In 2000, 61% of California voters established that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” With an ill-advised 4-3 vote, the California Supreme Court struck this down, invented a new constitutional civil right on a collision course with other well-established constitutional rights, and gave us a Pandora’s box of problems including serious threats to religious liberties and parental rights. And then the court arrogantly refused to stay the order until the election. As one of the dissenting justices on the court said, the majority of the court is guilty of “seriously overstepping the judicial power,” resulting in a “cataclysmic transformation” of the institution of marriage “by judicial fiat.”
In doing so, they gave gays no new rights—gay partnerships already had “the same rights, protections and benefits” as married couples (California Family Code 297.5). That won’t change whether or not Prop. 8 passes. All they got was the label—the power to force us to call their relationships “marriage,” even if it conflicts with religious liberties, parental rights, the best interests of children, and even the rights of gays. This is not conjecture—the trampling of our religious, parental and educational freedoms by this new preeminent "civil right" of gay marriage is already starting to occur. It strikes at the very foundational institutions of our society. (For more information, please see massresistance.org/docs/marriage/effects_of_ssm.html and proposition8yes.blogspot.com.)
Proposition 8 restores what we voted for in 2000, takes no rights away from anyone, ensures tolerance for all no matter what their beliefs or lifestyle, and avoids the serious unintended consequences of this flawed ruling. Please vote YES on Prop. 8.
Gay rights activist: I'm in favor of equality for all.
California voter: So am I.
Activist: I think we should be tolerant of other people's lifestyles and moral choices.
Voter: Absolutely.
Activist: I think gays should be allowed to do what they want.
Voter: I agree.
Activist: Good--another gay marriage supporter.
Voter: Actually, I'm against “gay marriage.”
Activist: I thought you said you support equality, tolerance, and freedom of choice.
Voter: Yes; that's why I'm against “gay marriage.”
Activist: What?
Voter: Yeah, you are too, aren't you?
Activist: No, of course not. I'm a gay activist.
Voter: Yes, but you favor equality and tolerance, so you're against “gay marriage,” right?
Activist: What are you talking about?
Voter: Well, are you in favor of Proposition 8?
Activist: Of course not.
Voter: Why not?
Activist: Because it takes away equality in marriage.
Voter: How? You'll still have all the rights of marriage whether or not Prop. 8 passes.
Activist: Oh, no we won't. We won't be able to marry.
Voter: You mean you won't be able to live together?
Activist: No, of course we'd be able to do that still.
Voter: Maybe you mean you won't be able to legally commit to each other.
Activist: No, we can certainly do that too.
Voter: How about make health care and other decisions for your partner?
Activist: Thankfully, since 2006 in California, we can do all that.
Voter: How about any financial disadvantages?
Activist: None since 2006.
Voter: So exactly what right will you lose if Proposition 8 passes?
Activist: We won't be able to marry.
Voter: Oh, I see. You'll be able to make the commitment, have the ceremony, have all the rights that married people have, and do everything that married people do, you just won't be able to call it “marriage.” It's just the label you want.
Activist: Uh, yeah, I guess we just want to be able to call it “marriage.”
Voter: Actually, you can call it whatever you'd like. You just want to be able to force others to call it “marriage.”
Activist: Yeah, that's it, 'cause that's only fair.
Voter: What does that have to do with fairness?
Activist: If it's not called the same thing, then it's not exactly the same and it's not equality.
Voter: So now you see one of many reasons why I'm against “gay marriage.”
Activist: What?
Voter: By your logic, if we call it “gay marriage,” then it's not equality. You don't call it “gay marriage” if it's between a man and a woman, do you?
Activist: Of course not.
Voter: Then you're calling it different things, and that's not equality.
Activist: Well, they are different, so we need a different term to distinguish between the two.
Voter: Wait, isn't that the very thing you've been fighting against? Isn't that the very thing you say isn't fair? You want to call it by the same name, but it makes no sense to try to call it by the same name. You want everyone to treat the two types of couples the same yet you admit they are different. You want equality, but you don't want equality. You want equal rights, but you've already got equal rights. You're not making any sense.
Activist: Well, it makes no sense to teach the children that marriage is as good as marriage—we do have to be able to distinguish between the two. How are future generations going to be able to choose which type of marriage they want unless we can teach them about it in school just like they teach heterosexual sex?
Voter: Ah, now it's making sense. It's not about equality and rights. You want to be able to force everyone else to pretend it's the same, while you teach the children all the differences in how it's done. You want to indoctrinate the children in homosexual practices, with graphic depictions right along with teaching the birds and the bees, and parents won't be able to opt their children out. You want to force people to not just tolerate your lifestyle but to embrace it as equal even if it's morally unacceptable to them. That's not being tolerant of other people's moral choices, is it? And now that you've made it your "civil right" to insist that we pretend there are no differences between the two, you'll use the state to crush any church or individual who refuses to compromise their moral values. I'm not guessing--all of this is already happening in Massachusetts. That's not equality, and it's just not right. In the name of equality and tolerance, you want to cram this inequality and intolerance down our throats—whether we like it or not. If you really support equality, tolerance, and freedom of choice, you should vote “yes” on Proposition 8.
