Civil rights...

As a Straight Catholic man, Husband and Father I would like to express to all gay and lesbian citizens of this country my deep sorrow over the setbacks to your civil rights in this election. And I would like to express to all Americans that we cannot tolerate discrimination of any sort in the United States.

With Floridians, Arizonans and, sadly, Californians voting to ban gay marriage, and the people of Arkansas voting to ban gay adoption, we’ve received painful news not just for homosexual Americans, but for all Americans. I would think that these setbacks are particularly painful given that many homosexual activists, from bloggers to campaign staffers to volunteers, gave their all for the victory of President-Elect Obama. As many newspapers at home and abroad speak of turning the page on discrimination, it’s clear that that’s not the case. We still have a long way to go before all our citizens have the rights they deserve, and even further to go before institutional discrimination in the workplace, real estate sales, and other sectors of public and private life is erased.

If it is any consolation, I believe that gay people are winning the cultural war - and though that did not translate into success at the ballot box yesterday, it will one day soon. In America, the struggle for the enfranchisement of every adult citizen and the granting of full civil rights to all citizens regardless of their race, sex, gender, religion, or sexual orientation has tended to flow in one direction - toward that of an open and democratic society - though not without major tragedies along the way.

With the expression of gay identity becoming more acceptable in films, songs, nightlife, and even high schools, I believe it is only a matter of time before a sea change occurs. Young people, even young evangelicals from what I’ve heard now several times, have a fundamentally different attitude toward homosexuality than previous generations. If this election marks the beginning of our political come-up, then let a major part of that come-up be the quest to remove this national shame from our collective identity and collective conscience by striking down discriminatory laws, initiatives, and politicians.

Because victory in the cultural struggle is clearly not enough. We need victory at the ballot box as well, and the best way to achieve that, in my opinion, is by stating now - as voters, as partisans, as Americans - that discrimination and equivocation on the issue of gay rights are unacceptable. We are past the point where we can tolerate politicians who propose one set of rights for one set of citizens, and a different set of rights for another group of citizens, and justify it based on electoral caution. We must not equivocate on issues of basic human rights, and we must not allow our leaders to do so either.

I repeat that this moment is one of deep sorrow, but I will also say that for me, and doubtless for others, it comes as a wake-up call. I had faith that California would reject discrimination. Clearly there is work to do, and it’s not just the priority of one group - it must be a priority of all Americans, because where we stand on discrimination of any type determines in large measure the legacy we pass on to our children and to history.