Gavin Newsom Is A National Hero

To paraphrase another scalawag, frankly I don't give a damn if he's been an unpopular mayor amongst some denizens of SF, and I don't care that he has made some personally dishonorable mistakes, involving both his wife and his friends. No human being is perfect and politicians are no exception to the rule.

What I do care about is that, as a public servant, he instigated a boldly courageous public act, a brilliant moment of civil disobedience, starkly broadcast into homes in Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky and Hawaii. He attended Bush's State of the Union and got so angry about the so called "marriage amendment" to the constitution, that he went back to his city and proceeded to do something spectacularly wonderful for humankind.

Couples that had been together for thirty years, young people in the early, fresh stages of love, were able to affirm their vows to each other in a civil marriage ceremony, fully equal and legal in the eyes of their home city. And, in that single stroke, Newsom electrified the issue and delivered the uncompromising message to America: gays and lesbians are not going to live their lives in this country as second class citizens. Human rights are black and white. There is no grey where equality is concerned.

Whatever Newsom's faults and flaws, and there are many, in that moment, he cemented his place in the history of humankind as a hero, someone who had the simple courage to stand up, when it was much easier, and much more comfortable, to stay seated.

Thank you, Gavin Newsom. You have my unending gratitude.

From the SF Chronicle:

For Newsom, same-sex marriage ruling is vindication

"San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had barely been on the job a month back in 2004 when he ordered the city to issue marriages licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Thousands of same-sex partners flocked to City Hall to exchange vows. For four weeks, a steady stream of ceremonies stretched into the night, and lines of eager couples wrapped around the block.

And as quickly as the couples could say, "I do," the scene of women marrying women and men marrying men triggered a nationwide uproar. Proponents called the move bold. Opponents called it defiant and blatantly illegal. People on both sides said he had single-handedly cost Democrats the White House.

But after more than 4,000 same-sex marriage licenses (which ultimately were ruled invalid) and four years, the Republican majority on California's Supreme Court handed Newsom his vindication.

"As California goes," Newsom told hundreds of cheering supporters, "so goes the nation."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/15/MNDR10N3IC.DTL

It will be fascinating to watch as equal marriage plays out in the rest of the country over the coming years. I'm sure that at one time in the Netherlands and Belgium, they never fathomed that same-sex couples would be able to marry.
You can't deny equality forever. Eventually, it finds its way.