Friday November 7, 2008
Same-sex couples react to passage of Proposition 8
by stacey palevsky & amanda pazornik
staff writers
http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/36461/format/html/displaystory.htmlAfter months of fighting for equality, same-sex couples lost the battle Nov. 4, with a majority of California voters denying them the right to marriage.
"Gays, lesbians and their families are feeling more vulnerable to the hateful prejudice and phobia that continues to determine our fate," said Rabbi Camille Angel of Congregation Sha'ar Zahav in San Francisco.
Roughly 52 percent of California voters favored Proposition 8, a ballot measure that amends the state constitution to say only marriage between a man and a woman is valid. The action overturns the state Supreme Court decision that gave gay couples the right to wed just months ago.
"It's an excrutiating reminder that homophobia still exists," Angel said. "On the same day we finally see a victory for [Barack] Obama and the dignity it brings to the African American community, Californians' rights are denied."
