In his concession speech last Tuesday night, Sen. John McCain took the opening moments to recognize the step forward that this election represents for civil rights. “Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship,” he declared, saying that the country was “a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry” of the past.
While McCain’s congratulatory remarks were the result of good intentions, the context is unfortunate — marginalizing ongoing struggles for civil rights and overstating America’s advancement toward equality.
As expected, race and ethnicity were consistent talking points, and recent research suggested that age discrimination affected a surprising number of voter opinions. Evidence of sexism was also strong, just as it is in every day life outside the political realm. With broad conservative support of policies that discriminate against gay and lesbian Americans, McCain’s suggestion of a free and equal country was inappropriately timed.
In addition to the presidential election, Nov. 4 saw four new states join dozens of others by voting to support laws that discriminate against gay and lesbian couples. In Florida, marriage will now be constitutionally defined as between one man and one woman. Similarly, Arizona and California’s constitutions will now indicate that only marriages between one man and one woman will be “recognized and valid.” Finally, in the most irrational decision of the year, Arkansas declared that unmarried sexual partners are prohibited from adopting children or acting as foster parents.
Arizona’s and California’s decisions are especially disappointing in regard to the modern civil rights struggle for gay Americans. In 2006, Arizona voters became the first to defeat a ballot initiative aimed at restricting same-sex marriages only to have the bill reworked and passed in this election cycle. In California, a series of legal battles in response to a 2000 ban on same-sex marriages brought the issue to the state’s supreme court. This summer’s verdict was a resounding but short-lived victory for equality, ruling that gender restrictions on marriage rights violated the constitution’s equal protection guarantee. Now, the prejudiced ideology of the (slim) voting majority seems to have trumped the logic and fairness of the courts. In a first-of-its-kind reversal, gay marriages are once again illegal in California.
The enormous amounts of funding used to campaign for these amendments were secured predominantly through individuals and groups of faith. The donors cite holy texts condemning homosexuality, excusing through freedom of religion their incomprehensible obsession with controlling what does not affect them. Had the advertising campaigns not been so characteristically manipulative — filled with threats and lies, fueled by misunderstanding and fear — these defenses would be more reasonable. Morality, however, cannot converge with hate, and the union of faith and prejudice is a total black hole. In the distinct context of American values, disrespecting the Declaration of Independence in the name of select First Amendment rights is downright preposterous.
We rightfully celebrate President-elect Barack Obama’s pioneering win as a landmark for equal opportunity in America. With that in mind, we also call attention to all groups who have yet to enjoy the full benefits of their citizenship. Moving past the bigoted setbacks from this week and years past, many of us are forced to wait on what seems inevitable. This challenge is not uniquely for the rights of gay couples to marry, but, instead, it is in the interest of minority groups. We must work to achieve the respect and rights supposedly guaranteed to all. Inscribing discrimination into our legal documents is an obvious regression, but it is merely a temporary obstacle on the road to equality. The discussion is hardly over.
Neuman is a civil engineering graduate student.
