Vote No on (h)8
Continuing, because thoughts have occurred to me as we drive past street corners with megaphone-wielding "Yes on 8" protesters.
If this was the initial battle to legalize gay marriage--where one side placed something on the ballot to make gay marriage legal, and the other wished to maintain the status quo--the tension would be understandable. People don't want to change things. All the same fear tactics would be brought out, suggesting terrible, unknown repercussions for changing our legal mindset.
But gay marriage is already here. Let me pose this question: do you recall exactly when gay marriage became recognized by California?
Have you observed the institution of marriage crumbling like a coffee cake since then?
No? Not much in the way of repercussions since then?
This is the first attempt to change a state constitution to remove a civil right. Advocates of Prop 8 argue for restoring, saving, or protecting marriage; this means they're saying the wonder and beauty of marriage is too good for some people. Same-sex partners don't merit the same rights as heterosexual people, because they are less than heterosexual people.
What is to gain from locking down marriage? No one loses money because same-sex marriages are here. The sole reason for Prop 8 is ideological and religious... which, I might remind you, doesn't jive well with the concept of separating Religion and Government.
I saw that commercial, by the way, with the little girl asking her parents about the King & King book and the resulting awkwardness, leading to the claim that gay marriage confuses the children and by God we need to protect the children.
Here, I'll pose the situation the way socially well-adjusted people would address it:
"Mommy, is that true? Can two men be married?"
"Yes, honey, they can. When two grownups love each other, they can get married."
"Oh. Okay."
Children are direct and resilient, people. You can explain things and they get it. It's when you start hemming and hawing and having trouble with the question that children get confused. Confusion is brought on by you and your hangups.
Look... aren't there more vital issues to which you could be devoting your time? Aren't there active evils within the world, within our government, within our society, that you could address, instead of taking away something from someone else because you don't want them to have what you do?
If this was the initial battle to legalize gay marriage--where one side placed something on the ballot to make gay marriage legal, and the other wished to maintain the status quo--the tension would be understandable. People don't want to change things. All the same fear tactics would be brought out, suggesting terrible, unknown repercussions for changing our legal mindset.
But gay marriage is already here. Let me pose this question: do you recall exactly when gay marriage became recognized by California?
Have you observed the institution of marriage crumbling like a coffee cake since then?
No? Not much in the way of repercussions since then?
This is the first attempt to change a state constitution to remove a civil right. Advocates of Prop 8 argue for restoring, saving, or protecting marriage; this means they're saying the wonder and beauty of marriage is too good for some people. Same-sex partners don't merit the same rights as heterosexual people, because they are less than heterosexual people.
What is to gain from locking down marriage? No one loses money because same-sex marriages are here. The sole reason for Prop 8 is ideological and religious... which, I might remind you, doesn't jive well with the concept of separating Religion and Government.
I saw that commercial, by the way, with the little girl asking her parents about the King & King book and the resulting awkwardness, leading to the claim that gay marriage confuses the children and by God we need to protect the children.
Here, I'll pose the situation the way socially well-adjusted people would address it:
"Mommy, is that true? Can two men be married?"
"Yes, honey, they can. When two grownups love each other, they can get married."
"Oh. Okay."
Children are direct and resilient, people. You can explain things and they get it. It's when you start hemming and hawing and having trouble with the question that children get confused. Confusion is brought on by you and your hangups.
Look... aren't there more vital issues to which you could be devoting your time? Aren't there active evils within the world, within our government, within our society, that you could address, instead of taking away something from someone else because you don't want them to have what you do?