Harrisburg Protest Against Proposition 8
Gay Rights Organizations Come Together to Voice their Disapproval
Dec 1, 2008
On Sunday, November 23, 2008, Susquehanna University's GSA (Gender Sexuality Alliance) joined forces with the Central PA LGBT Center Coalition to organize a protest against proposition 8 (which bans same-sex marriage). The protest took place on the steps of the Harrisburg Capital Building, from 1:00 pm-3:00 pm. Many sported rainbow colors and held signs saying “Stop the H8,” “When do I get to vote on YOUR marriage?” and “Prop 8 is destroying families.”
Why Gay-Rights Advocates Protested Proposition 8
The heat against proposition 8 stems from same-sex couples feeling unequal to opposite-sex couples in cultural recognition as well as legal recognition. Dale Carpenter, a professor at University of Minnesota Law School, describes the problem of social non-recognition in his article “Marriage is More than a Civil Union.” He argues that words “are the way we frame and experience our lives. They reflect and reinforce what we think of others and what others think of us.” Thus, the social difference between the words “marriage” and “civil union” is not merely “semantic,” breeding an inherent discrimination in people’s minds.
Apart from social non-recognition, protestors are angered by the fact that civil unions are not granted by the federal government, but civil marriages are. The Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1996, allows each state to decide how it will recognize same-sex couples. Thus, while one state might have equal rights for civil unions and civil marriages, another state might give civil unions some rights but not others, and another still could ban civil unions altogether.
Join the Impact
The Susquehanna GSA and the Central PA LGBT Center Coalition have started an online community called Join the Impact. They are hoping that they will get more participation through the community. A representative from the coalition remarked, “Our problem is that we are so scattered and poorly organized. We really need to step up and join forces with each other to get strength in numbers. If we stay in our small groups we will never accomplish anything.” The coalition also made facebook event for the Harrisburg protest, gaining more college student-turnout.
Join the Impact has many events lined up for the future, including a candlelight vigil on December 20, and a protest against the Defense of Marriage Act on January 10, 2009. Those involved in Join the Impact ask that all supporters tell their friends about the community website and get involved in the events they host.
