LGBTQ Will Fight Same-Sex Union Ban

A race for signatures to support an initiative by ProtectMarriage.com to make same-sex marriage unconstitutional aroused the participation of gay-rights coalitions and Valley College's own Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Club in an attempt to hinder the proposition from reaching ballots this November.

"The oppressive initiative is a cruel and dehumanizing attack against the LGBTQ community," said the club's president, Victor Sungkhasettee. "Due to the legal consequences of marriage, it is a fundamental human right for people to marry, regardless of the other person's sex … Restricting gay people from these rights and discriminating against gay people are archaic, barbaric practices that need to be abolished from modern society."

The California Marriage Protection Act was introduced by a coalition of public officials, churches and individuals in November 2007 and is currently processing the signatures to be sent to election officials. According to the Website, the organization is short 50,000 signatures of the necessary 694,354 valid signatures that are required. The last day to turn them in is April 28, 2008.

The amendment to the state's constitution would establish that "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California," according to the coalition's title and summary of the measure. If the initiative is successful, it would mean that the legislature's power to pass a marriage bill would be undermined by the constitutional amendment. It would limit the authority of the courts, so that cases heading toward same-sex marriage would be stopped or reversed.

The group sites Proposition 22 in support of their pursuit. The initiative, which passed with a 61.4 percent approval of California voters in 2000, added a regular statue to the California Family Code making unions between men and women the only valid form of marriage. "An amendment to the California Constitution, which requires a vote of the people, is the only way to stop the politicians, and especially the courts, from re-defining marriage against the will of the majority of Californians."

However, for Valley students like Elena Golobaneba, Proposition 22 clashes with the view of California as a broad-minded state.

"If there is a demand, there should be a supply," Golobaneba said. "I don't think there is something bad about [gay marriage], especially in California, since it's considered to be the freest of the states."

Jose Cubias, another Valley student, agrees. "Anything that has to do with marriage, the government should have no role in it … It's that simple."

The LGBTQ club has been working with organizations like Equality for All, a coalition born in response to the propositions targeted against the gay community, to obstruct the collection of signatures.

Representatives from Equality for All recently visited the club, explaining the situation and encouraging members to spread the word. Some LGBTQ members volunteered to join the coalition's mission to stop the petition by protesting at places where signature gatherers congregate.

However, the success of such a measure seems unlikely to James Hart, vice-president of the LGBTQ club. "I don't think it will succeed in California, but I think it has enough momentum to hurt people."

Hart added that he hopes students "increase their own personal awareness on the subject of the LBGTQ community, and should remember that their vote always counts." In a surprising turn of events, given his record on the subject of gay marriage, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vowed to oppose the initiative should it reach the ballot.