Antony DeBalsi (left) and David Sims traveled to California last month with their son, McCoy, to get married after 16 years together. (Photo courtesy of the couple)
Atlanta helps fight anti-gay measures out west Efforts to defeat ballot measures in Ariz. and Calif. find local support
Widely
hyped
as
one
of
the
most
important
elections
in
U.S.
history,
the
Nov.
4
vote
will
be
particularly
monumental
for
gay
and
lesbian
Americans,
as
the
future
of
same-sex
marriage
reaches
a
pivotal
crossroad.
What
that
future
entails
will
not
be
determined
by
who
wins
between
Republican
John
McCain
and
Democrat
Barack
Obama,
but
by
a
pair
of
ballot
initiatives
in
two
western
states.
With
same-sex
marriage
already
constitutionally
banned
in
Georgia,
gay
and
lesbian
Atlantans
are
channeling
money
and
manpower
into
Arizona
and
California
for
what
some
consider
the
most
important
moment
ever
for
the
gay
rights
movement.
In
2006,
Arizona
distinguished
itself
as
the
first
and
only
state
where
voters
rejected
a
proposed
constitutional
amendment
banning
same-sex
marriage.
In
November,
those
voters
return
to
the
polls
to
vote
on
another
anti-gay
marriage
amendment
that
made
it
on
the
ballot
after
feverish
last-minute
lobbying
by
social
conservatives.
In
California,
voters
will
cast
ballots
on
Proposition
8,
a
measure
that
seeks
to
overturn
the
May
decision
by
the
California
Supreme
Court
which
legalized
same-sex
marriage.
“The
most
striking
thing
about
California
is
that
if
you
look
at
it
on
almost
any
indicator
—
its
economy,
population,
its
positioning
in
world
trade
—
its
one
of
the
largest
countries
in
the
world,”
said
Randy
New,
a
partner
in
the
Atlanta
law
firm
Kitchens
New.
“And
it’s
more
important
that
we
have
gay
marriage
in
California
than
having
gay
marriage
in
any
other
country
in
the
world,
quite
bluntly.”
Kitchens
New
hosts
an
Aug.
23
fundraiser
benefiting
Equality
For
All,
the
California
group
leading
the
fight
against
Proposition
8.
“The
minute
that
the
court
decision
[legalizing
same-sex
marriage]
broke,
we
started
talking
about
what
we
could
do
to
help,”
New
said.
“This
really
is
the
central,
core
fight
for
the
gay
community
right
now.”
The
host
committee
for
the
fundraiser
features
a
who’s
who
of
gay
and
lesbian
leaders
in
Atlanta,
including
the
heads
of
several
local
gay
non-profit
organizations.
The
suggested
donation
is
$100,
with
Kitchens
New
covering
overhead
costs
so
that
all
proceeds
go
to
Equality
For
All.
If
same-sex
marriage
is
overturned
in
California
Nov.
4,
it
will
be
a
devastating
setback
to
the
gay
marriage
movement
in
the
U.S.,
New
said.
But
if
California
voters
defeat
Proposition
8
and
leave
same-sex
marriage
intact,
New
believes
it
will
be
“an
additional
building
block”
to
making
such
unions
legal
across
the
country.
“Another
thing
about
California
is
that
it
has
Hollywood
and
Silicon
Valley,
and
there
are
not
many
states
that
have
the
resources
-
economic
and
cultural
-
that
California
does,”
New
said.
“California
has
led
the
nation
in
many
ways,
and
this
is
again
an
instance
where
they’re
out
front
on
an
important
issue.”
GA.
COUPLES
EYEING
VOTE
Will
Stringer
remains
in
somewhat
of
a
haze
after
returning
to
Georgia
from
California,
where
he
married
his
partner,
Gary
Walker.
“I
never
believed
this
day
would
be
possible
in
my
wildest
dreams,
and
now
that
it
has
come
and
gone
it
still
feels
like
some
sort
of
dream,”
Stringer
said.
“Gary
and
I
have
often
spoke
of
being
legal
at
least
in
some
state
during
our
lifetime.
California
had
made
that
dream
come
true.”
While
in
San
Francisco
to
get
married,
Stringer
said
he
saw
promising
signs
that
the
ballot
initiative
may
be
defeated
in
November.
“During
the
hour
and
a
half
we
were
[in
the
San
Francisco
courthouse],
one
couple
after
another
were
filing
into
the
marriage
license
office,”
he
said.
“I’m
amazed
that
with
the
amount
of
same-sex
couples
that
were
constantly
going
in
and
out,
that
California
would
have
any
problems
at
all
defeating
the
ban.
But,
hey,
you
never
know.”
After
16
years
together,
Anthony
DeBalsi
and
David
Sims
traveled
to
Napa,
Calif.,
last
month
to
get
married,
partly
for
the
comfort
of
their
adopted
son,
McCoy.
“As
our
son
got
older,
we
were
trying
to
instill
in
him
that
our
family
is
—
not
the
same
—
but
equal
to
any
other
family,
and
it
was
important
for
us
to
be
married,”
Sims
said.
Knowing
that
the
California
marriages
could
be
in
limbo
in
November,
the
couple
initially
doubted
whether
it
was
worth
the
trouble
to
go
west
and
get
married.
“When
we
weighed
how
important
it
was
to
define
our
relationship
and
family,
then
there
was
no
price
that
could
keep
us
from
going,”
DeBalsi
said.
The
couple
also
puts
a
lot
of
weight
on
the
ramifications
of
the
Nov.
4
vote
in
California.
“If
it
stands
in
California,
then
[same-sex
marriage]
is
going
to
happen
everywhere
else
rather
quickly,”
Sims
said.
“I
...
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
John Bisceglia on 8/15/0812:12 PM:
Until we have Marriage Equality in ALL 50 states this will create a mess legally. It is criminal how LGBT familes, with and without children, have to "wait patiently" for the SAME legal protections that are handed out LIKE CANDY to heterosexuals. For many in the LGBT community, we have lost all patience with both voters and politicians when it comes to JUSTICE and COMMON DECENCY concerning our families, so we are doing what we CAN do - withholding tax until we are treated EQUALLY. Those interested in joining this fight can GOOGLE "Gay Tax Protest" to find out about my own protest.
