As thrilled as I was with the election results last week, there was one BIG letdown: Californians passed Proposition 8.
In case you've been living in a cave, Proposition 8 bans gay marriage and it marks the first time the state Constitution has been amended in order to TAKE AWAY rights. I keep hoping it was a mistake...a result of confusing wordplay that caused people to vote the opposite of their beliefs. I generally trust California to lead the liberal front, and now I'm worried that the small state of Vermont is going to have to carry this title (without the population to back it).
Earlier on this fall when I was watching the debates, I was upset that both the Democratic and Republican candidates came out and defined marriage as being a union between a man and a woman. How nice. How nice that this works for them, but not for the hundreds of thousands (maybe millions?) of gay people living in this country--a country that promises equality and justice for all. To me, the idea of equality means that people should maintain the right to marry ANYONE--preferably someone they LOVE.
This Proposition is a perfect example of why church and state should be separate, and I mean completely separate. What does this country have to lose by allowing gay marriage? What are people so AFRAID of? Maybe we're worried that the gay divorce rate will be lower than the straight divorce rate. This wouldn't look good now, would it?
Why do I care? I have a lot of gay friends. I feel guilty that I enjoy rights they don't simply because I'm straight. Of course, they're used to being treated like second-class citizens, so many of them are not as interested in promoting gay marriage as I am. Who can blame them for not wanting to take up another cross?
1 comment:
Couldn't agree with you more. Churches already have their own rules for marriage, the state shouldn't enforce those. Thanks for standing up for your peeps like me.
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