Join Oaklanders to protest the Supreme Court ruling on Prop 8

The California Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 8 was just announced. In a 6-1 ruling, they upheld Proposition 8. On the bright side, they unanimously voted to uphold the 18,000 existing marriages, including those that were married nearly one year ago at Oakland City Hall. This was how I felt on the night those marriages took place:

The evening was altogether surreal. The ceremonies were delayed for about 45 minutes so I only was able to stick around for a few of the weddings, but the wait was worth it. Being there energized me and made me feel really good about the community I live in…

Though my partner could not make it out to the festivities with me, I was thinking of her the entire time. This past month has been really transformative for us. The Supreme Court ruling and the marriages yesterday have altered the way we think and talk about our future. I’ve been a bit surprised by how important the change in laws and discourse has been to us (something Julia Rosen discussed today over at Calitics).

We’re not planning to get married anytime soon, but last night was the first time we’ve ever talked about where great honeymoon spots would be, why we could never get married at Burning Man, and silly things like that. It’s finally a real option. I had this realization a month ago, but it hit me again last night. When I got home from City Hall I practically collapsed crying in my girlfriend’s arms telling her how much I loved her and that now our city and our state would recognize our love.

But those feelings crumbled when Prop 8 passed and remain lost now that the Supreme Court has upheld it. As of today, I still don’t have the right to marry the woman I love. I’m confident that one day that will change, but I’m still deeply disappointed.

Tonight, people will gather all over the country to protest this decision. In Oakland, you can join our local Day of Decision gathering at 6 pm at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland at 685 14th St. Oakland, CA 94612. If you’re looking for a place to reflect with other community members, this is the place to go.

UPDATE: There’s another rally happening tonight at Lake Merritt. Here are the details (via Sean Sullivan and dto510):

8pm – Meet and Gather @ East Shore Park aka Lakeshore Park (between 580 and the Columns of Lake Merritt)
9pm – Walk the Lake in Unity

Please bring signs, candles, and an ally! We all need each other but we also need our straight brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins, uncles, aunts and friends to be out in force with us tonight!

Party with Rebecca Kaplan & the Courage Campaign

Tomorrow night, Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and the Courage Campaign are hosting a party to celebrate the grassroots movement for marriage equality. In case you’re unfamiliar with them, the Courage Campaign is an awesome organization that pushes for progressive change in California. I was lucky enough to meet several of their staff members last weekend at the California Democratic Party Convention, and besides being incredible activists, they’re also know how to have fun.

So RSVP and stop by on Saturday night to find out more about their work and to enjoy a night out in Uptown Oakland.

Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, The Courage Campaign, Human Rights Campaign Fund, CREDO Mobile, and the Dolby Family

Invite you to a community reception with special guest Rev. Eric Lee, Chairman/President of the California Christian Leadership Conference and Author of “Proposition 8: The California Divide”

May 2nd 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Vibe Lounge, 2330 Telegraph Ave, Oakland CA 94612

“Marriage equality is a civil rights issue.  Anytime one group of people is denied the rights another group of people enjoy, it is fundamentally a denial of civil rights.” –  Rev Eric Lee

Join Courage Campaign and Camp Courage Bay Area staff, facilitators, participants and our significant others and friends, as we celebrate our work to build a grassroots army for marriage equality AND congratulate Rev. Eric Lee on the release of his book.  Rev. Lee will be signing his new book, Proposition 8: The California Divide at the reception.

Oaklanders speak out for marriage equality

On Friday, Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan organized a “speak out” to support equal rights. She invited officials, same-sex couples, and activists to tell their stories and to reflect on the prior day’s California Supreme Court hearing on Proposition 8.

This event turned out to be one of the highlights of my week. It was incredibly sweet, and several of the speakers brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me what this fight is all about – love and equality. It also reminded me of the joy I felt back in June, when Mayor Dellums officiated over the first Oakland same-sex weddings in the packed Council Chambers.  Here are some photos I took at the event:

La Raye Lyles, Lisa Fujie Parks, and their daughter.

Teresa Chung (in the middle), with her daughter and daughter-in-law. She gave the most moving speech of the afternoon, in English and Spanish, explaining that her daughter's marriage is no different than her son's marriage to his wife.

Samee Roberts and Karen Boyd, the first couple to be married by Mayor Dellums in June 2008.

Reverend Byron Williams gave an emotional and high energy speech about the ongoing fight for civil rights, including marriage equality.

City Attorney John Russo told the audience about the resolution he introduced while on the City Council in support of domestic partnership. Even back then, he knew that it was just an incremental step towards full marriage equality.

At the end of the event, Rebecca Kaplan gave flowers to all of the married same-sex couples in attendance.

The entire event was aired on KTOP and is supposed to be aired again later this week, though I don’t know when. If anyone can find out, I recommend watching it.

March 2-6 Oakland Political & Community Events

Monday, March 2nd – “Engage Her” Panel & Screening

Why do the vast majority of African American, Latina, and Asian American Pacific Islander women in the U.S. fail to vote? And why doesn’t anyone seem to care? Join us on Monday March 2, 2009 to view this powerful documentary and participate in a follow-up discussion with a panel including the producer and director Mable Yee.  The film introduces us to a diverse group of women who share very personal accounts of their histories, and reasons for avoiding the political process. Hear the voices of those busy raising families, working multiple jobs, and constrained by time, culture, family, history, language, and fear of political engagement. The panel will help us probe the reasons why, and begin formulating a discussion about how we might successfully engage these women. This event is hosted by the National Women’s Political Caucus and co-sponsored by several other East Bay groups. The screening will be held from 6-7:30pm at the Buttercup Grill, 229 Broadway at 3rd Street.

Tuesday, March 3rd – Oakland City Council Meeting

This week’s Council meeting looks like it’s going to be long and contentious. They’ll be voting on the taxes that were proposed at last week’s Finance Committee meeting, including the hotel tax and repealing Mesaure OO. The Council will also be approving several appointments to various committees, and they’ll vote on changes to recycling facility regulations. V Smoothe wrote an in-depth post about the recycling regulations back in December, and I encourage you to check out that post so you won’t be lost at this meeting. You can also refer to my post about how to watch and understand City Council meetings if you need some guidance on how or where to view the meeting. The non-ceremonial parts of the meeting start at 7pm, and if you’d like to see the meeting in person, head to the Council Chambers in City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Wednesday, March 4th – Alameda County Democratic Central Committee Meeting

Every month, the Central Committee meets to discuss party business and to make plans for the future of the Democratic Party in Alameda County. This month, the featured speakers will be State Senators Loni Hancock and Ellen Corbett. If you’re interested in getting involved with the Democratic Party, this is a great way to do so. Last month, I was appointed as an associate member for the 16th Assembly District, so you can find me at this meeting every month. The meeting will be held from 7-9pm in the San Leandro Main Library, Dave Karp Room, 300 Estudillo Ave., San Leandro, CA 94577.

Friday, March 6th – Oakland Rally for Marriage Equality

Oakland City Councilwoman and out lesbian Rebecca Kaplan, City Attorney John Russo as well as some married couples who work for the city will be speaking out in response to Ken Starr’s oral arguments the previous day. Please come and invite all your friends! This is your LOCAL government taking action and speaking out for equality and they need your support. We can’t let Ken and his ilk dominate the news after they give oral arguments to the California Supreme Court. The rally will be from noon-2pm on the steps of Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza. Find more info and RSVP a the event’s Facebook page.

Time to get active & to celebrate!

Over the last week, I’ve felt a bit antsy. It’s a bit strange to go back to a life that doesn’t consist of working, phoning, sleeping, working, phoning, sleeping (oh, and lots of meetings in between). This week, there are several important meetings and events that would be filling my time, except that I’ll be heading to DC on Tuesday morning. I hope some of my readers can fill in for me and take some time to get active in Oakland politics and celebrate our victories.

1) Tuesday, November 18th: Call on Alameda County to Stand Up for Equal Rights

At yesterday’s rally, a speaker spoke about the lawsuit that advocacy groups have brought to the California Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn Proposition 8. Dozens of legislators have signed onto friend of the court briefs in support of the case, and several counties have joined them in support. But Alameda County has yet to show interest in supporting the case. The speaker said he had called the supervisors and was surprised at how tepid their responses were.

So on Tuesday, at the regular Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting, advocates plan to speak out during the public comment period at the beginning of the meeting to urge the County to support the lawsuit. It’s something the supervisors can vote on and make happen very quickly and easily so there’s really no excuse for them not to act.

I really wish I could make it to this meeting. Please take some time from your day and head down there. I’ve spoken before the supervisors several times, and it’s not nearly as intimidating as speaking before the Oakland City Council. Plus, you’ll be joined by many other equal rights advocates making the same simple request.

Unfortunately, public comment happens at the end of the meeting so even though the meeting starts at 10:30am, you shouldn’t expect to speak until several hours later so bring a good book! Just make sure to fill out a speaker’s card right when you arrive.

Tuesday, November 18th at 10:30am
COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
SUPERVISORS’ CHAMBER
1221 OAK STREET
FIFTH FLOOR, ROOM 512
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

2) Wednesday, November 19th: Planning Commission Hearing on Creekside Project

Over a year ago, I wrote a blog post arguing that the North Oakland portion of Telegraph is ready to grow:

last night, as I walked down Telegraph from the bus stop, I realized just how odd the 1-2 story buildings looked. The disproportionality of the building heights to the size of the street is astounding.

Beyond aesthetics, Temescal’s businesses are rapidly growing, and Telegraph has become a major transit corridor, thanks to the new rapid bus line. This is only going to increase, once Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is developed. If Oakland wants to become a more environmentally sustainable city, it makes so much sense to build dense housing in neighborhoods with established services and transit.

The arguments I wrote then are even more compelling today, as business booms in Temescal and we’re even closer to making BRT a reality. The Creekside project, which would be located on the lot of the closed Global Video and its huge parking lot, fits well into this vision for a denser, more lively North Oakland. The project is a mixed-use development with units for sale and for rent, coupled with retail on the ground floor. V Smoothe wrote a post about this project in January complete with renderings and maps, which I encourage you to check out if you’re interested in this project.

Since January, the project has been downsized from 120 to 102 units, mostly because of the opposition to the project by STAND, a group that would be happier if the the project was not built at all. STAND sent an email out today encouraging its membership to attending the planning commission meeting to speak out against this project. ULTRA, on the other hand, is encouraging its membership to attend the meeting to speak out in support of the project.

This project reminds me a lot of the Safeway rebuild. We have two options here – we can be left with this ugly building with a huge parking lot or we can look forward to a much needed project that improves the pedestrian experience and enlivens the neighborhood.

If you agree that Telegraph is ready to grow, please attend this meeting and voice your support for this important project.

Wednesday, November 19th at 6:00pm
Oakland City Hall
One Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Hearing Room No. 1
Oakland, CA 94612
See the agenda here.

3) Thursday, November 20th: Celebrate Rebecca Kaplan’s Victory!

Rebecca’s hosting a party this Thursday to celebrate her huge electoral victory. This party should be tons of fun, and it’s a great opportunity to meet our City Council Member-elect if you haven’t had a chance to do so yet. Also, I’m guessing this will be the final event at the Democratic headquarters, which is such an incredible space. So head down there on Thursday night and give Rebecca a big hug for me!

Thursday, November 20th, 2008 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm
1915 Broadway (@19th street), Oakland
Suggested contribution, $50 (sliding scale).
To register or pay online, CLICK HERE

Join the Impact Oakland

This morning, after some bus mishaps (omg, I can’t wait for BRT!), my girlfriend and I arrived in front of Oakland City Hall for the Join the Impact rally for equal rights. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was great to see thousands of advocates gathered in Frank Ogawa Plaza.

The crowd was incredibly diverse – filled with people of every age, gender, race, and sexual orientation. And there were so many families – kids everywhere! It was great to run into so many people I know and to see so many others I’d never met before. Serendipitously, one of the first people I ran into was Matthew, my precinct walking partner on election day. We formed a special bond that day, a bond that can only be formed by going door to door in a hilly precinct where most doors were up several flights of stairs. It was so great to see that the election results hadn’t gotten him down too much and that he was still working towards marriage equality.

Several LGBT leaders gave moving speeches throughout the day, but the star of the show was Coby, a boy whose parents started an LGBT family coalition. He started off saying that for many years he didn’t know that there were people who didn’t approve of his parents’ union. He didn’t realize that his family was different from others because, well, they’re his family. Coby went on to explain that when he heard kids at his school make fun of gay people, he thought it was because they didn’t understand what it meant to be gay. His mothers then made an effort to educate the students at his school, and ultimately, he thought that kids understood this issue more than many adults and should have more say in our society.

After him and his mother spoke, the rally organizer introduced Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland Council Member-elect who is the first out lesbian to be elected to the city council. She talked about how strange election night was, and her story closely mirrored my own election night emotional roller coaster ride. At 8:00pm, Rebecca found out that Obama had been elected president, and shortly after that she found out that she had won her council seat with 62% of the vote. So for the next three hours, she celebrated, joining hundreds of people spontaneously partying in the streets of downtown Oakland. But then she started to face the fact that Prop 8 was going to pass. Rebecca spent the next day crying, wondering at the irony that she was just elected to the council but was also stripped of her human rights. She ended her speech by saying that this fight for equality is not about fighting against faith. After all, her own faith tells her not to eat pork, but she’s not forcing that rule onto others. After speaking, she lifted her shofar (a ram’s horn) and blew loudly, as the crowd erupted into cheers.

Sean Sullivan, who ran for an Oakland City Council seat in June and who currently is the development director for Equality California, was up next. He started off talking about the myth that has been spread around that Prop 8 was about blacks vs whites. Sean reminded us that Fox News had started spreading this myth, but that it is not the case. All you had to do was look around the diverse crowd in Oakland this morning to see how right he was about this. Sean then delved into the history of this fight, explaining that Equality California has been working for years to secure the right for same-sex couples to marry. He  said that the fight is not over – they’re currently taking this fight to the California Supreme Court and preparing to put an initiative on the ballot in 2010. Sean implored all of us to join this fight because it won’t be an easy one – we’ll need everyone who cares working hard to help make marriage equality a reality.

It was a very inspiring day for me and helped bring some amount of closure to the mixed emotions I’ve been feeling since election night. After seeing such energy in Oakland, and reading about incredible rallies throughout the country, I feel confident that we will overturn Proposition 8 and restore equality in California and beyond.

My girlfriend and I took hundreds of photos, but here are some of my favorites:

For a bunch more incredible photos of the Oakland Join the Impact rally, check out The Inadvertent Gardener’s Flickr page.

Prop 8 makes me sad & afraid

Last night, I couldn’t sleep. Out of nowhere, I had started to feel really sad, and at first I couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized that I was worrying about the passage of Prop 8, which would take away my right to marry the woman I love.

When the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, I couldn’t have been much happier. It was inspiring to watch some of the first same-sex marriages happen at Oakland City Hall. It gave me so much hope for the future of our state, and for the first time, my girlfriend and I started to think seriously about the possibility of marriage.

But now I’m facing the reality that this right could be ripped away from me. A few months ago, I thought Prop 8 was sure to go down. The polling looked good, and I thought that the thousands of same sex couples who were getting married would shift this debate forever. Didn’t everyone at least peripherally know one same sex couple who had gotten married?

Now I think my assumptions may have been off. The Mormon church has dumped millions of dollars into passing Prop 8 and has run extremely misleading ads that seem to have been very effective. The polling is far too close for comfort.

But all of this was still very far removed from my own life. That changed on Saturday, when I took the bus down to Lakeshore in Oakland, as I got off the bus, I saw a large group of Yes on 8 protesters shouting and waving their signs. They were mostly kids, with a few adults. And they seemed very, very angry. There was a small contingent of No on 8 people across the street, who were standing quietly with their signs and passing out fliers.

I left this scene feeling upset – sad, angry, and afraid. I could not believe I had just seen people expressing such hatred in the heart of Oakland. These feelings grew in me all weekend, and I realized that I needed to do something about it. I’ve been so engrossed in Rebecca Kaplan’s campaign for Oakland City Council and the No on Measure KK campaign in Berkeley, that I’ve done almost nothing for No on 8.

Well, that’s going to change. I’m going to dedicate most of my energy this week to No on 8, and I hope you will join me. Here’s what we can do to make sure that one day I can marry the woman I love and that all Californians have the right to marry whomever they love, regardless of gender:

1. Donate! Like I said, the Mormon church has raised a ton of money for Yes on 8. We need to counter that with funds of our own. Do not wait another day – give generously today.
2. Volunteer: I’ll be phoning at the Oakland United Democratic Campaign office at 1915 Broadway in downtown Oakland several nights this week (I’m headed there right now). The great thing about this office is that you can phone for various campaigns at once – I’ll be phoning for No on 8 and Rebecca Kaplan. Join me any night from 5-9pm. If you’re not in Oakland, you can find your local No on 8 office here.
3. Do Personal GOTV: Don’t assume all your friends are going to vote. Call, email, or bang down their doors – just make sure everyone you know is voting No on 8. The California Democratic Party has set up this great tool that allows you to text your friends for free. Check it out and personalize the message to remind your friends to vote No on 8.

Pure Joy at City Hall Last Night

I’m so glad I made it over to City Hall last night to watch the first same-sex marriages in Oakland take place. As V Smoothe describes, the council chambers were completely packed. Everyone seemed to be represented – young, old, of every race and gender, mothers, fathers, single people, couples, children, public officials, activists, friends. Everyone was smiling. And I mean ear to ear smiles. So much clapping and shouting. Tears and laughter.

It was so nice to be welcomed into City Hall by Rebecca Kaplan and to congratulate her on her win. Soon after entering the chambers, she introduced me to V Smoothe and I got a chance to talk to her and Sean Sullivan about medical marijuana in Oakland (which made me realize I need to write something here explaining medical marijuana politics in this city). My co-worker and I also got to chat with a woman who’s friends were about to get married.

The evening was altogether surreal. The ceremonies were delayed for about 45 minutes so I only was able to stick around for a few of the weddings, but the wait was worth it. Being there energized me and made me feel really good about the community I live in. Seeing all the female couples walking down the aisle (only a few were male) reminded me that Oakland has the highest number of female couples per capita of any US city. It reminded me that me and my girlfriend are welcome here.

Though my partner could not make it out to the festivities with me, I was thinking of her the entire time. This past month has been really transformative for us. The Supreme Court ruling and the marriages yesterday have altered the way we think and talk about our future. I’ve been a bit surprised by how important the change in laws and discourse has been to us (something Julia Rosen discussed today over at Calitics).

We’re not planning to get married anytime soon, but last night was the first time we’ve ever talked about where great honeymoon spots would be, why we could never get married at Burning Man, and silly things like that. It’s finally a real option. I had this realization a month ago, but it hit me again last night. When I got home from City Hall I practically collapsed crying in my girlfriend’s arms telling her how much I loved her and that now our city and our state would recognize our love.

Thanks to Mayor Dellums, who officiated over the weddings, along with Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Council Member Jean Quan. I’ve rarely been so proud of this city as I was last night.

What a beautifully surreal week…

This week has been kind of amazing, in an extremely surreal way. It seemed almost appropriate that we had 90+ degree weather in Oakland during the end of the week – a perfect setting for so many historic events to take place in…

On Wednesday, Karen Bass was sworn in as the Speaker of the Assembly. She is the first African-American woman to lead any state or federal legislature, and it was inspiring to read her speech. From what I heard from those who were in Sacramento, it was even more incredible to be part of the excitement.

But the real excitement for me came yesterday morning, when I received an alert from Equality California about the California Supreme Court’s decision (PDF) to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage. I was a bit surprised at my reaction – I was teary eyed at the moment I heard and those tears have returned several times as I’ve thought about what this means.

It’s odd because for most of my life, I haven’t thought much about marriage. It never really seemed that necessary or even desirable to me. But yesterday, when I found out that I could now marry my girlfriend if we wanted to, I realized that this right is incredibly important to me. (My girlfriend certainly helped me come to this realization by showing up at my office unannounced yesterday afternoon with popsicles for me and all my co-workers.)

Today, it hit me again when I got another email with an FAQ about marriage, in light of the decision. It became so concrete when I found out that I could get married almost immediately to anyone I wanted, no matter his/her gender (well, assuming s/he wanted to marry me). Really, I could get married next month, and the gender of my partner wouldn’t be an obstacle.

I know this probably all sounds obvious considering the ruling, but it’s taken a day and a half to fully settle in. It completely alters my life options, and I couldn’t be much more elated by this.

This evening, riding home on the bus, I ran into Rebecca Kaplan. I hadn’t realized until I read her Daily Kos diary earlier this week, but if elected to the Oakland City Council, she would be Oakland’s first openly lesbian elected official. In this surreal and wonderful week filled with firsts and changes, it seemed appropriate that as I ended the week, I ran into someone who’s poised to make history on June 3rd.