Sherraye Speaks: Gay Rights, Civil Rights -- NOT the same thing

Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed disappointment at Proposition 8's passage.

"It is unfortunate," Schwarzenegger said. "But it is not the end because I think this will go back into the courts. … It's the same as in the 1948 case when blacks and whites were not allowed to marry. This falls into the same category."

Ummm...Excuse me? It is NOT the same thing and gay rights activists will have a lot more success if they would get that straight...no pun intended.

I voted Yes on 2, which is parallel to California's Proposition 8 here in Florida. After it passed in Florida, and I saw the protests behind it, I began to feel like maybe I'd made the wrong decision. After all, who am I to judge who anybody chooses to love? I wanted a do over.

But now, I'm starting to get ticked off.

First of all, I've read and heard where gay activists are blaming black folks for why gay marriage bans passed. Well, let me help you out...black folks do not now, nor have they ever had that kind of power. Don't let the Obama presidency fool you.

The fact is that numerically MORE WHITES and other non-blacks voted to ban gay marriage so go and protest in the suburbs. Stop using us as your scapegoats.

Secondly, yelling, shouting, and and screaming nigger to the top of your lungs is not going to make me sympathetic to your cause. That's gon' get your ass kicked.

Third, your struggles ain't like mine so stop trying to piggy back off of a movement that has nothing to do with you. Civil Rights was about black people being treated as humans, not about a piece of paper.

Fourth, and I can only speak for myself on this. When I voted "Yes on 2" I wasn't trying to take away your rights. I was voting my conscience. I was voting my beliefs. I believe in the Bible and I believe that marriage is meant to be between man and woman. I do realize, however, that at the same time, I am forcing my beliefs on you. For that, I am sorry.

Now, I'm trying to be understanding. If I were a lesbian and I fell in love, I'm sure I would want to express that love by getting married. Maybe. Because let me let y'all in on a little secret. Marriage is not all that. Trust.

So I'm trying to put myself in your shoes, but understand something. You can never walk in mine. There is merit to the gay struggle, but there is no merit to placing that struggle on equal footing with the struggles of Black Americans. It is NOT the same thing.

Let the hateration begin. I ain't scurred.