The Dooryard

Boies' great arguments for gay marriage

Attorney David Boies penned a fantastic piece in today's Wall Street Journal outlining why he and Ted Olson are taking the gay-marriage fight to the Supreme Court. It's one of the most compelling, well-written pieces on the subject I've seen from anyone!

For the liberal "conspiracy theorists" claiming that Olson is only on board to try to derail gay marriage, the piece certainly contradicts that as Boies embraces Olson (besides, Boies is no idiot who can be duped into taking a bad case to the Supreme court). Boies talks directly about why he and Olson, two old rivals, teamed up for this one:

We acted together because of our mutual commitment to the importance of this cause, and to emphasize that this is not a Republican or Democratic issue, not a liberal or conservative issue, but an issue of enforcing our Constitution's guarantee of equal protection and due process to all citizens.

Brilliant.

It's pretty sad how some gay rights groups are attacking them and then trying to intercede in the case. They realize that they have been sitting on the sidelines, trying to simply shepherd gay marriage with little result...and that this case has the potential to make them sideshows and show just how irrelevant many of them have become.

I hope Boies and Olson are completely successful. To have two men from opposing views come to the same legal conclusion about the importance of my rights would be probably the most breathtaking moment in gay-rights history.

Miss California deserves the criticism

I'm kind of surprised by how many people are talking about Miss California's answer about gay marriage at Sunday's pageant. In case you haven't heard what happened, you can read here and watch it below.

A few people have told me that "she should be able to say whatever she wants without being attacked for it." I couldn't disagree more. She absolutely has the right to say whatever she wants. Every American has the right to say what they want; That's what makes our country so great. But NO ONE has the right to say something publicly and expect to be free from criticism.

She could have easily talked about state's rights and living in a country that values difference in opinion, and that would have been a fantastic answer. Instead, she decided to take her own political position (and deliver it really badly); And with that she opened herself to criticism. She didn't have to offer her political opinion but she did, and she says she's glad she did. Many people who are against gay marriage are attacking those who are criticizing her. But why does she get the right to speak her mind and others don't?

I'm glad Perez Hilton asked her the question. I wish he hadn't called her a bitch afterward, but that's Perez.

Another bad pro-gay-marriage commercial

After Prop 8 passed in California, there was an outpouring of thought about what to do next. The terrible TV commercials that the pro-gay-rights side aired were targeted and the people who led to their creation were blamed. There were marches, letters, conferences, symposiums, meetings, phone calls. After taking all of that in, Equality California has come out with another TV ad - and it's as though they weren't listening.

Actually, listening to the wrong people. There was a chorus after the election saying the mistake was not putting more gay people in the ads: Harvey Milk would have put gay people in the ads, so that was the mistake that was made. So what does EqCa do? They put Harvey Milk and gay people in the commercial. That's not enough; They need to change their message!

But the commercial misses the mark completely because it harps on the same old tired theme of "we're right and you're wrong." Telling people they have to give you something is no way to get them to give it to you; In fact, it often makes them want to keep it from you that much more. This commercial says "we deserve this" and "you can't keep us from it anymore." It mentions Jerry Falwell by name and identifies him as an enemy; Why would you want to alienate his friends and allies? How is that changing people's hearts and minds? It's more stomping feet and throwing a tantrum. That this is what they came up with after four months of listening is very, very sad.

Back in L.A.

It's been a couple months since I last wrote, but that's for good reason. On Dec. 17, Dan and I packed our car and headed West. It's been a return to Los Angeles for me after five years in New York City. For Dan, it's his first time living here. We've only been here about seven weeks, but it's already crystal clear to both of us that this was a great decision.

For one, the weather here really is spectacular. It rained all of yesterday, and it was a welcome break from the six straight weeks of sun and 65-70 degrees we had had. The people are so friendly here: They hold the door for you, say please and thank you, let you out into busy traffic, and they smile. The topography is beautiful, the light is amazing (yeah, the sunlight - it's just different here somehow), there is green everywhere. I went hiking in the Hollywood Hills about a week after moving here and saw two deer. I watched them grazing along the hill about 50 feet away from me. I hadn't seen something like that in a long time.

I'm hoping that I'll be writing more here in the coming months. With all the writing I'm doing elsewhere it's a little tough, but I'm going to try. I'm most interested in seeing if a theory of mine holds true in my upcoming posts. I'm actually rather anxious to find out.

Californians: Help fight Prop 8 on election day

I got a call from someone named Clark at No On 8 today. He's looking for volunteers on election day to get out the vote in California. Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you can help No On 8 make sure that voters who oppose Proposition 8 go to the ballot box.

Given the lack of major state races, and the fact that California is solidly in Obama's column, I hope everyone who has time to get out the vote in California will do so. You won't be helping or hurting your presidential candidate by doing so; Republicans can feel safe getting pro-marriage-rights Republicans AND Democrats to the voting booth on Nov. 4.

They are looking for people who can work 6:30am-10:30am, 4:30pm-8:30pm, or all day. Please do everything you can. Clark said I can give out his number, so call him at 213-550-6155, or go to their site at NoOnProp8.com.

Please help fight the California marriage ban

As you may know, Dan and I are moving back to Los Angeles at the end of the year. We would like to be able to get married when we get there. But that entirely depends on whether Proposition 8 is defeated or not. Prop 8 would ban same-sex marriages and prevent us and any other loving couple from getting married.

Even if you're not in California, you can help. The California marriage initiative is THE most important gay-rights battle in history. It affects gay couples living everywhere in the country and the world. If the proposition passes, it will set gay rights back literally by 5-10 years.

Please consider donating to these organizations. Even if you can just donate $25, it can make the difference in one voter's vote. Here are several ways to donate:

EQUALITY CALIFORNIA
Running TV and radio ads against Prop 8. All donations made by Oct. 19 at midnight are doubled.

REPUBLICANS AGAINST 8
Log Cabin Republicans created an organization specifically to rally Republicans to vote against the marriage ban.

NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS
NCLR has been at the forefront of this fight, helping to lead the legal battle that created the court case legalizing same-sex marriage. They are part of a group of orgs fighting the ban.

No on Prop 8 vids

Here is some encouragement from me and a bunch of other people to not only vote NO on Prop 8 in California, but also to give money wherever possible. It would really, really suck to have marriage rights in California stripped away, and this is the most important fight yet in the short history of gay rights.

Republicans against Prop 8

Log Cabin Republicans have created an organization called Republicans Against 8 to rally Republican voters against the California Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. Though Democrats dominate the voter registration in California, many of them will be voting for the ban, so it will take Republican voters to defeat the ban. Luckily, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also opposes the ban. The group has created a video now available on YouTube.

Patricia Nell Warren for City Council

The Front Runner author Patricia Nell Warren has declared her candidacy for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council, and I encourage all of you to support her with a donation.

I have known Patricia for at least five years. In that time I have found her to be caring, funny, intelligent, incredibly well-read and an independent thinker. If you lined up my political beliefs and hers, they would probably be at polar opposites from top to bottom. But, if you measured our core values - a love of individual freedom, a passion to help people, a yearning to do good work in this world - then we would be very similar.

I am fiercely supporting her not for her political beliefs but for who she is. She has so much integrity and so much determination. Plus, in The Front Runner and so many other writings and appearances, she has given gay people all around the world so much. The opportunity to have her as an elected official of the world's largest "gay city" would be an incredible gift.

I urge you to support her with your donations and your word of mouth. You can find a statement by Patricia and information on donating to her after the jump.>>

Historic Choices

If I was a national leader, I would love to have the choice that faces California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger after the state legislature passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.

Tough choices make great leaders. It's one of the things that I think will forever undermine Bill Clinton's historic legacy: he never had to make any really tough choices. No war. No recession or depression. The toughest domestic-policy choices he had to make - to put gays in the military or sign DOMA - he made political choices that had nothing to do with his ideals.

Now Schwarzenegger is going to get to decide whether he will sign or veto the historic, first-of-its-kind, bill. While I'm a fan of him, I'm betting that he will veto it. It's tough making historic choices. If he vetos the bill, he's just doing what most Americans would do. If he signs it, he will be a party of history, while royally pissing off his base. And, given his popularity in California, he needs his base.

Or so he thinks. Whether they like it or not, people almost always respond positively to a strong leader who makes strong decisions. Sure, lots of conservatives in California will be pissed. But, the majority of Californians will recognize Schwarzenegger's historic decision and regard him highly for it.

Right now, the governor is saying that he thinks it's up to the courts (which is funny, since most Republicans are saying it's up to them). This is a ridiculous argument. If a bill is in front of you, you either sign it or veto it based on its merits, not whether you want the courts to decide it or not. If he cops this plea, he will be bitch-slapped in the polls and on this blog.

The choice for him now is to stand up for the rights of the minority or be swung by the majority. It's a choice that dates back to the crafting of the U.S. Consititution. I know the choice I'd make - history calls.