Cori Anne and I have been volunteering for Proposition 8 (Prop 8) each Saturday now for the past 4 weeks or so. For those of you who don't already know what Prop 8 is, it is a Proposition to amend the California State Constitution so that only marriage between a man and a woman will be legally recognized in the state of California. In the year 2000, 61% of Californians passed Prop 22 which said "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California". That law was overturned recently by the CA Supreme Court by a 4-3 vote. Thanks to a lot of petitions, Prop 8 will be on the ballot November 4th. It has been great to go door to door in Arcadia with Cori and Donovan to talk to people about this important Proposition. We got a very positive response from the majority of people we talked to. However, some people either did not know much about Prop 8 or they felt that supporting Prop 8 might be unfair to their homosexual friends and family members. So, we wanted to blog about a few of the facts surrounding Prop 8 and a few of the reasons why we feel so strongly about it.
First, we feel so strongly about it because of our religious beliefs. We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and central to His plan for the happiness of His children. We also believe that mothers and fathers each have a unique and special role in the home and that both are important to happy family life.()
Also, we don't want the public schools in California to teach children that homosexual relationships are good and normal. In Massachusetts same-sex marriage is legal, and public schools teach to kids as early as kindergarten about same-sex marriage using a book called "King and King" where two princes marry each other and become King and King. Also, in Boston, MA Catholic adoption services were sued by a homosexual couple who were not allowed to adopt a child through the service because Catholics believe that same-sex marriage is wrong and that children deserve to have a mother and a father. They chose to close their doors rather than sacrifice their beliefs. Other lawsuits have happened involving same-sex couples not being allowed to hold their wedding or reception at a Catholic parish center. Any institution in CA, religious or otherwise, that teaches that marriage is a union only between a man and a woman may become labeled as intolerant or discriminatory.
It is important to note that same-sex couples can have a legal union in CA in which they have the same rights as a heterosexual married couple. So, no rights will be taken away from same-sex couples by voting YES on Prop 8. However, voting NO or simply doing nothing will threaten our rights to free speech and our rights to practicing our religion. To me, that isn't more tolerant, it is less.
Here is a great web site that talks more about proposition 8.
http://www.protectmarriage.com/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
You guys are awesome. Sterling What a beautiful explaination of this most important subject of our time. We love you guys and are grateful to have friends as stalwart as you. Sterling if you dont mind I am going to publish your blog entri to ours. I really think that what you said could not be more clearly explained especially about the so called "intolerance" of Prop 8. I hope many people run into your blog and read your entri. Cori cant wait to walk with you tomorrow and for the next few weeks till elections.
What a great explanation of the reasons to vote for Prop 8. I think you said it very succinctly and persuasively. I would like to link to it from my blog too.
Why haven't they found you. I have 7 intense comments from the public. Good luck when they do come.
Post a Comment