Prop 8 "Day of Decision" Napa events; Supreme Court announcement sometime in the next month

When oral arguments began on the appeal to overturn Proposition 8 in California on March 5, 2009, the Justices for California's Supreme Court set a timeline of 90 days to issue their ruling.

That means that on or before June 3, 2009, they must announce their decision about the legality of Proposition 8 and separately, if the 18,000 couples can stay legally married (or if the State will annull/divorce them).

Many communities are planning "Day of Decision" events to celebrate (or protest) the decision of the Supreme Court and make sure that this fight for rights, respect and love continues.

Napa is no exception, and encourages us to show up locally:

In light of the historic nature of this decision, the community will gather together for a "Day of Decision Rally." On the day the decision is rendered - and some say it might be as early as next week - we plan to gather at 5pm at Veteran's Park (at Third & Main) in downtown Napa. Whether we are celebrating the victory of love over hate, or processing a temporary roadblock along the road to equality, we will do so together!

The court will give one day's notice before issuing their decision. As soon as we know when the decision is coming we'll blast out to as many lists as possible with complete information. In the meantime, if you'd like to be involved in planning or volunteering for the day of the event, please send an email to info@napavalleyequality.com.

Thanks for your commitment to marriage equality! We continue to hope that the Supreme Court will say NO to discrimination, and let LOVE reign SUPREME!

Sponsored by: Napa Valley Unity League, Marriage Equality USA, Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry and Napa Valley Equality Coalition

As the embedded video at the top of this post points out, the tide is changing. Many communities are embracing marriage equality across the United States and across the globe. In the last week, two polls came out showing increased support for same-sex marriage across the nation, most recently by 49% in an ABC News poll.

I know courts (especially Supreme ones) do not decide based on public opinion, but we can hope that the Court does recognize its responsibility to uphold minority rights in spite of a public vote.

When done well, public events like the "Day of Decision" help to keep us in the eyes (and hearts) of our friends, neighbors, coworkers and community.