Californication

Since the most consistent visitor to this blog is from California, I'd like to take the time out to highlight a very interesting situation in that state.

A recent state Supreme Court decision declared it unconstitutional to deny gay couples the right to marry, citing the equal protection clause in the state's constitution. Naturally, the only way to reverse that decision would be to amend the constitution.

Enter Proposition 8, which is designed to do just that.

What is so shocking about this case is that, according to the NY Times, it has attracted conservative religious leaders -- and dollars -- from across the country. They see this as a central front in the battle against gay marriage. From the ubiquitous Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, to the hip Rev. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Drive Life and goatee wearer, religious leaders have lined up to take away the constitutional rights of gay men and women in the state of California.

Look, I understand that for some this is a sensitive moral issue. And I understand that states like South Carolina will probably never allow same sex marriage. But the simple fact is that these zealots are using fear, religion and children to promote their agenda of discrimination.

No one wants to force churches to perform ceremonies for gay couples. No one wants to force children to consider being gay alongside considering to volunteer or learning about science. If you're gay, you're gay. It's that simple. You should be able to marry any consenting adult if you so please. Denying that right makes no sense.

What will happen to marriage if gay couples are allowed to wed? Nothing. Easy-to-obtain divorces have already diluted the institution of marriage. There's nothing left to damage.

And really, how could gay marriage hurt straight marriage? How would allowing more people to commit to each other and raise children and live healthy lifestyles possibly hurt marriage? If anything, it may even strengthen it.

Look at some of the ads the "Yes on Prop 8" people are running:





Oh, the horror! Little Timmy and Sally will go to straight to hell once they find out about those evil, evil gay people! It will hurt our religious freedom! We will be ostracized because of our hatred of people based on their sexual orientation! The Bible has several vague verses which condemn gays, so, like, I say they shouldn't get married!

Give me a break. In America, you can believe what you want to believe. You can believe being gay is an abomination. You can believe certain races are inferior. You can believe that that everyone on the West Coast should be shot and killed. But you have no right to put that discrimination into law.

You can't turn the clock back on progress with discriminatory laws. We're passed the point where you can pretend gays don't exist by plugging your ears and covering your eyes, or that there is some 'cure' out there, as if being gay is a disease. Maybe you don't like it. Maybe you don't like interracial marriage either. Too bad.

Californians: Do the right thing. Reject conservative religious zealotry. We've come too far to put bigotry back into our institutions. Vote No on Prop 8.

I'll leave you with a few "No" vids:





*At least for this post, please keep your comments serious.