There’s one thing that people against Proposition 8 don’t understand. Everyone is equal.
That’s what the opponents of Prop 8 are trying to say, but it’s not really what they believe. Everyone is equal, everyone’s opinion is equal, and everyone’s vote is equal. Yet here we are, enduring the threats of the opponents of Prop 8, people who will apparently stop at nothing to extinguish my rights in favor of theirs.
If this is about “equality,” then why does my vote not matter? Twice. We voted on this issue twice. The results of the votes were the same both times. The majority of voters do not want gay marriage. Those on the losing end can’t accept it, so they want to play lawyer-ball until they get their way.
This is not a decision that belongs to the courts. Gays have exactly the same right to get married as any heterosexual person. There is no denial of civil rights. They can marry anyone they choose as long as that person is of the opposite sex.
To be honest, I’m not even entirely opposed to gay marriage. Perhaps more people would be open to allowing it if they hadn’t forced it down our throats in an “in your face” way. You just can’t tell people that their views are wrong. Like everyone else, I am the world’s number one authority of my opinion and what I believe cannot be wrong.
The two things the opponents of Prop 8 preached were that it was “unfair” and “wrong.”
Unfair? Life isn’t fair. My mom’s been telling me that for as long as I can remember. And it really isn’t. The income tax code isn’t fair. Affirmative action isn’t fair. The ban on talking on cell phones while driving isn’t fair. What isn’t fair doesn’t matter. Love the one you’re with and leave me out of it.
Wrong? There is no right and wrong when it comes to the law. Wrong is a judgment call. What one person thinks is wrong may be what another person thinks is right. The best we can do when it comes to right and wrong is try to get along. That’s where the vote comes in.
They’ve also claimed that Prop 8 is hateful. If you want hate, I’ll give you hate. I hate being told what to think. I hate being told that my opinion is wrong. I hate people who think their opinion is more important than mine. I hate that my vote doesn’t seem to matter.
I’m not going to go into how many gay friends I have or that I have had gay roommates in the past. It really doesn’t matter to me. I don’t think any less of them; I say live and let live, just don’t demand my endorsement.
It’s always been kind of a tenet of the gay community to not care about what people think of their lifestyle and that’s great. I do think it’s kind of sad, though, that gay people who want to get married demand my approval and a piece of paper from the state to validate their love.
For anyone who opposes Prop 8, don’t worry. It’s likely that gays will be allowed to get married in California sometime in the future. I might even be persuaded to change my mind if opponents of Prop 8 would be a little nicer about the whole thing.
They’re the ones spewing the hate and anger. I don’t hate anyone. I don’t want to stop anyone from having a committed relationship. I just want to be free to believe what I want without being made to feel like I'm evil.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Wow!
Very well-written and argued.
The writer could have thrown in some background on the election, and been more specific about the last vote, too.
But as a piece of writing, very nicely stated.
There are some problems here... for one Prop. 8 isn't legal. The first sentence of that proposition contained the words "eliminates the right." That -- by definition -- is what discrimination is all about.
To site life isn't fair is pretty weak in my opinion.
Speaking of opinion, I'm not here to try and change yours. You have a right to dislike gay people. That's cool. What isn't cool is eliminating a group of people's rights because you don't agree with what they are doing.
We've gone through this all before -- gay people are just the new minority after black people and women.
Dislike the gays, tell 'em they're going to hell, whatever, but allow them equal rights under the law.
I'm trying not to be angry about all this (after all, Prop. 8 doesn't affect me in any way, shape or form), but the disregard to civil rights is KILLING ME.
I'd love to talk about this, though... I'll promise I'll listen to what you have to say... hahaha.
Governments eliminate rights all the time. In 1972 Californians voted to amend the Constitution to reinstate the death penalty. Hard to argue that wasn't eliminating a right for death-row inmates.
Daniel is wrong about the courts not getting a say in the issue. It's their job. You want them to have a different job it is going to take a change to the California Constitution, and not by amendment, but by revision.
This is the new battle over same-sex marriage. Does Prop. 8 qualify as a revision to the state constitution? If it does it requires a two-thirds vote in both Legislatures before the people vote on it.
A revision "substantially alters the basic governmental framework set forth in our Constitution." The pro-same-sex marriage says by eliminating a groups rights they are making a substantial change. Generally the court takes a narrow view of substantial change as something that changes many parts of the Constitution. Prop. 8 was written very simply and doesn't change much in the Constitution.
This is getting a bit longer than I planned. I think I have a subject for this week's blog.
Post a Comment