Prop 8 is overturned. Activists and progressives who are concerned with equality and justice just exhaled the biggest rainbow-colored breath. I have written about this divisive and ugly proposition and the following protest (one of the many).

So how cool is this news on this blogger’s 48th birthday: Proposition 8, the horrible and neurotic (Who cares who marries whom?) law prohibiting Gay marriage was overturned today, Wednesday, August 4th, 2010.

In other words, by “Memorandum Order of Judge Vaughn Walker Declaring California’s Proposition 8 Unconstitutional.”

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What’s massively cool is that Judge Walker is himself Gay. Opponents will certainly look at that fact as an issue in his ruling, but I think it’s fitting that someone who’s life would be altered by Prop 8 has the chance to rule on its constitutionality. [Read more.]

I’m sure the fact that the judge is gay will come up again. And again.

I find this to be an important issue for many reasons. It’s important for not only members of the GLBT community but also atheists as well as – simply and shortly put – caring human beings. It’s each small victory, lined up, one by one. Unfortunately, it’s still a very slow process to equality but some goals are gradually being met. Next on the docket: Getting open atheists elected for public office. Eesh, that’ll be a tough one.

Read the specifics about the Prop 8 ruling. View the rest of the Prop 8 protest photos from May 2009.

Vjack writes an important and moving post concerning the implications for atheists from the Proposition 8 California Supreme Court Ruling.

Proposition 8 should be a nightmare scenario for any atheist because it shows us that well-funded religious groups can essentially mold the law to enforce their bigotry. They believed that same-sex marriage is immoral on the basis of their religion, and they effectively banned it.

History provides numerous examples of where privileged Christians have legislated their view of morality. Whether we think of prohibition, anti-miscegenation laws, or efforts to censor certain forms of music in the 1980s and 1990s, we see a common theme emerging. These groups want to force their religion on others through theocratic means. They threaten everything that makes America worthwhile.

We have recently learned that at least one high-profile Christian extremist opposes marriage between atheists and Christians. Who is to say that this will not be the next measure to appear on the ballot? And who is to say that they might not achieve their desired outcome by pouring enough money into it?

Perhaps having a ballot measure that opposes an atheist and a theist is a bit dramatic, but its a fair implication. The fact that the Christian majority continues to impose it’s Church into our State can be scary. Will it get worse before it gets better?

Vjack is (especially) right on target here:

I have recently grown frustrated with some heterosexual atheists talking about how they oppose Proposition 8 as some sort of gift to their gay friends even though it is “irrelevant” to them. If you are truly convinced that gay rights is irrelevant to those of us who are not gay, then I’m not sure why you would expect anyone to give a damn about our rights as atheists. How can the civil rights of any group be irrelevant?

This reminds me of a postcard I got from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (in D.C.) that hit me hard then (at age 17) and still strikes the same chord:

The moment I read this phrase, something stuck. The desire for equal rights was already in me but it deepened the need to fight for equal civil rights, consideration, and respect. Sure this phrase speaks to a much larger event that some may argue nothing can never be compared to (even though there have been – sadly – countless genocides), but I’m not writing to scale.

All in all, if you care at all (for your gay friends, in this case), then it also matters to you. I see this as a personal issue, though it doesn’t affect me personally. This is about equality across the board, not just some issue for someone else to worry about. This is what happens when Church nuzzles up to State. Church does not mix well with State; it’s not chocolate and peanut butter!

(Don’t mind the misspelling…separate is not equal either ;) )

[View Slideshow in Full Screen]

[View Entire Photo Set]

EDIT: See more photos at Eric’s site.

And I speak from experience. My grandmother (who would never read this blog*), is vehemently opposed to same-sex anything. Being a Jew, you’d think she’d see the hypocrisy, but according to anyone in the right wing, sexuality is a choice. (I find it sad that, with this assertion, not a single homophobic person has yet to tell me when s/he chose to be straight.)

She came down on my hubby and I after she saw my Prop 8 photoset on Flickr, I can only assume. Why she is so angrily opposed to anything gay, bi, or trans, I will never fully understand. Simply put, I cannot comprehend why someone would care so much to be against any group. There’s usually an underlying issue. But I digress.

Which brings me back to religion. And why its not always religion, but sometimes it’s old fashioned bigotry. My family isn’t very religious. They consider themselves Jews and believer in varying versions of higher powers, but they are and have always been rather reform. My parents are pro gay marriage; however they’re not going to be fighting in the streets for it. Nonetheless, they don’t see this manufactured threat (and they lean Republican but consider themselves Independent). My grandma is also a staunch never-gonna-change-me Republican who will defend every right wing nutbag, even when brimming full of anti-Semitic discourse… go figure! I don’t know where this anti-gay stance stems from; I have no clue but I gather she felt this way before Fox News. I always used to think she was very understanding one, as we often do with grandmothers, but that’s not always the case.

There may be an influence from the religious right’s agenda, but there’s also plain ol’ bigotry. The über-religious clan have their anti-same-sex marriage reasons wedged in (obviously) religion. In many cases, it simply bigotry in disguise, using religion as a deflector. Sometimes understanding, caring individuals have been so warped by religion that it can cause bigotry. And some people just don’t care about equal rights….until, of course, it effects them.

And here I was thinking there was a separation of church and state… Sigh…

Being that this must be overturned (and will be in due time) for a bevy of reasons, I’ll be protesting this evening. Will you be?

*I do have links from other sites (that my grandmother is aware of), so it wouldn’t be difficult for her to find this. But she has seemed to not want to know about my atheism or progressive nature, so she avoids those parts of me. :( In any case, if she does see this Grandma, I love you, but I do not feel I have misrepresented your views. And you already know how I feel.

Dripping with sex and violence? Humanist professor and a sexy dominatrix? Showing random people what atheism is really about? Hell yeah, I thought, I’ll read it! I had nothing else to do this Sunday, anyway.

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I really wanted to be nice to this book, I really did. I was all ready to give it a chance and write up an honest review to help this guy out. Well, this review will be honest, but not what he was looking for. This has to be one of the worst books I’ve ever read. At first, I thought may it would get better if I kept reading…maybe the plot would pick up. Then it got to the point where it was so bad that it was making me laugh. Then it went back to just being plain awful, but I had already wasted my time reading half of the book. I figured I would finish it and write a complete review so no one would have to suffer through this novel ever again. Unless they like torturing themselves and making Mystery Science Theater 3000 commentary…in which case, you’ll absolutely love it.

Apparently, according to Jen, its not just poorly written, but brimming full of homophobia, sexism, and racism.

Don’t stop there. Be sure to read his response. That’s right, the author responds to a bad review. Who does that? John Harrigan does.

I did and read her “scathing” (nine page) assault on my novel–linked by some of her chorus of correspondents (nine pages more) to the writings of atheist Ayn Rand and the two religionists Tim Lahaye and Bill O’Reilly–people I’d rather not be linked to. The comment from the chorus I liked best was, “The book brought vomit to my mouth.” I got the impression that she meant the review did that, not the book.

I have this feeling he’s purposely misreading that.

And if you like unnatural sex scenes, don’t forget to check the excerpt post Jen did.

Thx Hemant. (I guess I missed PZ’s post.)