Nov 07, 2008  |  By: KEVIN NAFF  | COMMENTS     

WHERE WERE YOU on Nov. 4, 2008? That’s surely a question that many of us eventually will be asked by those too young to remember the historic events of this week.

The idea of voters choosing a black president is something that many older Americans never considered a possibility in their lifetimes and one that I, too, would have said was impossible after the outcome of the 2000 and 2004 races.

It’s not often that you get to witness history. Yet that’s exactly what happened Tuesday night. A record number of voters turned out and a majority of them looked past race and even party to send Barack Obama to the White House after a two-year quest built on promises of change.

But the elation felt by Obama’s many gay supporters (at least 70 percent of gay voters backed him according to early exit polls) is tempered by the news that anti-gay marriage amendments passed in Arizona and Florida; Arkansas voters approved a ban on gays serving as foster parents and adopting children; and California’s Proposition 8 appeared destined to pass (votes were still being counted at Blade press time).

While we celebrate a new era in which black children can grow up knowing that anything is possible for them, gay youth face a more sobering reality: that many Americans view them as second-class citizens undeserving of basic rights and protections under the law.

Anti-gay prejudice remains rooted in religion. The Mormon Church led the fundraising drive that appears to have pushed Prop 8 over the top. The bulk of the $32 million raised by “Yes on 8” supporters came from Mormon donors. Religious leaders and local pastors preached in favor of the marriage ban from the pulpit. And an overwhelming number of black voters — about 70 percent according to early exit polls — supported the ban, many no doubt influenced by anti-gay teachings so common in many black churches.

HOW IRONIC AND sad that those who profess to be religious would devote such energy and so much money to stripping fellow citizens of their rights. The more than $20 million sent in by Mormons could have been spent to feed the hungry; instead it went to propagate discrimination. Perhaps we should expect nothing less from a group of cultish people who worship a charlatan like Joseph Smith — a polygamist and failed treasure hunter who believed that Jesus visited with Native Americans.

It’s impossible to reason with delusional and irrational fanatics like Mormons, but we must engage with more open-minded “people of faith,” particularly in the black church. Many prominent black leaders, including even Julian Bond and Al Sharpton, have embraced same-sex marriage rights.
Unfortunately, that support hasn’t penetrated the formidable cultural force of the black church. There is much work ahead and, to steal a line from a gospel song, “We shall not be moved.”

Gay rights advocates will fight on, with new opportunities to win marriage rights in New York and New Jersey. The impact of Prop 8 on D.C. remains unclear, but it’s certainly not good news. Sources have told the Blade that they expect one or more City Council members to introduce a marriage bill in early 2009. But the outcome in California will cause politicians and activists to rethink things. Sure, a marriage bill would pass the Council and Mayor Fenty would sign it. But could such a measure survive a ballot initiative like Prop 8 if opponents pumped tens of millions of dollars into negative ads?

DESPITE THOSE SETBACKS, Election Day 2008 will be remembered as a historic night when America elected its first black president, and gays are right to join in the celebration.

Throughout his brilliantly run campaign, Obama included gays in his stump speeches. His deputy campaign manager is gay, as are several other key advisers. He has been accessible to the gay press. He supports all key gay rights legislation pending in Congress, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which passed the House exactly one year ago today and remains stalled in the Senate. He owes the religious right no favors. Obama is not quite there yet on same-sex marriage, but give him a little time. After all, he supports civil unions, federal recognition of same-sex couples’ rights and a full DOMA repeal.

Of course, LGBT people have learned to be skeptical when it comes to politicians supporting us post-election. From Bill Clinton, who signed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act, to John Kerry, who four years ago ...