Think Different: California Proposition 8
It's just common sense
A new set of PSAs about California Proposition 8 are about to be released (one of them features Margaret Cho, another Molly Ringwald) and I’ve been able to preview one of them right here on Pink is the new Blog. As you may already know, Prop 8 seeks to outlaw same-sex marriage in the State of California, which I am vehemently opposed to. Here is the PSA:
For me, it’s a simple matter of allowing rights for all versus stripping rights from “certain people”. Before 1920 women were not allowed to vote in this country … now all male and female citizens of the US are allowed the right to vote. Before 1957 African Americans were not allowed to attend public schools with Caucasian children … now barring any minority group from attending any public school is strictly outlawed. Very soon all citizens of the US will be able to marry … and it all begins with opposing any propositions that seek to strip rights away from anyone. For me, it’s a very simple matter — I’m hoping that all Californians vote NO on Proposition 8.
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This is the only time I wish I was a citizen was now, so I could vote no.
Summer shows us why this is even an issue… people are confused.
Some think they should feel a certain way, because of their religion or political party or whatever, but they cannot justify it in their minds. In THAT way, this is just like women’s rights or discrimination issues.
People can feel that it’s wrong, but they continue with their view because it is what someone is telling them to think.
IF YOU LIVE IN ARIZONA, VOTE NO ON 102 its the same horrible prop as 8 in california.
Humans are created equal. It should stay that way.
They have a proposition 8 in Florida too. Are they doing this everywhere?
Summer… as to your statement of “Who you have sex with should not have any bearing on your rights as an American citizen”, I am in full agreement. All people SHOULD be treated equal, no matter the person you sleep with. But this goes deeper than sleeping with someone, this is a matter of who we love… The Gay and Lesbian community is NOT asking for “special allowances”, we are asking for EQUAL allowances. We are asking for the same rights and protections as any other committed couple who has made an adult decision to share their life, property, and love with.
To your other statement… “It disgusts me when people scream equality for gays and compare it to the struggle of women and African Americans.” I want to ask you specifically, how is the struggle different in theme? For years, women were prevented from entering certain buildings and kept from voting. For years black americans weren’t allowed to marry and then were discriminated again when law was written preventing them from marrying a different race. Gay men and women are one of the final groups that are discriminated against and prevented from equal rights in our society. They are thought of as a second class of people in the eyes of the law. Would you prevent a black american from marrying just because they’re born different from you? Are they less of a person because of that? Gay men and women are born gay, just like black american men and women are born black american and women are born women.
As to your last point… “As a heterosexual I can question why most companies offer health insurance to homosexual couples under the heading domestic partnership yet if I were unmarried and living with my boyfriend I am not eligible for the same benefit.” I guarantee you that if you check with your boyfriend’s insurance company you will find that if you have shared a residence for a certain amount of time and have joint accounts, you would be eligible, married or not. Again, gay and lesbian couples DO NOT HAVE SPECIAL RIGHTS! Proposition 8 is about preventing us from attaining rights that you are freely open to having because you were born you. All we are looking for is to be seen the same way in the eyes of the law. No special rights.
I honestly hope you will view this with open eyes and think deeply about how you choose to affect discrimination in our world.
Race and sex are protected classes under the Constitution; sexuality is not. Sorry, but that’s just how it is. I have no problem with gay civil unions, but I think people need to check out the dictionary, and also how the Constitution applies to situations like these. Trent’s separate but equal comparison doesn’t work, because of protected class status, and also because being black or a woman doesn’t challenge the definition of marriage, while being gay does.
But Julie, race and sex were not always protected classes under the Constitution. The 19th Amendment had to be ratified for women to get the right to vote. The Supreme Court had to interpret the text of the Constitution to extend protection to minorities. Some day the time will come when GLBT citizens will be treated exactly like heterosexuals, Massachusetts, California and Connecticut are the pioneering states that have begun the charge for equality in this country. It will happen because Freedom demands that it will happen.
i am voting yes on prop 8 simply because i think the United States Constitution says a little something about Separation of church and state and if this passes Churches all over CA would be required to marry but not just that why should i pay taxes so my kids can go on a field trip to see there gay teacher get married Double standard when they couldn’t come to any Conventional Marriage it al sounds like a bunch of double standards we give give give and have never gotten anything back
I respect the right of others to vote as they will, but I cannot for the life of me understand why people care what others do in their private lives. I find it hard to believe that people actually think letting gays get married will have any impact on them, whatsoever. I’m typically pretty conservative, but when it comes to social issues like this, I can’t agree with the Republicans I usually vote for. Unfortunately in this election, NEITHER candidate is for gay marriage. Although I don’t vote in that state, I sincerely hope there is a resounding “no” to Prop 8 in California.
Jon it has already been established that No on Prop 8 does not require anything. The vote is against the constitution changing. It will not require any church to do anything, and certainly not perform gay marriages unless they want to. This is a fake talking point from the Yes on 8 campaign. Yes on Prop 8 just writes discrimination into our constitution. It would be the only such law in the constitution that discriminates against a particular group in such a profound way. So everyone please vote No!
Why isn’t there a constitutional amendment to ban divorce? Wanda Sykes said that is the biggest threat to marriage.
I’m sorry if this comes across bigoted but I get so damn mad everytime someone compares what African-Americans have gone through in this country to the gay rights fight. As an African American and a mother, I doubt my parents and I know I wasn’t asked what race I wanted to be or what race my daughter wanted to be. Some things and urges can be controlled. Being black isn’t. In just my own family’s history, there are some horrendous things that have happened only because they saw black skin so please quit acting like it’s the same thing because it is not and it so offensive to act otherwise.
Nat, thanks for your “apology” but you are coming across bigoted. It is flat out wrong to claim that sexuality is an “urge” that can be controlled. The assumption is that gays can be changed. You may not want to see discrimination against one group of people as the same as discrimination of another but it seems clear to me.
Nat, bigotry is bigotry. Many people have been beaten or killed just based on the perception of their sexuality even though some of them have been straight. Most people can tell I am gay. People have known I was gay since I grew up in the Appalachian mountains and I was treated ruthlessly because of it. I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t try to flaunt it and I certainly didn’t want anyone in my high school to know it and at the time I certainly had never acted on it. No one ever asked me if I wanted to be effeminate or perceived as gay. So don’t try to act like the bigotry I have faced is just because of an urge I could have ignored, its based on a perception that people have and their bigotry regardless of if I actually was gay. This argument of course ignores the fact that I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with being black, gay, jewish etc.
it is sad that people cannot just accept people for who and how they are. if at the very least people could tolerate (i am not even asking for acceptance because i know sadly, that wont ever happen) other people, we could all peacefully co-exist. here, in wisconsin, same sex marriage was voted no by a pretty large margin. most people here are conservative, ass backward, bible beaters, and/or prejudice. it is pathetic. i would encourage anyone that lives in CA to vote NO to prop 8. everyone deserves the same rights no matter what their gender, race, sexual orientation, handicap, etc. who am i (or who is anyone) to judge anyone based on my personal belief system?! i feel everyone should be free to live a life that makes them happy and not be judged or stripped of basic fundamental rights because of it. PERIOD. i also urge you to join HRC (Human Rights Campaign) to help fight for equal rights. http://www.hrc.org/
Jon –
You wrote:
“why should i pay taxes so my kids can go on a field trip to see there gay teacher get married Double standard when they couldn’t come to any Conventional Marriage”
I’m having trouble following your reasoning. Do children in any class attend any weddings during any field trips? where did you obtain this information?
Yours,
Fellow Californian
forehead slammer, sadly Gavin Newsom officiated at a lesbian first grade teachers wedding. As a surprise many of her students were outside city hall at the end of the wedding to celebrate her wedding. They did not attend the ceremony and apparently the teacher and Newsom did not know it was going to happen. The Yes on 8 people are totally exploiting the situation to look like children are being forced to accept gay marriage when they didn’t even attend the ceremony.
Please get the facts straight! It makes me so mad that the Morman church is making a Yes on 8 somehow into a vote FOR religious freedom! It’s the biggest hoax of this election.
“the court decision regarding marriage specifically says “no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.”
And also … about that whole “choosing your sexuality” … I certainly didn’t “choose” to be straight, it’s just who I am. And no amount of brainwashing or praying would change that.
DON’T LET THEM SCARE YOU. NO ON 8.
(I’m sorry to repeat this from a previous comment page, but it’s quite relevant…)
Obama has strong ties to the HRC and other equal-rights organizations. His plan is to allow gay marriage, but it is not an official part of his campaign at this time (so as not to alienate voters, etc). If you are voting no, or would vote no, to Prop 8, then vote Obama in November.
To the person discussing the Constitutionality of granting gays the right to marry. You are correct that sexual orientation is not considered a protected class based on the current precedent of Supreme Court opinions. However, over time opinions can and have changed on MANY issues including the expansion of rights to various groups. Justices recognized the Lawrence v. Texas a fundamental right to privacy such that states can no longer criminalize sodomy or at the minimum enter the private bedrooms of citizens to punish them for natural acts. The prevailing opinion among justices at the time of that opinion and several others was that sexual orientation was unlike other protected classes (race, gender, national origin) because sexual orientation is chosen and not inherited. This is factually incorrect and when society comes to (finally) accept that being gay is not a “lifestyle choice” but a part of our genetic makeup, gays will receive the same kinds of protection as other protected classes until everyone is finally treated equally. Recall our founding fathers espoused that “all men are created equal” but even they did not consider African-Americans or women to be a part of this equality. Some day this principle will become a reality and it will take the strength of those with the courage to stand up for their convictions to make this reality happen. Those “Yes on 8″ ads are correct. Gay marriage will be taught in schools. In the future students will learn about those who fought against the tyranny of government and fought for what they believed in, the same way we learn about those same patriots of the women’s and civil rights movements. Our children will be taught acceptance and understanding. This includes respecting the beliefs of those who believe in gay marriage and those who do not. In the meantime, those of us concerned citizens have a duty to ourselves and our children to spread the message of tolerance wherever we can. YOU CAN STILL REGISTER IN CALIFORNIA THROUGH MONDAY OCTOBER 20. REGISTER TO VOTE AND LET YOUR CONSCIENCE GUIDE YOU.