Gay Marriage Shows Activists Must Think BigRandy Shawbyline‚ Jun. 16‚ 2008As Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin wed tonight as the first gay Californians to be legally married, activists should appreciate the broader meaning of the event. When the 21st Century began, gay marriage was off the political mainstream’s radar screen. But rather than limit their ambitions to what was immediately acceptable, marriage equality advocates steadily built public support for their larger goal. Ultimately, it was this broadened support that enabled the California Supreme Court to favorably resolve the issue on constitutional grounds. By thinking big, activists won big. But on most major issues in recent decades—consider California’s Prop 13, federal tax policy, and even the recently defeated Prop 98—it is conservatives who have aimed big, and often won. In contrast, progressives, particularly since the Clinton Administration, have become far too satisfied with winning only incremental change. Today’s historic milestone for gay liberation offers a lesson for activists: major social change is not produced by only fighting immediately “winnable” fights. |