Are we there yet?

[dsc]

It is the question every parent dreads on those long trips. As a kid, I probably asked it a fair amount but I was a pretty patient rider. I like to read, work puzzles, and other than my bladder, I am pretty good in a car. Now as a single adult who does all his own driving, I am a bit less patient on trips but am sanguine in that I usually know how far I am from the destination. But when it comes to the journey for full equality I am at the mercy of others. I am in the backseat asking the citizenry am I there yet.

A couple of days ago we had a not so good answer. Brandon McInerney got a mistrial in his trial for the murder of Larry King. The undisputed facts are that Brandon McInerney either stole or was given a gun by his family, took that gun to school, walked up to Larry King, and shot him in the back of his head. That is premeditated murder by any reasonable standard. But over half the jury, 7 jurors, decided it was manslaughter which is anything but premeditated. The other five split between 1st and 2nd degree murder. We have gone some distance. In 1979, the trial of Harvey Milk and George Moscone's murderer ended in a unanimous verdict of manslaughter and a sentence of 5 years with only 3 served. This trial, even if all 12 had gone manslaughter, would have likely led to a sentence of 21 years. But we aren't there yet. Let's be blunt here. Had Larry shot Brandon he would have been convicted of murder. Brandon has anti gay bias to thank for his mistrial.

Similarly, we aren't there yet when we are fighting tooth and nail to keep marriage equality off the ballot due to the very real fear we will lose. We aren't there yet when quite likely the President supports marriage equality but is willing to have his spokesmen tell outrageously stupid lies so he can pretend he isn't.

The first time I drive any trip, since I don't have GPS, I don't know exactly how far I have left until I get pretty near my destination. I don't know how far I am from the destination of full equality. I do know that for that trip to be short, we have to hope that Justice Kennedy continues his pro gay jurisprudence. If he doesn't. I might well be at the first rest area.

[xxqqqzme]

1. You are not making the

journey alone. When CA Prop H8 is thrown out, there will a slight acceleration and perhaps that destination will seem a bit closer.