News Team Boulder

Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: News

Many members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community are optimistic for the future with Barack Obama in office. But on the same day he was elected, the people of California voted to pass Proposition 8, reversing a decision made by the state's Supreme Court that had legalized same-sex marriage.

The passing of Proposition 8 caused uproar in many communities all around the world, and Boulder was no exception. Hundreds of people, including Dave Ensign and Mike Mills, gathered Saturday in front of the courthouse on Pearl Street to protest.

Ensign and Mills have been together for nine years. They were married in Massachusetts in 2005 when the state became the first in the nation to recognize same-sex marriage. But their union isn't recognized here in Colorado.

"It's really offensive that our rights are being held up for popular vote," Mills said. "So we need to change public opinion and we need to put pressure on legislators." Following the elections, that pressure seems widespread. Proposition 8 protests took place in more than 300 cities in all 50 states, plus ten countries worldwide.

"I certainly believe that that's what our representative government is in place to do, is to help protect people's rights without having to necessarily put them up to the test of the tyranny of the majority," Ensign said.

Many of Boulder's GLBT advocates share the same opinions as Ensign and Mills, but there was much more behind the rally. It's not just about the proposition and inequality in California. It's part of a larger movement to secure the equal rights for the GLBT community. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Participants believe the protest was important because of the visible, public statement it made. But it will take a continued effort for the equal rights of same-sex couples to be fully recognized, believes Kirsten Spielmann, the program director of the Boulder Pride Program. "Social change doesn't just come about by people just showing up at a rally," she said. "That's wonderful for a show of solidarity, but it actually takes a sustained commitment and people giving their time to the cause."

Yet Ensign and Mills are very optimistic that this social change will come about sooner rather than later. "It's moving so fast right now; you can't say where it's going to be in four years or eight years, but I think there's going to be a lot of improvement," Mills said.


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