When I first began to think about this issue I admit I had my doubts. I'm not one to judge on race or status or sexual orientation or anything else for that matter. And it made me uncomfortable to deny anyone rights. I've always considered myself a reasonable person. However, I cannot stand by and let the world in which my children will live be one where they are forced to think as other's do. This is why we're voting Yes on Prop 8.
Voting yes merely protects everyone's right to teach their children as they please without interference from gay activists groups as they shove their ideals down our throats. I can love and be friends with any homosexual person or couple and not support them at a gay parade. I can be friends with a Jew and not share their religious views. I can be friends with an anarchist but that doesn't mean I'm going to join in their latest coup. If Prop 8 does not pass, same-sex marriage will open up the doors for people to be forced into beliefs they don't share. Case in point, the fertility expert that was sued by a lesbian couple because he didn't feel comfortable with treating them. Or check out this video.
That video is true story. Weird, right? Why would a child in kindergarten need to know about same-sex marriage? To five-year-olds people are people. I'd like to think that as a parent, my right to monitor what my children will see at the age of 5 is still valid. It is my duty as a parent to teach my children tolerance, equality and love, but it is also my right to do so a time that I think will be appropriate for their age and level of understanding.
Passing Prop 8 will not lose anyone their rights (except distraught parents), homosexual couples will still have legal rights to do as they wish as mature adults, as they should. They will still have benefits, they will still be able to live together, to sue in case of persecution, to love each other and to live in the pursuit of happiness.
Furthermore, I don't want my church (which does not condone homosexuality, but does condone love and tolerance of everyone regardless of sexual orientation), whose beliefs I support and follow to be sued because we don't feel it in line with our beliefs to perform temple same-sex marriages.
Please vote yes. Voting Yes merely means everyone's right are tolerated, not just theirs or ours..
6 comments:
thanks for this post.
Marriage is our culture’s ultimate expression of equality–it takes one man and one woman to create children. Even if a marriage can’t have children or choose not to have children the definition of their relationship expresses this equality.
One could see a lesbian union as a marginalization of men, or a homosexual union as a marginalization of women.
I don't believe government should sanction the marginalization of any gender (or more importantly, parent). And even though some families can't have children, or choose not to have children, you can't separate the child-issue from the marriage issue.
there is a great discussion here:
http://prop8discussion.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/separate-but-equal/
yes on prop 8!
So, you said "as a parent," just wondering if that means anything...
i think this is so sad. this is about normalizing relationships. people of color were discriminated against in the past and we had our movements and now, we are recognized as equals in the eyes of the law. same for women's and their rights. and soon, it will be for homosexuals. and my children and your children will think it's crazy that our generation ever saw homosexuals any differently than heteros.
i watched the video you posted. are you ok with schools teaching children that mexicans are "normal" and just like any other people? gay marriage isn't any different. 50 years ago, there were tons of parents who would have been upset if blacks and mexicans and other people of color were depicted in their kids' books as normal. or oo god forbid, a caucasian marrying a mexican! they would have been upset to see women depicted in their kids books as successful career women, potentially not married, or single moms. i'm glad you and i did not grow up in those times and that kids are taught to be tolerable of my ethnicity, my sex. and hopefully for my kids and yours, they will be taught to be tolerable of anyone's sexual orientation. just as you want your kids to grow up to be color blind, i hope you want them to be blind to who someone chooses to devote their life to.
this isn't about sexual education. no one is teaching 5 years old about what a mom and dad do in private. the books depict moms and dads doing parental duties, loving their children. why shouldn't these same books depict two men or two women doing parental things like loving their children?
did you know that it was only 41 years ago that the supreme court ruled that laws against interracial dating were unconstitutional? i bet you're very happy that ruling was made. this proposition is not all that different.
oops! interracial marriage, not dating.
honestly nat, i was shocked to see that you posted a conservative right wing lobby's propaganda as justification for your views regarding prop 8. this is a group that lobbies for the overturning of all legislation at the state and federal level that protects the rights of homosexuals - not to mention the FRC's lobbying against the availability of birth control, for the teaching of intelligent design in schools (as opposed to evolution theory), and denies that global warming has anything to do with humans.
regarding the content of the clip...is it wrong to say to a young child that gays exist? i mean, i have friends who are gay, and will probably be a part of my life when i have children. am i supposed to preclude these people from my life? because when uncle albert comes to dinner with his husband, it will spark questions...but that doesn't mean my answer has to be that uncle albert has sex with men. it could be that uncle albert and uncle joe love each other like mommy and daddy love each other. would that be so wrong?
in defense of nat...
You don’t have to agree with her, but you must understand that she is simply doing what she feels is right, just as you are. Both sides of this issue are working for what they believe is best for the future of this country. And both sides are entitled to state their views. Isn’t that the point of both the phone calls in favor of prop 8, petitions against it, debates, lawn signs, and even blog posts – to further what you believe is the right course of action?
Nat is stating what she believes and why. I dont think this makes her a biggot. Again, you don’t have to agree with nat or any other supporter of prop 8, but how about a little mutual respect?
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