Over the 20 years that I lived in Orange County, I resided in many of her fine cities. First was Fountain Valley, then several years in Huntington Beach. Then I bought a condo in Aliso Viejo, which was just being built (yes, in OC, entire cities get built — known as "master-planned communities"), and where I was threatened by the Laguna Beach fires in 1993. Then it was on to Irvine for 10 years, and finally in Santa Ana for three.
Laguna Beach and the Floral Park section of Santa Ana are widely known to be the GLBT centers of the area.
One of my best friends, whom I mentioned the other day, had several quotes in the local paper. Sourced from an Orange County Register article:
That old time religion took hold of Orange County this week – from the Santa Ana barrio to the yacht-lined harbor of Newport Beach to the tradition-filled halls of Little Saigon to the gates of Coto de Caza.It ain't over. Yet.
Deeply religious ethnic minorities, political conservatives and family-conscious voters found common ground in the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages.
In fact, Proposition 8 was more popular in Orange County (57%) than GOP presidential hopeful John McCain (50.8%).
"I never thought we would win here in Orange County," said Jeff LeTourneau of Brea, political director for ECCO, a lobbying group for gay, transgender and women's rights. "Our goal here was to get as many 'no' votes as possible."
"Unlike some places, the Republican party in Orange County still is heavily dominated by conservative right-wing forces," said LeTourneau. "Whereas in other places, (the GOP has) moved toward the center, which is socially moderate and fiscally conservative."
"We have the added burden of 'God and guns' Democrats. And on social issues, these people vote worse than Irvine Republicans. In spite of the fact that every single Democratic Party candidate was on record as being No on 8," LeTourneau said. "You have a strong Latino base in the central county that is heavily influenced by contributions from Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Church. That was a huge barrier for us, and I don't think we had the time to make inroads there."
For example, 12 precincts in Orange County favored President-elect Barack Obama and supported Proposition 8 by more than 65% – nine of those precincts were in Latino areas of Santa Ana. For these people, said Claremont-McKenna political science professor Jack Pitney, the marriage ban has more to do with tradition than tolerance.
Anti-marriage ban factions were gearing up to continue the battle.
1 comment:
I live in Costa Mesa. I'm a little NO on 8 voice in the wilderness here. Most of the time, I feel like a size 12 pair of panties in a size 0 thong world. I've learned to deal with it, mostly because this has been my home, and where I raise my kids. But sometimes I shake my head at the ignorance surrounding me. Right now, I'm SO ashamed of the state where I've made my home, and even closer, of the neighborhood I live in. I'm sad beyond measure and I know that the only way I'm going to get over it is to stay involved. There's a grassroots effort brewing in Irvine to form a new task force, which could be a major force in Orange County, to get ready for the battle ahead. I'm going to be there. Because something needs to change here in North Orange County. Send good vibes this way to your old stomping grounds! I know I could use them. Tyranny under the guise of "morality" is still tyranny.
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