Equality for All Rally - May 26, 2009

Rabbi Greg Wolfe
Congregation Bet Haverim
Davis, CA

There is an old Jewish joke about God giving Moses a choice of Promised Lands.  "Pick any one you like and it is yours,"  God informs Moses.  Being quick of mind, but slow of tongue, as he had a speech impediment, Moses intended to request the beautiful land of California, but it came out, "Ca..ca..ca.."  And God replies, "Canaan?!  OK, whatever you want!"

Well, once again, we did not get California, as we had hoped!  But I am here to remind you that this not a journey of the moment or even of the day.  We are on a journey of a lifetime and we will live to see California become the Land of Promise once again.   A land that fulfills its true promise and potential to all of its citizens.  We are a part of that promise and each one of us has a role to play in making the promise of equality for all come true.  Today we promise one another that we will not forget the big picture, that we will not lose sight of our greater dream to ensure the promise of justice and equality for all; not just the majority, but the minority, not just the straight, but gay, not just in Iowa and Massachusetts but in California, Nevada and in every state of our great country.

During the holiday of Passover, the Jewish people recount their journey from slavery to redemption and, ultimately, to independence.  There is a curious song in the Passover seder celebration that carries with it a most profound message for us today.   We sing, if God had brought us out of Egyptian bondage but not given us the Shabbat (the Sabbath), Dayenu, it would have been enough for us.  If God had given us the Shabbat but not given us the Torah, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us!  If God had given us the Torah but not brought us into the Promised Land, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us.  How could we say such a thing?  What could that possibly mean?  Would it really have been enough to be left wandering in the desert, homeless and without direction?  This can’t be the true meaning our rabbis teach.  Instead, the message, they teach us, is that while our final destination is important, we must never forget to celebrate each and every step along the way.  We must never give up hope and must cherish every movement forward that we experience.

It is easy for us to feel bitter, angry, betrayed and sad today in the face of the Supreme Court’s decision.  But let us not forget the 18,000 whose marriages were upheld.  We recognize that this is an incomplete victory for justice.  But it is an important step in realizing our promise.  So today let us say, "Dayenu!"  We have arrived at this holy moment together, supporting one another, loving one another, standing united side by side, knowing in our hearts that the truth is on our side.  Our Bible teaches that we are the guardians of the rights of the most vulnerable.  The rights of the powerful, the majority, the popular don’t need protecting.  But the rights of the widow, the stranger and the orphan were always at risk.  Today we proclaim "Dayenu!"--We have had enough!  Now we must carry forward our obligation to fight for the rights of those in the minority, those who are threatened with being marginalized and overlooked.  Today we promise ourselves to keep this sacred journey to the Promised Land alive, for all of our sakes.  Because when some are diminished we are all diminished.

Let us shout out to the heavens, Dayenu, we have arrived at a precious moment in our journey, but we will never say die until we arrive at our destination:  a land where there is truly equality and justice for all.  This is our Promised Land!

Rabbi Greg Wolfe

Equality for All Rally - May 26, 2009 - Alan Brownstein's Remarks

Linda Waite, the leader of GSAFE – the group organizing this event – asked me to lead off this rally by answering a basic question – what just happened here? How could the Supreme Court uphold the validity of Proposition 8?

Today’s decision wasn’t about the substance of Proposition 8. It was about the process by which Proposition 8 was adopted. 

The lawyers challenging that process argued that Proposition 8 was a constitutional revision rather than a constitutional amendment. Accordingly, they claimed that Proposition 8 could not be placed on the ballot through the initiative process and adopted by a majority of the voters. 

The core of their argument was straightforward. They argued that Proposition 8 altered the basic equality and liberty rights of gays and lesbians by denying them the right to marry the person with whom they wanted to share their lives. In doing that, Proposition 8 brought about such an important change in the State Constitution that it had to proceed through the revision process rather than the amendment process.

In today’s decision, the California Supreme Court rejected that argument. The Court held that the distinction between a revision and an amendment did not turn on how important a constitutional change might be. Basically, the Court decided that the only changes in the California Constitution that had to be adopted through the revision process were those that altered the basic governmental plan or organization set out in the Constitution. 

The Court held that Proposition 8 did not do that. It altered liberty rights. It limited the scope of the Equal Protection Clause. But it did not change the structure and organization of state government. Therefore, Proposition 8 was upheld as constitutional.

That’s the legal answer to what happened today. But that answer doesn’t describe the real meaning of today’s decision.

What today’s decision really means is that we have enshrined in our Constitution a provision that rejects our state’s historical commitment to equality and denies a specific group the right to exercise a fundamental right – the right to marry.

It means that while other states in New England and the Mid-West are advancing the cause of equality and human rights, in California, to our shame, we have turned our backs on gay and lesbian members of our community. Let there be no mistake about it. Under the constitutional regime mandated by Proposition 8, our neighbors down the street, our colleagues at work, congregants who worship with us, and close friends and family members who we love are now branded as second class citizens solely because they are gay or lesbian. 

But the wrong that was done on Election Day last November and upheld by the Supreme Court today does not only stigmatize gays and lesbians. It also reveals that our state constitution is only a caricature of what a constitution is supposed to be. Proposition 8 demonstrates that our constitutional emperor has no clothes. We now know that while our constitution declares that Californians have inalienable rights, in reality those rights can be denied by an initiative supported by a bare majority of the voters. 

But rights that are subject to the approval of the majority aren’t rights in any meaningful sense. They are privileges that can be abridged or withdrawn at the State’s discretion. 

After Proposition 8, our constitution mocks the very idea of rights. 

Indeed, Proposition 8 has fundamentally distorted the very purpose of constitutional law. Instead of serving as a shield to protect minorities against the tyranny of the majority, our constitution now serves as sword that requires the state to practice discrimination. 

But we can change that. We can erase this stain on the integrity of our state. The way to do that isn’t to blame the Supreme Court for its decision today. It isn’t even to blame the proponents of Proposition 8. 

We need to focus today not on blame, but on responsibility.

Our job starting today is to take responsibility for restoring the right to marry in our constitution as a fundamental right for same-sex couples – just as it is for opposite sex couples.

Today’s tragic affirmation of discrimination does not have to stand as law for long. We have the power in our own hands to remedy the harm caused by Proposition 8. It is up to all of us to roll up our sleeves and work together to change our constitution back to one that affirms fundamental rights of liberty and equality. 

Efforts are already underway to restore the right to marry to our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.  Those efforts can be successful if people join together to offer a helping heart and hand.

Today is a sad day. It is always heartbreaking to fight the good fight and lose. But this struggle isn’t over. Those of us who fought against Proposition 8 are much more resilient and stronger than our opponents realize. 

The sorrow we feel today can and will be channeled into the energy we need tomorrow to erase Proposition 8 from our laws and our lives forever.