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Take the Cannoli
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People's History of the U.S.

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Monday, October 04, 2004

Before yesterday, I'd never before:
  • overslept and missed my softball game
  • gone to the WeHo Book Fair
  • run away from the WeHo Book Fair moments after realizing that I could buy books for a quarter there
  • gone trolling through Hollywood for free Wi-Fi or eaten a BK Veggie (those two are related)
  • accosted people on the street to find out their views on gay marriage

That last one was probably the most random -- special thanks to Sab and Sork, who asked me if I wanted to "get out the vote for the gays" when I ran into them at the book fair. I said sure, and within hours I was at the Coffee Bean on Santa Monica Blvd with a clipboard full of voter registration forms, asking the very attractive men in muscle tees and the sagging older folks in matching khaki shorts where they stood. "Just like selling Girl Scout cookies," I said more than once. Because I was fearless, in those days.

The group that gave us the clipboards, instructions, and bottles of water, Vote for Equality, also provided me with lots of interesting information. Such as the fact that a state amendment banning gay marriage in California will likely end up on the ballot in 2006, and Prop. 22 in 2000, a referendum defining marriage as between a man and a woman, passed 62%-38%. 2006 may seem like a long time away. But so did November 2004, once upon a time. And here we are.

I ran into an old classmate while I was harassing people yesterday, and he was very nice, and gave us his information and volunteered to hold a house party. But he was more than a little confused by my presence there in West Hollywood, holding a clipboard and petitioning for gay rights. "You're straight, right?" he asked.

"Yep," I replied.

"Then why are you out here?"

I shrugged. "Because rights are rights. And just because I have them doesn't mean it's cool for others not to."

At least, I wished I'd said that. In reality, I fumbled, stuttering about how "it's not right."

Because the truth of it is -- it's not a question I'd ever thought I'd need to answer.

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