Are We Missing the Civil Rights Angle when Discussing Gay Marriage?
Yongho Kim, Civic Participation Coordinator, Korean Resource Center
It's great to see Korean Americans and the entire American society stirred up by the elections. Every day, dozens of voters call or visit the Korean Resource Center with questions on voter registration or other elections related issues. I almost feel sorry to witness an "expansion in our business" while the U.S. economy faring the current crisis. At the same time, it's encouraging to note an increase in interest from Korean American voters in the ballot initiatives, and not just the presidential candidates - this must indicate a growth in the political maturity of our voters!
In particular, we have seen that many voters have been interested in Proposition 8, which will prohibit same-sex marriage. Well-known issues tend to attract rumors and misinformation; proposition 8 seems to be just that kind of issue. Some voters think that Prop. 8 is an "all-or-nothing" deal where if it were to pass, gays would somehow disappear, and if it failed to pass, everyone in California would become gay. In reality, Proposition 8 is not such a significant piece of legislation. Queer couples are already recognized in California law through domestic partnership, earning benefits comparable to those of marriage.
The only caveat is that these couples are being isolated in a separate realm called "domestic partnership", even when in every aspect their relationship and status is equal to that of "marriage". This is a form of discrimination that is well known in our community, called "separate but equal".
Opponents of same-sex marriage claim that acceptance of the queer community is symptomatic of societal moral corruption, but what is even more alarming is the pervasive discourse of hate in our society against them.
All it takes is to hear the comments of voters who have been calling the Korean Resource Center's office in response to our "Vote No on Prop 8" recommendation. One voter said "homosexuals are worse than animals; you shouldn't give them any rights." No matter how much you may disagree with someone, talking of a human being as subhuman is beyond the founding premises of communal living.
What worries me is that today's arguments for discriminating against gays are frighteningly similar to 19th century arguments for justifying racial discrimination and exploitation. Back then, European whites put black slaves and Asians in the same category as cattle; this mode of thinking was the dominant frame of the times when talking about race. Racists used moral arguments to justify their claims. Non-whites, they claimed, were unable to adopt Europe's "culture", did not wear clothes and displayed lavish behavior, and did not accept Christianity. Therefore, it could not be said that they were humans proper, and should instead be treated as animals. Later in the U.S. south, white supremacists recurred to violence “to prevent dirty and immoral blacks” from sitting in white-only lunch counters. Anti-miscegenation laws were passed that prohibited Asian immigrants from marrying whites.
How far away have we come from these brutal arguments when our community is saying that gays should not be treated as humans? Also, how different is this discrimination from the discrimination being imposed upon undocumented immigrants, who sustain America's economy?
As immigrants and people of color, we Korean Americans ought to look back and learn from our own community's history, where we had been discriminated against for not being able to speak English well, for the color of our skin, and for our immigration status. I hope that we will be able to open our hearts and start recognizing that basic human and civil rights are protections that every human being deserves.
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