For the love of God and all things holy...NO on Prop 8!

This was posted by a lovely man on Facebook by the name of Mike Yee. I don't think that I've seen it better put by anyone.


For the love of God and all things holy...NO on Prop 8!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 5:24pm
A couple weeks ago, on an early Saturday morning, there was a stranger ringing my doorbell. I was still in my pj's, so I decided not to answer the door (when I looked out the window I didn't recognize who it was). The doorbell-ringer finally left something on the gate and left. It turns out that it was a flyer in SUPPORT of Proposition 8 (the proposition that would ban gay marriage).

I was livid. My heart started to race. I began to fantasize about all the fantastic ways I could have handled this situation had I answered the door. In the end, unfortunately, I was only left with these fantasies. Two weeks later, though, this incident still remains on my mind, and I'm just as infuriated now as I was then.

One of the biggest claims from the Yes on Prop 8 folks is that in May of 2008 the Supreme Court of California reversed the "will of the people." This is such a transparent argument IF you consider the context of the election during which the proposition was voted upon. First of all, Prop 22 appeared during a Primary election, NOT a General Election. The 2000 California primary election took place when Al Gore was already the clear Democratic front-runner and there was a hotly-contested race for the Republican candidacy between Bush and McCain. As a result, there was less incentive for Democrats (read: more open-minded voters) to go to the poll. Opponents of same-sex marriage love to cite that 61% of voters supported Prop 22. This is HUGELY misleading. What they SHOULD be saying is that 61% of THOSE WHO VOTED AT THE TIME favored Prop 22. As it turns out though, those 61% only made up approximately 30% of eligible California voters; approximately 20% of eligible voters ended up voting against it; and 50% of eligible voters (sadly) never went to the polls at all. So the bottom line here: it is simply not true to say that Prop 22 was supported by "the majority of Californians."

My next beef: since when does an issue of civil rights deserve to be at the mercy of public opinion? It's tacky to bring it up, but I don't think a majority of slaveowners back in the day would have voted in favor of losing their workers. We already know that inter-racial marriage wasn't popular. There are simply some issues that don't deserve to be in the hands of the public.

Also (and now I'm addressing proponents of this ridiculous proposition), what the HELL is it to you or anybody else who somebody else marries? For every gay couple who weds, does a straight couple lose a diamond off their wedding band? Do they lose a year off their counted anniversaries? What? How does it affect you? Well, of course there's no answer because it simply doesn't.

What it ultimately comes down to is fear, ignorance and good ol' fashioned ego. The real reason that people oppose gay marriage is that it legitimizes relationships and lifestyles that, in their view, are immoral. Well, you see, the beauty of our country is that even WITH legalized gay marriage, you or any other closed- and/or like-minded bigot do not have to personally accept gay marriage. YOU will still have the freedom to hold your archaic, prehistoric and ignorant views while the rest of enlightened society gets to experience more love.

Proponents of Prop 8 love to say that they are not trying to discriminate against gays and lesbians, and that they have nothing personal against gays and lesbians. But let's face it, that's the only issue here. It's not about the "sanctity of marriage" (a phrase that, like "activist judges," invariably causes me to cringe everytime I hear it), nor is it about religious freedom (because churches will not be required to perform same-sex marriages). It's about ultra-conservatives being unable and unwilling to give up what THEY feel is their last legalized form of discrimination.

Please, I urge all my friends in California to vote No on Prop 8 in November. Maybe you could even urge your own friends and family to do the same.