Many have teased me about calling my column The Oracle. An Oracle is a person who gives wise or authoritative decisions or opinions, which are often prophetic. Well this article I wrote for GLTNewsNow.com in January explains why I chose the moniker for my column, what I opined was proven by the last week’s Prop 8 decision.

As my partner and I enjoy our vacation in Cabo, I am able to take the time to just think. I, like many of you, am interested in the goings on at the Prop 8 trial. Rather than give the play by play that is done so well by journalists Lisa Keen and Karen Ocamb, I want to convey that the trial has made me come to the conclusion that the courts and the state legislatures are our only hope for equality in the short term.

Everyone is excited about the federal court proceedings in San Francisco concerning the gay and lesbian marriage equality issue. Of course, it was the courts that gave California gays and lesbians the right to marry in the first place. So the hope is that the federal courts will strike down Proposition 8, which discriminates against gays and lesbians, as well as may be unconstitutional; regardless of what California voters think.

What is really interesting is the only way that gays and lesbians have achieved marriage equality across the nation is through the courts or state legislatures. That begs the question, should we stop trying to fight ballot referendums and simply concentrate our efforts on court battles, as well as lobbying state and federal legislators? It seems to me, the simple answer may be yes. Don’t fight the referendums and ballot initiatives of the National Organization for Marriage or other anti-marriage groups, let them spew their hateful, bigoted spiel to the voters. Let the voters codify discrimination, then appeal to the courts. Let knowledgeable jurists decide whether the constituion should allow gays and lesbians to codify their relationships or whether we deserve equal protection under the law. Sure, the courts have gotten it wrong before, but legislators corrected it. Just look at the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which corrected the wrongs of Jim Crow and the remaining injustices of the Supreme Court ruling in Plessy vs. Ferguson.

What should be noted is the American people have never given extended rights to a minority group, ever. I mean the Americn voter has said no to the Equal Rights Amendment that would have benefited more than half of the electorate. What does that say about putting civil rights up to a vote? So, why should LGBT civil rights be any different and why do we expect a different result? The LGBT community should use the institutions and systems that have helped other groups move toward equality; the courts and legislators. When it comes to our civil rights, we should stay far away from the American voter. l