Postcards From The 8

Welcome to Postcards From the 8

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:00:00 +0000

This is a website where people in favor of marriage equality can:

a.) Post letters about their reactions to Proposition 8, and

b.) Find out about what to do to make marriage equality happen here in California.

If you'd like to know more about either of the above, then read on:
(also, you can read the Frequently Asked Questions, or the theory behind PostcardsFromThe8)

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Dear friend,

After a week of trying to figure out what to do about Prop. 8, I decided to do something simple.

I sat down and wrote a letter.

I wrote it to a fellow who lives just down the street from me. He gave almost $200 in order to make sure that gay people won’t be able to get married in this state ever again. I wrote to him because he is my neighbor, and I felt I had to share what I had on my mind with him.

I wrote a letter, and in writing that letter I discovered (a) just how angry I really was, and (b) how I could turn that anger to something productive.

So you know what I did? I did not mail the letter -- instead I shared it with everyone I knew, and asked them to write one too.

And you know what happened when they wrote their letters? They got angry too.

Angry enough that they wanted to do something to make marriage equality happen, as soon as possible, here in California.

Angry enough that they wanted to share their letters with their friends.

And so I thought, what if we got as many people as possible to write letters?

What if we could gather all those letters up, publish them as a book?

What if we could sell that book, and use the money to fund the next campaign?

All of those, I hope, would make a positive difference toward achieving marriage equality in California.

So, this is my request to you: sit down and write a letter to someone in the opposition. Keith Olbermann did it, and you should too.

If you are willing to share you letter with the world, please send your letter to: PostcardsFromThe8@gmail.com (if you're so inclined, then include the "tags" you'd like attached to it; this allows other readers to navigate to like-minded letters)

If you're old-school, send it to: PostcardsFromThe8, P.O. Box 188814, Sacramento CA, 95818.

The point is to say what this election meant to you. To take what’s in your heart and write it down. And then turn it into something good – a way to make marriage equality happen here, in California, as soon as possible.

Write a letter. It'll make a difference.

Best regards,

Bayliss J. Camp
PostcardsFromThe8

Postcard #20

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:47:00 +0000

Postmark: Seattle WA

If same sex marriage is banned as a religious issue, then why is the state involved?

If I am a non-religious heterosexual, then why do I get states rights for a religious act?

Marriage is between individual people. We are all equal. We should all have the same rights.

Susan

Postcard #19 (9/9/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Postmark: New York, NY

Kudos on your work. I have been involved w/ organizations like HRC. It takes many for a movement. May love prevail.

Well wishes,

Natalie

Postcard #18 (9/9/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:44:00 +0000

Postmark: New York, NY

It is so important that people who are committed to be together should have legal rights as partners. Please make this happen!

Candace
Oakland, CA

Postcard #17 (9/5/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:42:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

Dear Everyone,

Love is love.

Love is real, whether it's man + man, woman + woman, or man + woman.

Let it be, let it be free, let it run deep.

Love is real, love can heal, love can save the planet if we open our hearts & minds.

Bliss.

Postcard #16 (9/5/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

My wife and I believe that marriage equality is a human right that all deserve. Marriage by GLBT couples does not threaten us or our 43-year marriage & the good life it has meant to us.

Alan

Postcard #15 (9/5/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

It's a wonderful thing to be able to commit to someone, irrespective of gender, creed or race. Life is precious, so make the most of it while you can. It feels good to make the effort with your loved one and it will be returned to you...

Happy days,

Bobby, UK

Postcard #14 (9/5/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:49:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

My friends Will and Matt are a couple out in San Fran. Back when I was just starting to date Betsy, now my wife, she "took me home to meet the family" (Will+Matt). They loved me and felt that we made a good couple.

Now the two are engaged, and rightfully so.

Martin
West Hartford, CT

Postcard #13 (9/5/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:40:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

I heard about your efforts and I wish you the best of luck. I've never understood why the inability of same sex relationshiops to elope even exists. It seems pretty ridiculous for anyone to view it as problematic when the intimacy of any relationship is so far separated from a general public sphere of a community. I think this inequality is simply representative of an unequal respect, arbitrarily and wrongly demonstrated by something that should be setting examples of how to join people within a community, not the opposite.

All the best,

Matt

Postcard #12 (9/5/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

You must allow churches to follow their beliefs.

If you exclude a requirement, or state that nothing in this proposition shall require churches, etc. to practice other than their beliefs, opposition would be cut in 1/2.

Good luck.

Postcard #11 (9/2/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:35:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

When love is suppresed we all lose community.

When is love is supported, we all are touched by it.

Postcard #10 (9/2/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:32:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

Everyone is equal in the end. I don't think anyone should be discriminated against.

Freedom for all.

Postcard #9 (9/2/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:30:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

If hate has no boundaries, as is apparently so, then certainly love should be free of restrictions as well.

With love, Beautiful

Sean

Postcard #8 (9/2/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:27:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

Dear Me,

You're fucking beautiful. Great job!

See you on the flip side,

Seattle, WA

Postcard #7 (9/2/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:22:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

The course of true love never did run smooth.

However, in time love conquers all. Prop. 8 will be defeated.

E. Williams,
E. Sussex, England

Postcard #6 (9/2/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:19:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

Let them live
Let them love
We are all one

Thanks,

Saralove

Postcard #5 (9/2/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

Dear Friend,

Pro Same-Sex Marriage

:-)

Shane

Postcard #4 (9/2/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:09:00 +0000

Postmark: Black Rock City, NV

I can see absolutely no reason why 2 people who love one another & don't necessarily want to procreate, should not be allowed to marry. It seems de-volved.

So, hi anyway. Lots of love,

Carolax
Brighton, UK

Postcard #3 (8/5/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:59:00 +0000

Postmark: Sacramento, CA

Dear PostcardsFromThe8,

Stay strong + beautiful, LGBT people!

Love, a Str8,

Amy

Postcard #2 (07/20/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Postmark: Sacramento, CA

Dear Homophobic fear-based hate-mongers:

Same gender marriage does not "destroy" or endanger heterosexual marriage. What destroys straight marriage is heterosexual ADULTERY, domestic violence, and child abuse. As a heterosexual woman, it does not "harm" me if gay men and lesbians get married. 98% of the straight men who ask me out on dates are MARRIED with kids, and that is what harms straight marriage - cheating, skirt-chasing adulterous spouses!

Anonymous.

Postcard #1 (07/16/09)

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:44:00 +0000

Postmark: Sacramento, CA

Iowa got theirs, when do we get ours?

Dear Person in Power -

If you believe in liberal values, then act like it. If you are more conservative and believe in small government, then get out of loving people's business. Legalize gay marriage now!

Christopher Bowers

Letter #17

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 23:35:00 +0000

To my neighbor with the sign in his/her window:

I do not know which face among the faces around here is yours. At the mail box, dropping off the rent on a Sunday afternoon, swimming in the pool, or nodding past each other in our vehicles, I am sure some kind of small human exchange has happened between you and me. We’ve smiled or waved or even wished a “good day” to one another, and neither of us were blighted by the pleasantries of being neighborly, but you have that sign in your window, and it bothers me that I don't know who you are.

Every day for months, as summer rolled into winter and winter into spring, I had to look up and see it hanging in the air above the carports—this declaration of your point of view. I’d pile my two small children into their car seats, hand out sippy cups of juice and apple slices, and look up with a grimace at that sign. It wasn’t a complicated sign, it was simple and hard to ignore. “Protect Our Families,” dusty blue and white blocks stamped concise as cut stone masonry above the universal symbol of man and woman (those paper doll symbols hung on doors—there is no mistaking them. We know what they mean, so there’s no risk of peeing in the wrong bathroom). Those two simple, unassuming everyday ciphers just standing there side by side linking hands with two smaller versions of themselves: man and woman, boy and girl.

At first I didn’t comprehend what your sign meant. The figures were so indelibly imprinted in my imagination, that I could not refute their literal meaning. What registered in my consciousness was the universal symbol of a family, and given that I was moving into this apartment complex after separating from my husband, I felt an upsurge of shame and defiance all at once. Ashamed to have failed at a marriage I worked hard to maintain for over ten years; yet, at the same time, insulted that your sign blamed me for not working hard enough to keep my marriage going at all costs. According to that sign, I did not protect my family, I destroyed it.
It wasn’t until several fuming days later that the implied message of your simple sign, its true purpose and meaning, punted into my head in the middle of the night. You weren’t declaring a war against divorce; you were declaring the very definition of a family—the irrefutable representation of man and woman, boy and girl. Like one and one making two this huge sign in your bay window overlooking the entire car park was your mandate to me and everyone else. Your commandment: this IS the American family and nothing else.

Your sign asks me to define marriage as marriage between a man and a woman, that by denying same-sex marriage I will protect the American family, and by supposition, the entire foundation of American life. However, what constitutes a family can never be bound within such a narrow definition, and by denying any citizen equal rights under the law, we all fail to uphold the true promise of our country’s constitution.

What is a family? To me it’s a place of nurturing, support, love, and bonding. It's the warm sounds of the everyday and the feeling of belonging to a place where you surrender your cares into the hands of those willing bear the burden of those cares. The descriptions I give do not come with a gender assignment, nor do they come with ethnicity, class, or religion. A grandmother raising her grandchildren alone, a widowed man raising his daughter, surrogate families, foster families, an older sibling raising younger siblings—these are all families. Just as a newly divorced woman can be as much of a family to her two children as when she was a married woman. Just as two men who care deeply enough for one another to want to commit the rest of their lives to being together is a family. Just as two women wanting to marry so that they can share in the privileges and rights that married partnerships offer under the law is a family.

Your sign, my dear neighbor, does not protect any family at all. What it protects is a stereotype that has never truly represented what families are on the inside, under the propaganda. You protect an icon that doesn’t exist, and it’s a shame that I can’t explain it to you face to face. If I knew who you were, I could offer you a bit of hope. I could tell you not to fear those that are different from you because fear destroys even when it means well. I could tell you that protecting the family is not about protecting a narrow assumption about marriage—there are many traditional male/female marriages where protection is the last thing offered, where shelter and support are absent, where even love cannot make its way into the dark house. If same-sex couples can offer goodness, kindness, and the knit and stitch of familial love to one another, there is no reason they should be denied the opportunity to make those bonds lasting and legal.

Next time I see you in passing and you wave and smile, I won’t worry about what assumptions you might make about me anymore. Staring up at the sign in your window for months and months on end has had an effect on me. Each time I saw it, I resolved to vote against it. I vowed to follow through for once and make my vote count –Proposition 8 may have narrowly passed, but for the first time in my life I voted. I voted, and I will vote again and again and again. So, thank you. Thank you for helping me understand what it means to be a family, and for giving me the courage to do what I have to do to fight for it.

In hopes of a better tomorrow for us both,

Your Neighbor,

Toshi N. Casey

Letter #16

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:38:00 +0000

To Justice Joyce Kennard:

Sarcasm and dismissiveness? Is this how a Supreme Court Justice should deal with the happiness of millions of people? It is a fundamental question of>fairness, and equal protection of our laws.

If the wording were ”Only marriage between a white man and a white woman is valid or recognized in California,” would you be sarcastic and dismissive?

"Only marriage between a man and a woman of reproductive age is valid or recognized in California.”

"Only marriage between a Christian man and a Christian woman is valid or>recognized in California.”

How deeply you, Justice Kennard, disappoint the citizens of this state. How you embarrass us is the eyes of the world with your casual regard for Justice, Fairness and Equality.

If marriage is merely a word then why are so many people so concerned over its application? We deserve a better hearing from our Justices than you have given us. Do you so easily turn your back on the decision you made last May 15? If our Justices do not protect us from a tyrannical, shortsighted majority, then who will? If 50% plus one vote is all that it takes to write discrimination into our Constitution—OUR CONSTITUTION!—and you permit that, then what road do we begin travelling?

And then to treat this question with disdain, sarcasm, flippancy? Do you have no sense of outrage at yourself? Share mine. History will look back at you and your words and actions, Justice Kennard—or your inaction when faithful citizens trusted you. Do not pretend your hards are tied. Justice is your Job.

Sincerely,

Robert Locke

Letter #15

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:12:00 +0000

Dear Scott,

I remember you telling me in the ramp up to the election that you would vote yes on 8 because you didn’t want your daughters being taught about homosexuality in school. Clearly that ad with the little girl who finds out that she can marry a princess had an effect on you.

I’ve recently learned that, according to the Center for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Survey (1999), 33% of gay youth will attempt suicide. This fact has had a powerful effect on my thinking about the current marriage equality movement.

Knowing that ONE in THREE gay youth will attempt suicide makes intellectual arguments about bigotry, evolution, and the separation of church and state unsatisfying. It renders the semantic arguments about the word “marriage” a distraction. I am instead overwhelmed by a sense of urgency to save the lives of these children!

It’s possible that marriage equality in California might one day prompt a (perhaps uncomfortable) conversation between you and your daughters. I am not unsympathetic to the challenges of parents raising children in this highly sexualized society. However, I urge you to put the safety of our children first.

I believe that marriage equality is a first step to building a less bigoted, more tolerant and inclusive society in which our youth can be raised without the self loathing that leads to suicidal thoughts and actions. I believe marriage equality is an important step in building a society in which children don’t have their innate desire to live quashed by fear of their own difference. We’re all different and it’s time to stop thinking of other people’s differences as perverted or unnatural. We must. It could be the life of our own child that we save.

Best,

Sara K McLachlan
Los Angeles, CA

Letter #14

postcardsfromthe8@gmail.com (Postcards From The 8) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:28:00 +0000

Dear Bumper Sticker Owner:

While walking through a parking lot today I happened to read the bumper stickers on your vehicle; one said something about your Christian beliefs and the other was an in opposition to Proposition 8. I was struck by the contradiction, if not ignorance, displayed on your bumper for the entire world to see. Not only does it show your disconnect with your own beliefs, but it is a direct contradiction to Christ’s teaching and this country’s, our, Bill of Rights.

After reading your bumper stickers I was angry and I wondered how much information did you have before jumping on this hate wagon? Most people don’t look beyond the crusade and instead get caught up in a cause with nothing more than a catch phrase, is that what happened to you? Did you fail to consider the other side of this issue or the consequences of your actions? Or did you just follow along without questioning or thinking for yourself? So long as a group of people are faceless it is easy to hate or deny them. I believe this is why Proposition 8 passed; and this saddens me for it was just this type of ignorance and blind hatred that led to my brother’s death.

Being a sensitive soul, my brother Doug chose to end his life rather than continue to live in a world that didn’t accept him as the person he was, but rather saw him as an object of hate, ridicule, and contempt. If Doug thought death was safer than living in this country, then I ask you, what does that say about us as a people?

The last conversation I had with my brother he was urging me to live true to myself; something he wasn’t allowed to do because of the attitudes and irrational fears like the ones you displayed on your bumper. Our country was built on the principles of liberty and justice for all, but you want to deny these same basic human rights to a segment of society because they were born differently than you. I have news for you—we are all different in one way or another.

The discrimination you show toward gays and lesbians on your bumper is no different than the prejudice experienced by African Americans, Japanese Americans, American Indians, Mexican Americans, Chinese Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, female Americans, disabled Americans, elderly Americans, homeless Americans, Muslims Americans, Catholics Americans, Jewish Americans, cat loving Americans, people who wear plaid Americans—do you get my point, no one is safe if we can arbitrarily hate someone based on an insignificant difference.

I should have hung around and waited for you to return to your vehicle so I could ask you why. Why are you making someone else’s life your business? Why do you think discriminating against a person’s sexual orientation is going to make them go away? Why do you care who gets married or has a civil union? Why do you feel the need to interfere and deny people their basic rights? Why is it you can’t you see what your actions are doing to others? Maybe if you can answer these questions, and take a really good look at yourself, you’d recognize your motivations have little or nothing to do with how others live their lives.

This great country of ours was created by people from all over the world, and that was made possible because of the tolerance and respect for what others contributed to the making of this country. If a person can’t find tolerance, respect and acceptance in their own country, where are they to find it? It is up to us, straight and otherwise, to ensure that all Americans share in the “dream” and live life to their fullest potential, rather than meddling in other peoples’ business. Acceptance quite possibly could prevent another loved one thinking death was a better alternative to living.

Before you slap another bumper sticker on your vehicle, please consider all sides of the message, cause or issue, and how it would impact a loved one of yours.

LC Russell