by Garrett McAuliffe
Dean of the Mission Campus of City College of San Francisco Carlota del Portillo speaks against Prop 8, a measure that will ban same-sex marriage in California. The event took place at the Mission Cultural Center. (photo by Jonathan Rivera)
Latino leaders opposed to Prop 8 gathered in their communities across California last week to rally support against the November ballot initiative that would ban the right of same-sex couples to marry. Events in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego were held to express opposition to the divisive initiative, and encourage Latino voters to oppose a ban that would limit the rights of many within the state.
“Prop 8 supporters want to change the California Constitution to create a different set of standards for people who happen to be gay or lesbian,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who spoke at a press conference in East Los Angeles. “It would be the first time in our state’s history that the constitution was amended to deny civil rights. And that is wrong. I consider a vote against Prop 8 to be a vote in favor of dignity and respect for all Californians.”
The ballot measure is an attempt to reverse the California Supreme Court ruling that allowed for same-sex marriage beginning last May.
In San Francisco, community leaders gathered at the Mission Cultural Center on Wednesday, Oct. 8, to speak passionately in opposition to Prop 8, projecting it as a civil rights issue, while addressing the personal impact such discrimination would have on family members and friends.
City Treasurer José Cisneros said that “Californians shouldn’t vote to eliminate rights,” urging not only Latino communities, but all Californians to “vote no on Prop 8 and stop the spread of discrimination.”
Olga Talamante, Executive Director of the Chicana Latina Foundation, also spoke up against Prop 8 in San Francisco. “Gay and lesbian people and same-sex couples are our friends, our families and our neighbors. They are a part of our community and should be afforded the right to marry like everyone else in society,” she said.
“As Latinos we understand community and family, and that is why we all must vote no on Proposition 8.”
But those attempting to unite their communities in opposition to Prop 8 face some difficulty, as Latinos have strongly voted against same-sex marriage in the past.
In 2000, the state’s voters passed Prop 22, a similar measure explicitly defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Sixty-one percent of overall voters backed Prop 22, while more than 70 percent of Latinos favored the initiative.
The California Supreme Court recently overturned the law, ruling same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.
Supporters of Prop 8 believe Latinos – the state’s fastest growing electoral bloc – could be a deciding factor in the campaign.
“Given their participation in the 2000 election with Prop 22, the support of the Latino population is critical to the effort,” said Jennifer Kerns, spokeswoman for the Yes on Prop 8 campaign, in an interview with the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. “They are a community that is extremely passionate about this issue. At least from what we’ve seen, they are very committed to upholding the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman.”
But some Latino community leaders have criticized the Yes on Prop 8 campaign for unleashing television ads they say are aimed at misleading voters into supporting the ballot measure. “The supporters of Prop 8 are deceitfully using education and children as scare tactics in this initiative, desperately trying to overt attention from what the proposition is really about eliminating rights,” said Roberto Ordeñana, a NO on Prop 8 spokesperson.
