protect marriage?

[MeganJane]

Finally, people are saying things that are constructive and actually make sense!

I find that comment rather insulting.


...

Btw it's "bigamy", not "bigotry"

[zurielshimon]

Finally, people are saying things that are constructive and actually make sense!

I find that comment rather insulting.

I didn't mean that to be directed at you. But surely you could see that most of what was being said up to that point was just attacks on other people's opinions.

If this is how people are going to try to define a marriage, then there needs to be a special word that describes only a union between a man and a woman that can in no context be used to describe two men or two women.  Not a phrase or a fabricated compound word, but one real word, something that only a man and a woman can be and no one else.

This is why I support marriage and garriage. =D

 I just think -and say whatever you wanna say, I am not going to try and legislate this, it's just my opinion - that there IS a fundamental difference between the bond a man and woman share and the bond gay couples have. Even if there was no discrimination involved, I still think there would be inherent differences and I think it is unfair to act like the bonds are exactly the same by naming them exactly the same way. And I don't personally care much what the two different words are, I am not religious. We could get rid of marriage entirely and just make up two new words, but I love words and I love detail, and I don't see why we have to expand one word to suit everyone when we could just make up a new word or version of the word to define the nuances of a gay bond. Not worse, not better, just not exactly the same.

Gays want me to think that their love is exactly the same as heterosexual's love and while I think, sure, it's similar in many ways, it's different too. People are so afraid different is bad because of prior race issues or something. I'm just saying there are slight differences given the setup of the relationship.

I'm not fuming over the matter and really don't care but I've always wished that there will remain a way to define what I have with my husband as something between a man and woman, just for the sake of clarity.

I guess I was wrong; apparently there was something else that could be said. And I'm not just saying that because I happen to agree with you completely. It was also very well-written.

Btw it's "bigamy", not "bigotry"

To be honest, I'm not in support of reinstating either one of those practices. :razz:

[NoelleNC]

Thanks! Actually, I made quite a few grammar mistakes, but I've been out of school for a year so I think I deserve a few =P Or maybe not, 1 year is not that long!!

But yeah, most people against gay marriage do not share my reasoning. They're usually against it for religious or moral reasons. I just think America has become too politically correct and many seem too afraid to admit that people, and now relationships, can be different if it might possibly offend someone. If I ever said to the majority of my former college peers that I am against gay marriage they would think I am  narrow minded and/or stupid. They wouldn't even consider that I might be against it for a simple, fundamental reason but that I think gay couples deserve every right of a married couple. Oh well!

[nicole]

I'm voting NO! on prop "hate".

[iluvvanessa]

I know prop 8 isn't all about gay marriage, but this seemed like a topic to post this in.
in my area people are very vocal about what side they're on, whether it be with signs on their lawn, a huge banner, or a button, they express it. Anyways, this weekend, a family who is really nice, and warm had a huge yes on prop 8 banner (I am against prop 8, but these people are really nice, and I've known them for a few yeats) which was graffitied, and their car was painted "bigots live here" (meaning assholes, nieve, stupid people, to say the least). Its upsetting that people feel the need to vandalize, and go out like this and ruin so much property in order to get their voice heard.

Chalking a park is one thing, but painting a car is pretty wrong.

[eclv]

     "Protect Marriage"? Is this message saying we should keep it between a man and woman? That's ridiculous. As said before, men and women can't even stay together these days. The message should be directed towards that.

I had a message on my home phone from a person calling to make sure I understood that Prop 8 was not about denying people's constitutional rights but about marriage being defined as between a man and a woman.

I think it's crazy that it passed already and now they want to take it away - again! Heterosexuals can't get marriage right so why not let the gays try?

The commercials here are talking about how if you don't protect marriage they will teach homosexuality to kids in school like it has happened in other states (I think MA)

There are a ton of Vote Yes on 8 signs in people's lawns in my neighborhood.

[MyMelody]

The Mormons at our school (I don't know why, but we have a rather enormous Mormon community here) banded together to write a rather rage-inducing piece for the school newspaper. This is almost as bad as the Pro-Palin essay last month.

Proposition 8: Apples are Apples

In November 2000, 61% of the voting population in California officially
defined marriage in this state as a union between a man and a woman. In no
wise was any of the wording or intent of this legislation designed to
discriminate or deny same gender relationships of rights, privileges, or
respect. Then, in May of 2008, four San Francisco based California Judges of
the Supreme Court decided that they knew better than the majority of the
people in this state. Democracy was put on hold as the will of the people
was ignored. The original proposition and definition of traditional marriage
was overturned and same gender marriages were legalized in California. With
the upcoming ballot this November, voters are faced with a decision to
restore the definition of marriage or to constitutionally allow same gender
relationships to obtain the status of marriage. This is Proposition 8.

On the ballot, Proposition 8 states that, "Only marriage between a man and a
woman is valid or recognized in California.". This means a "Yes" vote on
Prop. 8 respects the voice of the people of California and defines marriage
to exist between one man and one woman. A "No" vote will continue to allow
same gender marriages under the protection of the California Constitution.

Now, let us be exceedingly clear. In no way does proposition 8 take away or
deny any rights to homosexual relationships. This is the biggest
misconception surrounding this issue. Proposition 8 is about traditional
marriage and what defines it. This is not an attack on same gender
relationships and their rights. Nothing in this proposition is about hate,
intolerance, discrimination, or inequality. Homosexual couples already enjoy
the same significant rights in a Civil Union as a heterosexual couple does
in Marriage. Nothing is denied. Nothing is held back. Nothing is unfair. So
why the controversy? Why do we have to vote on this again? Homosexuals want
their union to be defined in the same way asa marriage between a man and a
woman. The fact is; they're different. We can define an apple as an orange
all day long. But at the end of the day, the apple is still an apple. The
word Marriage came about to define the joining of a man and a woman together
in legal bonds of matrimony. This definition has been upheld for thousands
of years. Who are we to alter the essence of that definition? Marriage is
what Marriage is. Changing that would require a new word (Domestic
Partnership maybe?).

So we've discussed a lot about what is and what isn't. But why do we care?
Why do we want to protect the tradition of Marriage? First and foremost, it
comes to family. The traditional family unit is the basic and fundamental
foundation of every society in history. The protection of that unit is a
high priority and not without good reason. If the family fails, so follows
society. The following are some statistics that signal the potential
undermining of the family and society should same gender marriages be
legalized.

- 63% of youth that commit suicide come from fatherless homes.

- 71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.

- 75% of adolescent patients in drug abuse centers come from fatherless
homes.

- 85% of all youth sitting in prison come from fatherless homes.

Clearly, the ideal situation for raising children falls to a healthy home
with a father and a mother. While not all fatherless homes result in this
same way, the facts speak for themselves when it comes to same gender
couples raising children. The children of this nation are also the future of
this nation. All children deserve the right to be raised by a father and a
mother. Children raised in such circumstances fare better in the above
mentioned areas. Unfortunately, far too many children fall short of this
ideal. To us, that sounds like inequality.

Just like both of the presidential candidates and their running mates, we
support traditional marriage and all the benefits therein. We believe in the
strength of the family led by a loving mother and father. In this faltering
world, the role of a strong family is more crucial than at any other time in
history. Though the will of the California voters has been rejected once,
the chance to re-affirm our voice is at hand. We want our apples to be
apples. Please remember; This is not about hate or malice. This is not an
anti-gay movement. It is a pro-marriage act. No hard feelings or prejudice
accompanies this piece of legislation. Personally, we respect the choices of
every individual, but let Marriage be defined as what it was designed for.

I am so enraged right now. Did you know that my school has a Christian club, a Mormon club, and a Conservative club? The only token liberal clubs were Go Green and GSA but nobody ever attended them so they're gone.

Did I mention we're less than an hour's drive from SAN FRANCISCO?

[iluvvanessa]

We're less than an hour away from SF and have an active GSA, 2 of my friends are in it.

[tylor2000]

I might vote for it but not because I'm against gay marriage.  I live in San Francisco.

[MyMelody]

Best (note my sarcasm) argument I've heard for Prop 8, ever:


Prop 8 supporter to her friend: I'm in favor of Prop 8 because, I mean, that court decision totally goes against our rights to freedom of religion. It's like, hello, you already have the exact same rights as the rest of us, so who cares if it's called "marriage" or not? There are some of us who actually, you know, have morals and it isn't very fair for them to rub this like, sacred thing in our faces. Ugh. Plus, I mean, then they're going to start teaching kids about gay marriage when they're like, five. Can you imagine? I mean, little kids should not be exposed to that kind of stuff. It's totally brainwashing them! Oh, it'll be awful, cause I mean, they'll want to marry their best friend or something. Oh my God, and also, they like, shut down churches that don't perform gay marriages. Can you say "separation of church and state"? I respect your lack of faith and all, but don't force us to conform to your stupid principles. Besides, every gay person I've talked to, like, doesn't care about getting married. The only people who seem to be all angry about it are people who won't ever be affected by it unless they choose to be gay too, so it's like, what do you know about gay marriage? You're not gay.

Her friend: Well, if marriage is so sacred, why don't we outlaw divorce and adultery, too?

Her: Well, that's different.



*facepalm* I don't think I need to explain the stupidity in this one, do I? I paraphrased a little because in the middle she started going on about how people who don't recite the whole Pledge of Allegiance need to "get over themselves; America is a Christian country and pretty much all religions believe in God anyway, so it's not like there's anyone that matters who'd actually offended".

More importantly, though, is Prop 4. If Prop 4 passes I will remain in bed for a week, weeping for the future of our allegedly blue state (not to mention our supposedly just nation).[/b]

[tylor2000]

Why not vote for prop. 8?  It's not going to count anyway.  Remember? The Mayor of San Francisco says gay marriage is going to happen if we like it or not.  They'll find a way to get around it or strike it down and I'd like to see them do it.  So I encourage everyone to vote for Prop. 8 so we can see democracy at work.

The San Francisco political engine at work for the better of our state.  Too bad Gay Rights are being put on the chopping block like this.
 

[charmedguy18]

Since I'm locked up in a hospital, I'm out of the loop with this Proposition 8 business. I rarely see the news. But, honestly, there have been about 20 too many threads related to this topic.... Marraige should be between any two Homo Sapien Sapiens who love eachother. If a church says they don't agree with homosexual marraige, then they shouldn't be forced to marry them, but the government shouldn't force churches who would allow it to not be able to do it... If that makes sense.
I live in South Carolina, so this very progressive (insert sarcasm here) state has a long time to go until we see anything close to gay marraige.

[Manda]

I'm voting NO on Prop 8 tomorrow.

[eclv]

Good for you Manda. I am too. There are so many arguments pro and against but it's such discrimination, I can't even believe it. The main thing I am hearing from people on the news is that they aren't against gay people they just don't want their kids to be taught about it in school. I don't recall being taught about marriage anywhere but at CCD.

On my way home I saw people for both sides at the intersection. It's cold, wet and 10:30 at night.

[tylor2000]

I probably won't get down to vote today.  :cry:   But I hope it passes damn it.  It's not discimination.  If they want to say it is wrong, they should look into the bible every once in a while to see what it says is WRONG.  Talk about hypocrites.