Alright, so I'm not really going to talk about Rainbow Cake. I have stolen my sister's ruse of luring you in with one title then talking about something different. Of course, my trickery has gone the opposite direction as hers. I DO want to talk politics.The two most important issues to me this election are the Presidential race and Proposition 8. I'm not going to waste time on the Presidential race because all the polls I have seen show it will go the way I want anyway. Also, I do not feel as passionately about it as I do about Prop. 8.
Proposition 8, if passed, will change the California State Constitution to define marriage in California as being a union between one man and one woman. The passing of this law will deny rights to same sex couples in our state.
To me this is reminiscent of the segregation imposed on African-Americans, women being denied the right to vote and Japanese nationals being forced into internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It will remove a basic right promised in the United States Declaration of Independance, "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...".
From Wikipedia -
"The phrase "pursuit of happiness" appeared in the 1967 Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967), which focused on an anti-miscegenation statute. Chief Justice Warren wrote:
The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men. "
Loving someone of the same sex is not unlawful. It does not violate the equal rights of others. There is no legal reason to keep this right from any consenting adult.
Many who oppose gay marriage do so for religious reasons. I must point out here that this country has adopted a legal doctrine of separation of church and state. Whatever your personal views may be, we are dealing with a legal matter.
It makes me so sad and frustrated to think that people would band together to remove a right that is so personal and emotional from other human beings. Most people get married because they are in love. Love is a nice thing. It makes people happy and the world a nicer place in general.
When I look at my children and think of my hopes for their future, the foremost thing in my mind is that they be happy. This wish is unconditional. I don't hope they will be happy as long as it is with someone of the opposite sex, I simply want them to be happy. If they someday do fall in love and wish to get married, I hope they are able to no matter what gender the other person is. I would not want them to be treated like second-class citizens because of where their heart led them. In fact, the thought makes me furious.
We have all known people whose spouses we don't like or approve of. I would guess this is a very common occurance in families and friendships. Most of us would never voice this opinion to our loved ones. We would never tell them not to get married because we do not approve. So why is this acceptable when the couple is of the same sex? Why does our politeness and common human decency fly out the window? It is still the same personal decision based on the feelings between two adults.
LOVE IS NICE! VOTE NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, ON PROPOSITION 8!
8 comments:
My husband Bruce and I are people of faith, and we oppose prop 8. Bruce opposes prop 8 on moral grounds. Galatians 3:28 states, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
In addition to moral reasons, I oppose prop 8 for political ideological reasons. In Loving vs Virginia (1967), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a law banning interracial [or "mixed"] marriages. To me, same-sex marriages are just another form of mixed marriages. To quote Mildred Loving (of said landmark case), "Government has no business imposing some people's religious beliefs over others."
The Sacramento-based California Council of Churches, which represents 4,000 California congregations, opposes prop 8, stating, "The only threat to conventional marriage comes from within a marital union -- divorce, infidelity, disloyalty -- not from without."
George Takei says "No on 8"
www.georgetakei.com
I say do whatever floats your boat :]
Actually, your title of Rainbow Cake is very fitting! I will be voting YES on 8 and I am sure this is not a surprise to you! And I do love you unconditionally!!! Hope that goes both ways!
I do not "lure" people in with one title and then talk about something different...OK I did once but you make it sound like a regular thing!
Jen, this was a beautiful post. I love you very much and our family is the most important thing in the world to me. I'm voting no on 8, as well. Hate is a four letter word.
I propose a limit on religion.
Wow, I am impressed with Dave's comment...public nice-ness is so rare in our family I almost assumed it was sarcastic!
I love you guys too!
Honestly, I have not even looked at my voters info yet, better get to that since Tuesday is the big day.
I'm not that big of a public expresser of my feelings, Mellisa. I made the point of doing it here because this proposition is about love....not hate. A vote for love is a vote in the right direction.
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