Conclusion

We have talked about what Proposition 8 was, what happened with the voting, and where California now stands. On this page we will focus on how the Editorial Cartoons that we have shown on the last pages have portrayed Proposition 8 - Whether the general consensus was positive or negative and whether or not it supported or opposed the gay community. We will first talk about the following two cartoons.


The first one is depicting Judge Walker, from San Francisco, who was the judge that had ruled Proposition 8 as unconstitutional and wanted to lift that ban. His ruling was overturned by the Ninth District Court.
In the picture there is a couple with the text "Traditional Family Values". Judge Walker is representing California and he is holding hands with what appears to be another male figure, possibly a judge. A heart with 2 symbols representing the male gender is above the hands. Judge Walker is telling the couple that "I'm leaving you for someone else..." It is believed that Judge Walker himself is gay, and has a partner. He is leaving the traditional family values for a new set of values. It is suggested that California is leaving the traditional family, for a new family, a decision which possibly influenced his decision on ruling Proposition 8 unconstitutional.

The next one coincides with Judge Walker and his ruling to lift the ban on same-sex marriage. In the first line, it is depicting two men at a bar, sitting next to each other. A news flash is heard that says "In other news, California legalized gay marriage today...". The next line they are staring straight ahead, and in the final line they have each slide over a chair, further away from each other. The cartoon is suggesting that not everyone is happy with this outcome, and that their are still people that are homophobic.


The Editorial Cartoons that we have discussed have been against Proposition 8 in general. While there were a few exceptions, this suggests that most cartoonist agree that Proposition 8 was a way for certain people to take away certain rights that everyone should have, such as marriage to whomever they wish to marry. Some of the cartoons backed the gay community positively, while also pointing out some of the negativity of it. Almost every single one of them gave reference to how this is a never ending topic, and even though there may seem to be an end in sight, there are still mountains that need to be climbed for complete equality.

If the same-sex marriage battles in California have done anything, it has proved that both sides are willing to fight for what they believe to be true. Both sides are not going to stand to the side and let their beliefs be washed away, or swept off to the side as unimportant. One thing that was consistent throughout all of the cartoons was the fact that they were all based on truth. Nothing was made up, and everything was factual and capable of being verified by research. Also, since everything was backed by truth and fact, if you didn't know background on the topic, the cartoons could have been confusing as to whether or not the cartoonist was being positive or negative and whether the cartoon supported or opposed Proposition 8.