Proposition 8

Gov. Schwarzenegger, appearing Sunday on ABC's This Week, indicated he was inclined to protect the marriages of gay couples who legally tied the knot this year. These marriages could be at risk because of the passage of Prop 8. Schwarzenegger offers the caveat that such an order must be legal, and that he must first confer with Attorney General Jerry Brown, who has said he will defend Prop 8 while also protecting the existing marriages. Here's the exchange with interviewer George Stephanopolous.

STEPHANOPOULOS: In the meantime, some legal experts have suggested that you should, if you believe that, issue an edict, a ruling, that says that the marriages that have already taken place in California are absolutely legal. Will you do that?

SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, I have to get together with Jerry Brown, our attorney general, and see what the legal opinion is, because he's my lawyer, basically. And so, we always do those things together.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you're inclined to do it?

SCHWARZENEGGER: It's a conversation that I can have with him about the -- if that's the legal way to go.

Lost in all the publicity about post-election No on 8 protests is the question of whether the 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot this year in California will see their marriages voided by the courts. Protecting these marriages is essential as a matter of humanity, of avoiding a bigger legal mess. Here's how to respond.

1. The Yes on 8 folks -- the opponents of same-sex marriage -- would be wise not to challenge these marriages in court. It would be both the decent and the politically wise thing to do. Forcing the voiding of these marriages could boomerang against their cause. I'm hearing some discussion among conservatives who favor this step, but I think this is probably too much to hope for.

2. Some of the state's best lawyers are working on protecting these couples and repealing Prop 8.  But the courts take time. The legislature and the governor -- who played coy during the Prop 8 campaign instead of showing leadership by actively opposing Prop 8 -- need to move immediately to give every specific protection to the existing marriages that they possibly can. It's unclear what form this could take, but clear statements that the initiative not be applied retroactively would be a good first step.

I have begun to wonder whether the folks who persist in these idiotic, counter-productive protests against the victorious Prop 8 are more interested in self-righteousness than in marriage equality. Police in riot gear had to be called to the El Coyote Mexican Cafe on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles last night, where a restaurant manager, a Mormon, committed the grievous sin of expressing her religious views and giving $100 to Yes on 8.

The manager in question was wrong to vote the way she did, but I don't think targeting her is going to change any minds. If anything, it's likely hardening attitudes against same-sex marriage. And there's anecdotal evidence that it's turning off even those who folks who support same-sex marriage and voted No on 8. (As she peered into my eyes yesterday, my optometrist said that she and her husband had voted No on 8 but were upset by the targeting of El Coyote, a favorite eatery of theirs).. Could these protests, rather than producing shame in Yes on 8 supporters, produce embarassment in those on the side of the protestors? More protests are expected tomorrow in California, including a major event in downtown Los Angeles.

I've never cared for El Coyote, the Mexican restaurant on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, even though it's within walking distance of my apartment. The best thing on the menu is the margaritas, and your blogger remains a teetotaler so he can stay sharp and detect drafting errors in initiatives. When I'm thinking Mexican, I hit the taco trucks, or maybe stop by the original El Cholo on Western or Mijares in my hometown of Pasadena. 

But I'm heading over there tonight. Why? Because same-sex marriage supporters, full of righteous anger at the passing of Prop 8, the ban on same-sex marriage, have targeted El Coyote as part of an insane, counter-productive strategy of mindless rage at anyone or anything tangentially connected to the Prop 8 effort. The niece of the restaurant's original owners gave $100 to Yes on 8. The response? A boycott and lots of Internet rage.   

Last night on the nationally syndicated radio show Beyond the Beltway, I discussed the problems with the No on 8 campaign that led to victory for the California initiative to ban same-sex marriage.

Supporters of Prop 8, an initiative to ban same-sex marriage, claim that if gay couples continue to be permitted to marry in California, schools will have to teach same-sex marriage to young children. Educators and legal experts say that’s nonsense, and there is no such curricular requirement.

           The controversy begs a practical question:: What would it be like to try to teach same-sex marriage to kindergarteners? I can only imagine how one might do that.

The scene, a kindergarten classroom, morning

             Teacher: This is Mr. Mathews. He’ll be leading today’s lesson on gay marriage.

            Little girl #1: J is my favorite letter!

In The Washington Post, I write about how the Prop 8 campaign has turned into a question of which is creepier: Mormons, or explaining gay marriage to your kids.

The campaign around Prop 8, the California initiative to ban same-sex marriage, keeps getting nastier. The No on 8 says in a email that their web site was subject to a "denial of service" attack -- a cyber hacking technique in which mutltiple users flood a web site or server to overwhelm it, forcing it to shut down. Such attacks knocked the site down and may have hurt fundraising. Both sides of the Prop 8 fight are raising money over the web at a fast pace.  The Yes on 8 campaign told the Associated Press its officials had nothing to do with it. Authorities are investigating.

The fear is that a big turnout among African-American and Latino voters for Obama might give Prop 8, the same-sex marriage ban, a crucial boost. Some polling shows broader support for Prop 8 among such voters than in the electorate as a whole. The dynamic also might boost Prop 4, the California initiative to require parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor.

I just received a recorded message call opposing Prop 8, the California ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage. The recorded voice belonged to Bonnie Shatun of the California Teachers Assn. She cited the endorsements for the No on 8 position by U.S. Sen Dianne Feinstein and by the League of Women Voters. Such calls suggest that women, perhaps moderate women, are a focus of the outreach of opponents of Prop 8.  The call is also well-timed, and suggests a more organized campaign against Prop 8 than we saw a few months ago.. A new ad by Feinstein against Prop 8 has just gone up. More on that to come.