L-R: Assassinated San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who became Mayor of San Francisco following their murders.

With the election mere weeks away and with California’s Proposition 8 slightly ahead in the polls, it’s time to call on our friends to walk-the-walk and speak out against the radical religious right’s attempt to eliminate marriage equality in California. Lane Hudson, writing at Huffington Post, has published a powerful letter to California Senator Dianne Feinstein urging her to reaffirm her support for our community by raising her voice against Proposition 8:

Open Letter to Sen. Feinstein

Senator Feinstein:

In the current edition of Out Magazine, there is a feature by Michael Joseph Gross on his experience on the set of MILK and his interaction with the actors portraying the characters in the film. There is one paragraph that stood out HUGELY to me:

Milk was the Barack Obama of his time and place. When he ran for the board of supervisors, Milk made grand promises to heal deep social tensions in his city. At his swearing-in, he said, “A true function of politics is not just to pass laws, but to give hope.” Dianne Feinstein, then president of the board, responded, “Hope is fine, but you can’t live on hope.”

That pessimism seems to still be a large factor in your leadership style, even when it is desperately needed. At a time when Prop 8 hangs in the balance and threatens to deal an enormous setback to the fight for equality for the LGBT community, politicians have been silent for far too long. One of those politicians is you.

Your statement opposing Prop 8 is insufficient and borders on disrespect to our community. You announced the murder of Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone to the world from the steps of San Francisco City Hall. You have not only seen first-hand the horror that results from discrimination, but have had to deal with its aftermath.

That you have not joined with the campaign to actively and vocally oppose this awful assault on civil equality is shameful. At a time when a film about Harvey Milk is about to be released to the widest audience ever and is generating a significant amount of Oscar buzz, I hope you will find it within your soul to actively join the fight to defeat Prop 8.

Your political career was catapulted by the death of one of our icons and heroes. It’s time you honored Harvey Milk and your own place in history by giving voice to what he would say about Prop 8 if he were not savagely taken from us that fateful day in 1978. Paraphrasing your own words, we can’t just hope Prop 8 won’t pass….we need ‘all hands on deck’ to defeat it, including you.

Humbly submitted with Hope and Respect,

Lane Hudson

(Emphasis: Lane Hudson)

Several months ago, to their credit, both Senator Feinstein and California’s other US Senator, Barbara Boxer, issued statements against Proposition 8:

Senator Feinstein:

Proposition 8 would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. I oppose it as a matter of equality and fairness. 

The right to marry is fundamental. It provides social stability, economic equality, and the ability to make decisions for a spouse in a time of crisis. 

If Proposition 8 were to pass, not only would it eliminate the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples, but it would also create a complicated legal quagmire for those who have exercised this right under the California Constitution, as adjudicated by the Supreme Court of the State. 
The views of Californians on this issue have changed over time, and as a State, I believe we should uphold the ability of our friends, neighbors, and co-workers who are gay and lesbian to enter into the contract of marriage. 

I urge Californians to oppose Proposition 8.

Senator Boxer:

The fact that two people of the same gender care about each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together, that doesn’t threaten my marriage one bit, and if anyone says that their marriage is threatened by that, there is something wrong with their marriage.

As Election Day nears, with an Obama victory all but assured in California, we need them to once again speak out against this misguided and hateful amendment to the California State Constitution. Please take a few minutes of your time to contact them and ask them to publicly and strongly reiterate their positions that Proposition 8 is wrong for California. 

Contact information for both California Senators:

Senator Dianne Feinstein

Website: feinstein.senate.gov

Washington, D.C. Office:
331 Hart Senate Office Building,
District of Columbia 20510-0504
Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954

San Francisco Office:
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, California 94104
Phone: (415) 393-0707
Fax: (415) 393-0710

Senator Barbara Boxer

Website: boxer.senate.gov

Washington, D.C. Office:
112 Hart Senate Office Building,
District of Columbia 20510-0505
Phone: (202) 224-3553
Fax: (202) 224-0454

San Francisco Office:
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, California 94111
Phone: (415) 403-0100
Fax: (202) 224-0454

Note: An online contact form can be found at both Senator’s websites, but a telephone call or a personal letter would be far more convincing.

Tags: Prop 8, Queer Rights, The Left, The Right, TheoFascism

This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 10:48 am and is filed under People, Politics, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.