If you ever took 5 minutes out of your life to watch something important with a clear and sound message, now’s the time.

An historic event has taken place, the overhwelming landslide election of the country’s first African-American President, President-elect Barack Obama.  It’s painful and disheartening that in the face of such an important and life changing event is coincident with the injustice and bigotry written into California’s state constitution with the passage of Proposition 8.

For those who are unaware, Proposition 8 has removed my rights as a gay man to marry Brian, a meber of the same-sex.  The proposition has passed by fewer than 500,000 votes out of over 10 million votes counted (less than 2.5% win).

A twitter user I follow (@digitalkitty) posted this “cbs is reporting that prop 8 was swung by the raise in african american voters, 70 percent of whom voted yes.”  I responded with “it’s always been disappointing to me that African American citizens don’t draw parallels to the discrimination against gays.”

An African-American twitter user (@sistory) responded directly to me

“that a big can of worms you open right there.  why must there be a comparison to the discrimination of gays and african americans”

I responded to her:

“It doesn’t have to be.  We can disucss the differences AND the similarities and perhaps understand one another better.  There are similar circumstances.  Civil unions are “seperate but equal”.  I wouldn’t presume to say gays face all the same issues.”

I read more of her posts and don’t believe that she is among those who would have voted in favor of Proposition 8; however exit polls did show that African-Americans voted 2 to 1 in favor of banning marriage for gays (Yes on 8).  Here is an interesting article from a friend I work with: Proposition 8 vs. black homophobia .  There is a great quote by the African-American author of that article where she says:

Sadly, some African-Americans believe that it is only we who should benefit from the gains achieved by the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. They fear that to allow the gay community to enter the doors of opportunity opened by our struggle, to permit gays and lesbians to share in the fruits of that movement, will diminish those benefits for the black community. Truth is, there is more than enough to go around.

@Sistory in later tweets has suggested that if gays wanted to obtain more support that they should focus on comparing the Loving laws or Interracial marriage to the current battle for same-sex marriage.  And while I agree that there certainly are merrits to that argument, the fact remains that gay rights extends well beyond the issue of marriage.  (this is where she would tell me to narrow the argument and don’t bite off more than I can chew).

More later…