NCLR Director Writes Open Letter About Why She Thinks The Proposition 8 Trial Is Life Changing Whatever The Result

The National Center For Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Executive Director, Kate Kendall, has written a powerful open letter about the Proposition 8 trial that is currently under way in San Francisco, which is also home to NCLR, and what it means to her.

Starting the letter speaking about the excitement that many feel from the mere fact that the issue of whether the gay marriage ban was unconstitutional is being discussed, Kendall also discusses the heartbreak that she and many others felt on November 4th 2008 when voters acted to reverse the right for same sex couples to marry that had become legal only months before on the 15th May.

Saying that she was “personally and professionally bereft and devastated”, Kate talks about how she became convinced that the whole fight for equality was quickly becoming a long and unachievable one. That was until January 11, 2010. More than a year after that soul destroying voter decision, Kate has got her perspective back, focusing not on the crushing impact the implementation of Proposition 8 had, but the achievement since with marriage victories in four states, and the historical impact that this trial is making by posing the question:

Is it a denial of equal protection under the law to single out same-sex couples and eliminate their fundamental right to marry after recognizing that same-sex couples are entitled to full equality under the state constitution?

Moving on to discuss the legal team fighting to proves the answer to this question is yes, Kendall is keen to point out that whilst Ted Olson and David Boies are  two of the most recognisable lawyers in the US, it is not just their profiles that has lead them to be chosen. Having fought on opposite sides in the Bush V Gore case,  Kendall sees the pair as being two people firmly committed to the cause, believing that the conservative credentials on Olson will act not to hinder the case, but strengthen it having witnessed first hand the commitment Olsen has to the case (she goes as far as to label him an “honorary lesbian”, via work that the NCLR has done with the Olson/Boies team for the case.

Ending the letter by saying she believes that the team “has a real chance to succeed in striking down Prop 8″, Kendall also believes whatever the result of the trial it will act to something just as important which is “igniting a national dialogue and changing the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans. Even if that is all that happens, the world will never be the same.”

You can read Kendall’s letter in full on the NCLR website.