HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Just days after Michael Lucas wed his long-time partner, California voters overturned the right of other gays and lesbians to partake in such a ceremony.
Lucas, the president and CEO of Lucas Entertainment, married Richard Winger in late October in a small ceremony at the top of the Hollywood Hills. Their wedding also served as a fund-raising event for the No on Prop 8 campaign.
Tuesday's passage of Prop 8, which overturned a California Supreme Court decision to allow for gay marriage, brought strong emotions from Lucas.
"California is full of rednecks, and gay people should have fought more fiercely," he told AVN. "Unfortunately, the Christian Right got more money for their ugly ads, and conservatives got their way. On the brighter side, Democrats in New York won the State Senate. What we lost on the West Coast may be a gain for the East."
Publicist Davyd Dixon also was disappointed with the outcome of the vote, which saw the measure pass by a 52 percent for to 48 percent against margin.
"It's disgusting," Dixon said. "It's a bittersweet day for America: a day in which we can elect a black president, yet cannot allow gays and lesbians the same rights afforded to the rest of America.
"Now, the over 16,000 gay Americans who have wed are told their love is not valid and will in a most embarrassing and gross display have their marriage rights taken away from them," he continued. "Equality is a right - it's not a privilege that people should be able to vote on. Shame on California."
