My Take on 8

If you know me, you know I'm not one to throw my wood into the fires of politics. I feel that, for the most part, people don't talk about politics to learn more about the world and its issues and how to solve them. Rather, they come to a forum with their condescending "I-can't-be-wrong" attitudes and attempt like priggish barracudas to tear apart any person who does not cling tooth and nail to their agenda. So trust that this is a "matter of consequence" since I'm now rising up to the mic.

This year could quite possibly be the biggest and most defining election for our generation. You will have either your first ever Black president or your first ever female Vice President. And although politics should not be about race or gender-we should elect those who can do the job right, regardless-it must still be acknowledged that this is a huge accomplishment in our society.

There are many props, positions, and legislature upon which to vote. In terms of my vote for President, I'm not yet sold on either one. They both have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, in terms of props, there is one issue in particular that I would like to address, and that is Proposition 8 (regarding gay marriage in California).

Now, I know this is a touchy subject. Financially speaking, this one prop has already seen $50 million altogether invested by both sides. If the figures are indeed correct, that is the most money a prop has ever garnered in political history. And personally speaking, I'm torn. I have gay friends with whom I sympathize. And I respect and admire many who've had to endure countless demeaning epithets and violent acts. So let me first start by saying this: I am not against homosexuals or their attainment of rights. They are no less human than I am, and they deserve to be treated with the same respect, dignity and love as any other human being.

With that being said, however, a vote for "No" on prop 8 on November 4^th, with the intention that it would be for their rights, would ironically be a vote against mine-my civil rights, my liberties, and my own beliefs.

So let's talk politics.

Section 297.5 of the California Family Code clearly states: "Registered domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections, and benefits, and shall be subject to the same responsibilities, obligations, and duties under law, whether they derive from statutes, administrative regulations, court rules, government policies, common law, or any other provisions or sources of law, as are granted to and imposed upon spouses." This means that same-sex couples have already been granted the same civil liberties as heterosexual married couples. I believe the section code verily speaks for itself, so what are they fighting for? Is it simply for the recognition? Or is it just the name?

I'm not quite sure, but what is certain is that a vote for "No" on Prop 8 would mean opposition against my liberty to speak out against affirming same-sex unions according to my beliefs. It could mean that my future children would be taught about same-sex couples in classrooms (96% of schools in California are required to teach about marriage), even if I respect but do not affirm that belief. It could mean that as a minister, if I did not want to perform a same-sex marriage according to my beliefs, I would be taken to a courtroom based on "discrimination." It could mean that as a teacher, if I did not want to teach about same-sex marriage according to my beliefs, I would be terminated. It could mean that as an adoption agency, if I did not want to allow a same-sex couple to adopt a child, I would be shut down. Essentially, I would lose my freedom of belief for the "rights" of others.

The proponents of same-sex marriage have also looked to the 1967 Supreme Court ruling of Loving v. Virginia to argue that since the court overturned race-based legal restrictions, they should also overturn all restrictions for their right to be together. However, the historical background of Loving is different. Racism has been rooted in this country for decades, and it was looked upon as a moral evil. We even fought a civil war to end it. Yet the idea that same-sex marriage is even possible is a relatively new one. Up until a few decades ago, it was assumed that marriage was a union held only between a man and a woman.

If we were to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples, then couldn't we extrapolate and technically argue for adults to start marrying children? Or humans to marry animals? Or for siblings to marry each other? Why not just make marriage be whatever we want it to be? That might sound absurd to us, but the same principle in which we would be endorsing a redefinition of marriage is inherent in that line of thinking.

Moreover, since the dawn of history, the concept and meaning of "marriage" has been "an institution shared between a man and a woman as husband and wife." There are those who argue that the foundation and definition of marriage is religious and as a result, shouldn't be defined as such. They don't believe in religious institutions. So then my question to them is, "Why would you want to take a religious term, if you didn't believe or agree with its origins in the first place, to define what you are with your partner?" Doesn't that seem contradictory? If I vote yes, I'm not voting to take away your right to be with them. But to take a term that has its roots in tradition, then to simply uproot it, seems callous, if not downright unjust. Do our words no longer have meaning?

Once again, I respect and admire the courage of the homosexual community. And we must learn to embrace those who do not share the same beliefs or philosophies as us. But it is disconcerting how we have become so afraid of stepping on people's toes for the sake of "tolerance" that we've now, in fact, become the extreme opposite-God forbid we be anything but PC.

Friends, this is not an issue of intolerance or bigotry. And it is not an issue of civil rights (this idea offends some Black people; ask them why). It is, however, a plea for the rights of those of us who do not endorse or believe in gay marriage.

Please vote "Yes on 8" come November 4.