- doesn’t carry any weight with Braxton.

"We feel that God created marriage as the first institution. And we believe that man and woman should get married. You know, if a person been with a person 30 years, they should get married. Why not get married? If you love a person, and committed to them, get married. But we oppose same sex marriage, that’s it."

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Hate Crimes in Tampa

The article below reminds me once again how life in Tampa at times can be such a challenge. Though there are plenty of pockets of progressivism, hate is never too far away. I saw that a lot of times in my own classrooms, though in a less virulent manner.

Tampa logs 13 hate crimes for '07, most in state

Tampa leads the state in the number of reported hate crimes, according to an annual report issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said that while Tampa's number may seem high compared with other agencies, it is more indicative of the agency's sensitivity to the issue of hate-motivated crime. "We have a very aggressive policy that we report all possible and borderline hate crimes," she said. In 2007, Tampa police investigated 13 crimes they thought fit the description of having "evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity," in accordance with the 1990 Hate Crimes Statistic Act that requires such annual reporting.

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