When San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders delivered an emotional five-minute speech last September, he knew it was much more important than the short length might suggest. He may not have anticipated, though, that ten months later his message would be more important than ever.
During his first two years in office, Sanders stood by his campaign pledge to veto any legislation allowing same-sex marriage, supporting only civil unions. So when the San Diego City Council approved a measure in September 2007 granting same-sex couples the right to marry, it seemed clear what he was going to do; instead, he called a press conference. Pausing frequently to maintain his composure, Sanders announced that he had decided the night before that he would not veto the measure.
The mayor spoke of his daughter and members of his staff, members of the gay community; he simply could not tell them that their love was worth less than his own, he said. Sanders acknowledged his former stance on the issue, but announced that his opinion had evolved, and he expected that many would neither accept nor understand his decision. It was a beautiful moment, providing inspiration for those fighting an uphill battle for equal marriage rights.
It seems Sanders’ speech provided something else as well, however. According to a report by the LA Times yesterday, the mayor’s change of heart acted as a firestarter for the anti-gay movement. Activist groups had been working since San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom granted marriage rights to same-sex couples in 2004. The state Supreme Court decided Newsom did not have the right to do so, but traditional values activists wanted an amendment to the state constitution that would leave no questions to be answered by the courts.
At the time, though, it was simply a precautionary measure, and the attempts to acquire signatures were not remotely successful. When Mayor Sanders reversed his position on gay marriage, however, the movement suddenly had something concrete to fight against, and conservative crowds began to mobilize. Enough signatures were finally amassed on April 24 to put Proposition 8 on the upcoming November ballot, intending to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman in the state constitution.
Three weeks later, the state Supreme Court granted marriage rights to same-sex couples. Before Sanders’ speech, traditional values activists anticipating the legislation had estimated that a proposition would not be on the ballot until 2010. The proposed amendment was inevitable, but the reaction to Sanders was enough to move it through far ahead of schedule. If the proposition had not appeared until 2010, Californians would have been living with gay marriages for two years, and would have been far less likely to turn the tables back. With the decision looming before us in November, though, resentment is still high in the conservative community, and not enough time has passed to allow same-sex marriage to become a non-issue.
This does not mean that Mayor Sanders is to blame. He, like Mayor Newsom, made a courageous and compassionate decision that challenged the status quo before many people were ready for it. The unforeseen consequence of adding fuel to the anti-gay marriage fire is unfortunate, but it gives the rest of us the chance to show that we are ready to follow his lead. Come November, it will be up to the voters to prove that the heroic actions of Mayors Sanders and Newsom were not for nothing, that we too are ready to push the envelope.
Compared to the time table of the civil rights movement, settling for civil unions would still be a step in the right direction in the march toward gay rights. But different times call for different measures. In May, the California Supreme Court showed that it was ready to step forward and establish our state as a leader in the fight for equality. The first moves have been made; now we must make absolutely sure that they were not made in vain.
Photo courtesy of the Office of the Mayor.
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