Our View: Attacks on pro-Proposition 8 groups counterproductive

Whether you believe equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans is a civil rights battle or an issue of morality, it doesn’t hurt to abide by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who thought his struggle was a mixture of both: “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.”

The passage in California of Proposition 8, which alters that state’s constitution to bar same-sex marriage, is a distressing development, but succumbing to bitterness will only further the cause of discrimination. Even in defeat, there is reason for hope that equality will eventually win out.

In 2000, an identically worded proposition was opposed by 38 percent of California voters. This year, it was 48 percent. There’s still a chance that this measure, which yanks back a right conferred by that state’s courts, can be overturned by the courts.

Since its passage on Nov. 4, opponents have launched rallies across the United States, including one outside Spokane’s City Hall on Saturday. For the most part, protesters have behaved well, but anger has been expressed in worrisome ways.

Anti-Mormon protests have featured signs saying “Latter-day Snakes” and “Mormons” with the second “m” crossed out. Rallies against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cropped up after it was reported that church members were major financial contributors to the Proposition 8 campaign. But many religious groups also supported and voted for the proposition.

Before that, ire was turned on African-Americans, because of exit polls showing that 70 percent of black voters supported Proposition 8. The problem with targeting groups is illustrated in the case of Monica Young, an African-American who voted against the proposition. She told the Los Angeles Times that she was stuck in traffic near a rally and an angry activist yelled to her, “Tell your people to be careful.”

It is puzzling to some that African-Americans wouldn’t naturally support another battle for equality. But other groups that have been discriminated against do not bear this expectation. A majority of Hispanics also voted for Proposition 8. Women aren’t automatically expected to support the downtrodden.

Sixty-one percent of voters 65 and older voted for Proposition 8. It would be foolhardy to attack the elderly in general. The smarter move is to calmly reach out and explain the righteousness of the cause to everyone. Isolating and attacking certain groups is counterproductive.

As Dr. King also said: “Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.”