Some of My Lesser-Known Work
California Prop. 69 Passes Narrowly After Absentee Count
California homosexuals are celebrating today after the controversial voter initiative Proposition 69 passed by a 50.7 to 49.3 percent majority after a month of counting and recounting every last vote. The move overturns previous legislation that forbade homosexual members of the military from smoking cannabis at a Denny’s restaurant on Tuesdays during a recession.
“This represents a major step forward for not just the gay rights movement in California, but for all of America. Hopefully this will send a message to conservatives that we’re here, we’re queer, and now we can smoke a joint at Denny’s on Tuesdays during a recession just like everyone else,” says Jerry Whitman, California representative and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign.
But some gay rights activists worry that this measure’s success is simply not enough. San Francisco native and local lesbian Meg Brown states, “In the United States homosexuals are still denied the right to smoke crystal meth at Chuck E. Cheese, sit on the driver’s lap on public busses, use owls in falconry tournaments, or poop in public pools. I mean, let’s be honest. These are basic civil liberties that should apply to ALL Americans. We are tired of living as second class citizens.”
Conservative groups are already preparing to take legal action against the measure and are questioning the constitutionality of the proposition, citing the infamous yet nebulous “Cannabis Clause” of the U.S. Constitution that states “Gays shall only be reserved the right to partake in the smoking of cannabis in times of plenty.”
