A Question For Prop 8 Supporters
November 12th 2008 22:32
Prop 8 has become a national hot-button issue. Since its passage last week, protests have erupted not just in California, but throughout the country. I don't live in California; I live in a state in which a similar proposition passed overwhelmingly in 2004. And as much as I was against it when it was introduced in my state, I was just as against it this time in California.
But like I said, I don't have in California, so I had no say this time. But thousands of people did. And many of them voted to take away the rights of gay couples to marry. For those people, those who voted yes on this horrible proposition, I have just a few questions because I honestly do not understand that mindset.
Why? What is it to you? Why do you care so much whether two men or two women want to enjoy the same union that you are allowed to enter into should you so choose? These people are not trying to get any "special privileges" like the other side is so found of touting. They are not trying to get any special treatment. They're not trying to take anything away from you. They just want to be treated as equals. They want, for once, to be treated as normal human beings, part of the same creed and bred from the same human race as everyone else. But you, for some reason, feel that it is okay to treat them as second-class citizens. And to make it worse, you claim to rectify it by saying "sorry, the real thing is reserved for straight couples, but here's something almost as good...".
These people are not asking you to embrace what you call their "lifestyle". They are not asking you to embrace what you call their "agenda". They're just asking for the same right that you have: to enter into a marriage with someone they love.
I've heard a lot about the "definition of marriage". Well my definition seems to be a bit different from everyone else. My definition of marriage is a union between two people who love each other, who are committed to each other, and who want to spend their lives together and embark on a journey together, for better or worse, be it two men, two women, or a man and a woman. Or if you're a Mormon, a man and 20 women. (Okay, that was a cheap shot, but you had to know it was coming). These people only want the opportunity to be a part of a joyous union. They only want the chance to have the basic rights that you get. They want to experience the joys of a marriage with someone they love. They want only to be happy. And you voted to take that all away.
I can only imagine what it must feel like. I am not gay, and have never had to endure being treated like a second-class human being. I've never had to endure being called horrible epithets to my face. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe these people, those who treat homosexuals as if they're some kind of poison to society, should have to walk one day in their shoes. Maybe if they knew what it was like to listen to a politician talk about gay people as if they were the plague, maybe if they knew what it was like to experience prejudice and vitriol, and ignorance, maybe if they could open their eyes and see beyond the tunnel vision of their precious religion...maybe then they would get it.
So if you voted for this proposition or you support their position, I ask you why? Why do you care if two people you don't even know and will probably never even meet want to marry? Why do you care what these people want to do with their lives? Why do you think that its okay for you to force your religious beliefs onto others? And why do you think its okay to push one biblical quote down our throats and completely ignore the other biblical quotes? You remember: the ones about "love thy neighbor". Or how about this one: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned, forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." Oops. Or maybe: "And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Strike two. Okay, let's try this one: "Do unto others as you would have done unto you". Swing and a miss.
I guess selectively picking and choosing whatever bible passages apply to your bigotry and ignoring the others is just part of your agenda.
It was Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. who said "Unless man is committed to the belief that all mankind are his brothers, then he labors in vain and hypocritically in the vineyards of equality." In this day and age, in this world of hate and division, where in any religious book does it make it okay to further that division, and further that hate? Where in your mind is it okay to deny a fellow human being one of life's most fundamental joys because of your personal religious dogma? Why is it that you think that allowing these people the opportunity to be happy in any way affects your life?
But like I said, I don't have in California, so I had no say this time. But thousands of people did. And many of them voted to take away the rights of gay couples to marry. For those people, those who voted yes on this horrible proposition, I have just a few questions because I honestly do not understand that mindset.
Why? What is it to you? Why do you care so much whether two men or two women want to enjoy the same union that you are allowed to enter into should you so choose? These people are not trying to get any "special privileges" like the other side is so found of touting. They are not trying to get any special treatment. They're not trying to take anything away from you. They just want to be treated as equals. They want, for once, to be treated as normal human beings, part of the same creed and bred from the same human race as everyone else. But you, for some reason, feel that it is okay to treat them as second-class citizens. And to make it worse, you claim to rectify it by saying "sorry, the real thing is reserved for straight couples, but here's something almost as good...".
These people are not asking you to embrace what you call their "lifestyle". They are not asking you to embrace what you call their "agenda". They're just asking for the same right that you have: to enter into a marriage with someone they love.
I've heard a lot about the "definition of marriage". Well my definition seems to be a bit different from everyone else. My definition of marriage is a union between two people who love each other, who are committed to each other, and who want to spend their lives together and embark on a journey together, for better or worse, be it two men, two women, or a man and a woman. Or if you're a Mormon, a man and 20 women. (Okay, that was a cheap shot, but you had to know it was coming). These people only want the opportunity to be a part of a joyous union. They only want the chance to have the basic rights that you get. They want to experience the joys of a marriage with someone they love. They want only to be happy. And you voted to take that all away.
So if you voted for this proposition or you support their position, I ask you why? Why do you care if two people you don't even know and will probably never even meet want to marry? Why do you care what these people want to do with their lives? Why do you think that its okay for you to force your religious beliefs onto others? And why do you think its okay to push one biblical quote down our throats and completely ignore the other biblical quotes? You remember: the ones about "love thy neighbor". Or how about this one: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned, forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." Oops. Or maybe: "And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Strike two. Okay, let's try this one: "Do unto others as you would have done unto you". Swing and a miss.
I guess selectively picking and choosing whatever bible passages apply to your bigotry and ignoring the others is just part of your agenda.
It was Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. who said "Unless man is committed to the belief that all mankind are his brothers, then he labors in vain and hypocritically in the vineyards of equality." In this day and age, in this world of hate and division, where in any religious book does it make it okay to further that division, and further that hate? Where in your mind is it okay to deny a fellow human being one of life's most fundamental joys because of your personal religious dogma? Why is it that you think that allowing these people the opportunity to be happy in any way affects your life?
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Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
Not so cheap when you consider that it was the Mormon Church who pumped in the most money for the Prop 8 campaign. And you think you don't have a say just because you don't live in California? Well neither do most of the donors. If it had just been left up to the Californians, it would never have passed.
Comment by Kevan Dunkelberg
Mr Dissident
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
Yeah, the sacred union between a man and woman. That's what I think when I see celebrities getting hitched by Elvis in Vegas. or when I read a story about a 9 year old girl getting married off to a 50 year old man in Afghanistan. Or when I read the statistics on domestic abuse. The sacred union of a man and woman. What a crock of shit. Sorry 'bout the strong language but this really is a travesty. For California to have legalised same sex marriage, for so many couples to have finally achieved what they have longed to do for so long, to see it overturned this way, spearheaded by religious organisations from outside their State.....urggh.
Comment by Kevan Dunkelberg
Mr Dissident
And as for the strong language: don't worry, I don't give a shit