California Dreams ... just for some

We are in November of the year 2008, and presently only Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, South Africa and Spain recognize Same-sex marriage. I also must mention that Norway will be the next country to join this exclusive club on January 1, 2009. Then we have the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts, in the United States, that have moved away from the rest of the nation by also recognizing Same-sex marriages.

I was in the United States when millions of Americans went to the polls, and by the end of the day, Americans had moved their country forward in such a way that the whole world felt proud of their accomplishment.

How come a country that elected George Bush twice to the presidency, was able to turn around and elect the first Afro-American man to the same post? Now, not even the French can claim to be superior to the Americans, because I don't foresee a black man or black woman being elected over there anytime soon. If you are reading this from France, please understand I'm not trying to insult your people, I love French and I speak French.

Some of my direct family members live in the United States, and by 11:00pm EST, when the votes from the west coast were added on, Barack Obama, the son of a black man and a white woman - two people which I believe couldn't get married in the United States up to 1967, because a marriage between coloured and white people were prohibited by law - was declared the winner of one of the longest elections in American history. I felt happy for my family, because they live in a country that had just demonstrated to the world that anything is possible in their nation.

Anything is possible? Yes, Californians turned around, and they not only helped to elect Barack Obama, but also passed the Proposition 8, prohibiting Same-sex marriage which had been legalized in May 2008. I understand other states also made Same-sex marriages illegal on the same day, but we are talking about California here people, one of the most forward States of the American nation - they are located in the west coast, not in the Bible belt. What happened to you California?

As a Latino, I feel sad to see that the majority of the Latino voters voted Yes to the Proposition 8. People that for the longest time have tried to be accepted as they are in the American nation, have just helped to take the rights away from one part of the Californian society.

God bless America. but we all know Deus é brasileiro, e como eu adoro meu Canada. My apologies for my rant, but I had to get this out of my chest. Now some humour for you:


Proposition 8 Protests - Dan Savage


and please New York, it is time for you to take the lead in this matter, or have you already forgotten of Stonewall, the beginning of the gay rights movement?