A Vote that Denies Liberty and Happiness

Dear Friend and Reader:

As Mars and Chiron move towards an exact conjunction in Aquarius today, we’re watching the build up in a courtroom drama on marriage equality in the state of California. В It is of no small import that Mars, the planet governing sex is hooking up with Chiron, the planet of mavericks, in the sign of Aquarius, the sign of revolution, individual freedom and its expression. The hearingВ began 9:00 am PST today at the State Supreme Court in San Francisco.

As Rachel reported earlier this week, opponents of gay marriage attempted againВ to stop same-sex couples from marrying through the state’s voter initiative process with passage of Proposition 8, a measureВ which would define marriage solely as a bond between a man and woman. On Tuesday, both the CaliforniaВ State Assembly and Senate approved State Senator Mark Leno’s Senate Resolution 7 which opposes Proposition 8.

Yesterday, State Attorney General Jerry Brown posted a diary on Daily Kos, summarizing his opinion on Proposition 8’s constitutionality, excerpted below:

As California’s Attorney General, I believe the Court should strike down Proposition 8 … because it unconstitutionally discriminates against same-sex couples and deprives them of the fundamental right to marry.

…Fundamental rights in California are recognized and protected by our constitution, which declares in Article I, Section 1 that “all people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights” and “among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.

The arguments to be heard against Proposition 8 today will focus on how it takes away an individual’s fundamental rights, which is and should be protected under the state’s constitution. ByВ a slim majority,В  voters voted against others’ rights to liberty and happiness. Because the votes that passed Proposition 8 took away those rights, the initiative and proposed law is unconstitutional.В 

As it states in State Attorney General Brown’s diary, California’s initiative process really began in 1911 as a means for ordinary citizens to prevent big bullies (at that time, the railroad companies) from running the state’s legislature, and in effect, the state. It was meant as a protection for the “little guy”.

The state’s initiative process begins with signatures of 8% of the state’s most recent voting population, or roughly now 695,000 people, to get a measure on the state ballot. The initiative process has brought the state a mixed bag and questionable laws, certainly not always in favor of “the little guy”.В  Proposition 13, the famous tax revolt that went national in the late 1970’s, ushering in the Reagan era, started under an initiative process. Proposition 14, an initiative that would legalize racial discrimination in renting and selling housing was approved by a large majority of voters. There were initiatives preventing undocumented workers from receiving education and health care. Fortunately, because of their unconstitutionality, these were struck down.

Astrologer Dale O’Brien has studied Chiron in over 2,500 charts and has lectured on the planet for the last twentyВ years.В  HeВ says a Mars-Chiron conjunction often favors the underdog. When they conjunct,В its the little guy or gal who overcomes overwhelming odds. One only has to remember recent history and the beginning phase of Iraq War II when Mars and Chiron were conjunct in Capricorn to understand thatВ American military mightВ and the operation calledВ  “shock andВ awe,” was notВ prepared to be engaged as long as they and weВ now have been. The people they expected to bow underneath their feet decided to fight back. Mars and Chiron conjunctionsВ bet on David over Goliath.В 

In the instance of Proposition 8, the Church of Jesus ChristВ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons and most residents of the state of Utah funded nearly half of the Yes on 8 campaign. Other groups in support include the Roman Catholic Church, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the rank and file religious right, including the American Family Association and James Dobson’s group, Focus on the Family. All flewВ under the campaignВ message to “Protect Marriage”.

Similar to what wasВ attempted with the tax revolt in 1978В and the passage of Proposition 13, Proposition 8 would stand as a template to do the same for marriage equality acrossВ the nation in other states. A clarion call to wipe away civil rights allowing liberty and happiness only for some, not all.

Whatever your feelings are about marriage equality in this or any other state, remember with Mars-Chiron conjunct, one does not win by overwhelming force, but by tireless, unrelenting will. What happens today in court is a template, and a test of our will to fight quietly, hard and successfully to defeat intolerance — another Aquarian ideal.В  Mars – Chiron conjunct in Aquarius makesВ today just another day for justice.В Let’s letВ it be a new one and for everyone.

Yours & truly,

Fe Bongolan
San Francisco