Although California passed Proposition 22 which bans gay marriages in that state and denies legal recognition of marriages performed in other states by 61 percent or 4,148,330 votes to 39 percent or 2,617,004 votes, battle lines are drawn. According to a recent Wall Street Journal survey, the majority of Americans believe same-sex marriage will be legal in their lifetime. There are 160 pieces of legislation in the 50 state legislatures that enhance gay civil rights. Another 50 deemed anti-gay, according to the Southern Political Report.

Nearly every statewide elected official in California, including Governor Gray Davis and Senators Boxer and Feinstein, as well as major national leaders such as President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Coretta Scott King, and United Farm Workers leader Dolores Huerta were against the proposition.

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and San Diego Mayor Susan Golding were also publicly opposed. Virtually all of California’s major daily newspapers were against the measure.

Sponsored by Republican state senator Pete Knight, his gay son, David, worked against the measure. "It’s not unusual for Religious Right leaders to have gay children. Heck, everyone has a gay or lesbian family member or friend. Whether or not that is recognized is a different story," points out one local activist. "Since they think homosexuality is bad, religious zealots feel compelled to introduce ‘cleansing legislation,’ as if they’re really dealing with their own issues — not ours. We generally like ourselves just the way we are," she says.

The Roman Catholic Church rails against homosexuality while its priests die from AIDS at a rate four times higher than the rest of the population. Rev. Jerry Falwell’s nephew appears on the cover of the Advocate to refute his uncle’s gay-negative message. Phyllis Shaffley’s gay son is embarrassed by her actions. Gary Bauer looks as if he needs a good laxative. Dr. Laura spews hatred and intolerance and is rewarded by Capitalist structures for making a "good demographic" on the media airwaves. Gay rights are still fodder for the cannons of hate.

"No on Knight" Campaign Manager Mike Marshall said that passage of the anti-gay measure "is a disappointment, but it is not a defeat. It’s a beginning, not an end." Knight said, "It’s clear Californians do not define marriage as between to men." Supporters of the measure spent $8 million while opponents spent $5.5 million.

"This is a setback. But there’s no turning back," said National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Kerry Lobel. "The movement toward equality is both incremental and inevitable. Like any social justice movement, however, we will suffer defeats along the way."

The defeat comes following a victory. Arousing the Religious Right’s interest was California Assemblywoman Carole Migden’s Assembly Bill 26 that Governor Gray Davis signed into law January 1, 2000. The law made California only the second state in the union to recognize same sex relationships legally. Proposition 22 was placed on the ballot in opposition to that existing law.

Similar ballot measures passed in Alaska and Hawaii in 1998, and signatures are being gathered in Colorado and Nevada. The West Virginia Legislature voted 96-3 last week (Saturday, March 11) to ban homosexual marriage and to prohibit recognition of ceremonies performed in other states. Introduced by Gov. Cecil Underwood, he is expected to sign the measure into law.

"The defeat was painful, but the organizing and educational efforts that resulted from the campaign have laid a rock-solid foundation for our future," Human Rights Campaign executive director Elizabeth Birch said.

What does the future hold for gay and lesbian taxpayers seeking marriage?

California will organize a massive statewide effort to register 50,000 domestic partner relationships in the year 2000. Rev. Elder Troy D. Perry, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches founder, said that starting March 12, every MCC in California would participate in an unprecedented effort to recognize and validate the relationships of lesbians and gay men.

Coordinated with California’s June 24 Pride Celebration, an event known as "ReUnion 2000" will register domestic partners at every Pride celebration held in the state. "The scope of what we are planning has never been attempted ever before," said Jeff Sheehy, affiliated with the event.

In the wake of Proposition 22’s passage, the Millennium March on Washington (MMOW) vowed to organize the world’s largest same-gender marriage demonstration for April 29, the day preceding the nation’s fourth national march for gay and lesbian rights. "The fight for equal marriage rights is far from over. We will not back down on this issue," said Dianne Hardy-Garcia, executive director of the Millennium March. "Our community deserves and demands protections for our relationships at all levels."

Hundreds of couples and supporters from California’s "ReUnion 2000" are expected to participate in the April 29 wedding ceremony to be held in front of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Building. One individual’s reaction notes the poignancy of holding the ceremony outside of the IRS. "They’ll accept my taxes to raise somebody else’s kids, but they won’t let me protect my partner," Nelson Smith, 74, told the Associated Press. He has been in a gay relationship for 29 years.

Other activists called for more radical efforts.

Eric Rofes, San Francisco author and activist, called for direct action and civil disobedience. He proposes that gay and lesbian individuals should refuse to attend mixed-sex marriages. Why attend "an event in which you are legally not permitted to participate?"

Rofes isn’t sure a mass wedding at national events is enough. "The time may be right for the kind of carefully crafted actions that demonstrate a new level of serious intent about this issue and place same-sex marriage in the public eye in a compelling and confrontational manner. We soon may see national networks of activists plotting massive civil disobedience actions focused on undercutting key points-of-access to the institution of marriage," he warns. Another activist observer relied on Martin Luther King, Jr. for solace — "The arc of the moral universe is long but it eventually bends toward Justice."