Proposition 8: The Myths and the Reality

This past year saw possibly one of the most historic elections take place in our nations history. This past November Americans of all denominations looked past the color of a man's skin and instead looked at the content of a man's character and voted into office the first African American to be President of the United States. I watched this election with a profound feeling of pride and joy for my country. Sadly however that pride was somewhat cut short after learning about the outcome of Proposition 8. Proposition 8 was the ballot measure that would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry one another. On a night when the nation took 3000 steps forward, Californians decided to take 2000 steps back and vote yes on this proposition. I would ask folks who seemed adamant on this bill just what was so threatening about same-sex couples wanting to get married? I often thought that if Gays and Lesbians wanted to get married and deal with picking out linens, china patterns and possibly deal with the harsh realities of divorce, palimony and alimony than so be it! What I started to find out was that there seemed to be more than a few myths about this bill and that the reality of proposition 8 was lost on even the most moderate voters in California. Let's deal with the myths and reality of proposition 8.

One of the first myths to come about seemed to be tied to education. Many parents felt that if this proposition passed, then the ultimate affect would be that teachers would be teaching about Gay marriage in schools. Speaking as an educator I can honestly say that at this point in time schools and school districts across the country have just mastered the art of teaching kids how to read! Do people really think school districts are ready to tackle a new curriculum strand? Last time I checked, Gay and/or straight marriage were not listed as A-G requirements. Now let's assume there is a Gay militant teacher on a campus that decides he/she wants nothing to do with the standard curriculum but instead wants to teach/rant about Gay marriage, I submit that this is not a Gay marriage issue but a district hiring issue. There have been and will continue to be militant teachers who eschew curriculum for their own agendas. School districts, principals and teachers unions (yes the old teachers unions) need to crack down on these teachers and drive them out of the profession. I reiterate this is a hiring problem and NOT a Gay marriage problem.

Another myth about this issue is the idea that some how Gay marriage ruins the "sanctity" of marriage. Now this notion just confounds me. On one hand we have same sex couples who want nothing more than to be availed the same rights that heterosexual couples have. They want their unions to be looked upon as marriages, nothing more nothing less. On the other hand, if we want to see the sanctity of marriage tarnished a bit then I suggest we look no further than reality television. Over the course of ten years reality TV has made a mockery of marriage and relationships with shows like "I Want to Marry a Millionaire", "Secret Wedding 1 and 2", "The Flavor of Love", Rock of Love" and a show in which the premise was the women, thought they were marrying a millionaire but in reality the husband to be was in fact a man of working class stature. This is how straight men and woman have held up the sanctity of marriage in all its prime time glory.

There has indeed been a religious aspect to this argument. Many have pointed to the fact that supposedly the Bible has stated this type of union is wrong. The Mormon Church seemed particularly disturbed by the idea of Gay marriage which again has led me to be confused. The Mormon community was persecuted to the point where they sought refuge in the Great Salt Lake Valley, now known as Utah. I find it ironic and surprising that a religious group who felt the sting and fear of persecution would turn around and find a vulnerable group in our society and treat them exactly the same way they themselves were treated many years ago. The Mormon church has preached a doctrine of morality and political neutrality but its practices have looked very different.

Possibly the most puzzling issue about Prop 8 is the idea of history. Believe it or not we have seen this before. Many years ago there were laws preventing inter-racial marriage. There were laws on the books that stated there should be no intermingling between African Americans, Latinos, Asians and/or Whites for fear of creating a mongrel race in our society. This was the state of affairs in our country. It was wrong and it was created out of fear. It was created out of the fear of difference. This type of invasion into the personal lives of American citizens was wrong then and it's wrong now. At this moment in time we have the opportunity to move forward and respect our differences while celebrating the ties that bind us together and make us Americans. My hope for the New Year is that we look past our differences in 2009. My hope is that we look at the commonalities we have and that we really take hold of the meaning of words like liberty, pursuit of happiness and civil rights. At this moment we as Americans have a whole host of issues to tackle including but not limited to the war in Iraq, an impending conflict in Afghanistan, global warming and an economic crisis that has gripped both main street and Wall Street. In these tough times we need understanding and we need to pull together. What we don't need are myths and stories that lead us to the legislation of fear. My simple hope for the New Year is that when it comes to issues of difference and same we are able to do away with the myths and embrace the reality of what equality really means. We proved we could get the job mostly done in November of '08. Let's finish the job in '09.