Battle to reverse Prop 8 begins

LGBT groups have begun efforts to put a repeal of Proposition 8 on the 2010 ballot.

Prop 8, passed by voters in November, bars same-sex marriage in California. The constitutionality of the measure will be taken up by the state Supreme Court in 2009, but LGBT groups say they are taking no chances on how the court will rule and have begun making plans for a ballot measure that would reverse the ban.

One group announced Wednesday that it will air five 30-second commercials to run throughout Inauguration Week in January.

The group, GetToKnowMeFirst.org, said the spots will run in both urban and rural markets throughout California. They are currently being previewed on the group’s Web site.
“It’s important that our fellow Californians see the faces of the real families that are directly affected by the passage of Proposition 8,” said John Ireland, the group’s organizer.

One of the spots in the campaign will feature Sonia and Gina, a couple who are raising a son and daughter, ages 6 and 3.

“Don’t take my family’s rights away. Get to know me first,” Sonia says in the ad. “Our families may look different from yours, but we’re not. We need the same things… like marriage… so we can protect and provide for our kids.”

Another spot will feature Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, two of the original plaintiffs in the marriage lawsuit that led the California Supreme Court to legalize marriage for same-sex couples in May 2008. That ruling was overturned by the passage of Proposition 8 in November.
Two of the ads will also be in Spanish. One profiles a Latina couple and the other profiles a family with triplets, headed by two men.

The spots were financed and produced by Power Up, an award-winning LGBT cinema incubator based in Los Angeles.

The final results of the November election were certified this week, showing that Prop 8 won by 599,602 votes. The results showed that the 52-48 percentage point spread held from early results on election night. It was approved in 43 of the state’s 58 counties.

Meanwhile, in another development, the American Civil Liberties Union has blasted a high school for ordering a 16- year-old student to remove a T-shirt opposing Prop 8 the day before the election.

The T-shirt that Mariah Jimenez wore to class at Big Bear High School on Nov 3 said ”Prop. 8 Equals Hate.”

A teacher ordered her to remove the T-shirt. When Jimenez refused she was sent to principal Michael Ghelber’s office.

The ACLU said that Ghelber told the student to either remove the T- shirt or remain in his office.

Jimenez reluctantly changed shirts and returned to class.

The ACLU in a letter to schools superintendent Carole Ferraud said that Jimenez’s federal and state constitutional rights of free speech had been violated.

The letter said that Jimenez deserves an apology. Ferraud had not responded by Wednesday morning.