PROPOSITION EIGHT

One of the things that I absolutely love about my family, and hope to be able to foster in my own family, is our ability to have good healthy discussions. Whether the topics are religion, politics, whatever, you know that a spirited discussion can always be had. I love hearing others points of view, and learning why they have those views. It's something I relish. Something to me, that makes life worth living actually.


And so today, while my aunt was over at my parents house, I took the opportunity to talk to her about proposition 8. My aunt is a resident of California, and so has been right smack in the middle of all the prop 8 hoopla.


For those of you that don't know about proposition 8, you can go here to learn more.


Now, when I first heard about proposition 8, it piqued my interest not only because of the strong stance my church has taken regarding it, but also because I fundamentally disagreed with that stance. Talk about conflict of interest. I just didn't understand why and how it was okay for a church, my church, to tell me, or anyone how to vote. It just kinda felt wrong. For lots of reasons. I really appreciate and value the separation of church and state. And I took issue with my church telling people how to vote, and strongly encouraging them to donate their money and time to www.protetmarriage.com where anyone and everyone could see exactly what they had donated. Hmmm. That gets to be sticky. Really sticky.


And honestly, I just didn't know how I felt about the whole thing. What on earth is the big deal? Who am I to say who can or can't get married? If two committed gay people want to marry each other, then I say hooray. Hooray for love, hooray for happiness. I just didn't understand what all the hoopla was about. I mean, I understood it from the gay side (www.noonprop8.com), don't we all deserve equality? Why deny them the same privileges that we enjoy?


And so I asked these questions to my aunt (a proposition 8 supporter), so I could learn and better understand. And it was a very enlightening conversation. I did a lot of listening, asked a some questions, and learned a few things about prop 8 that I thought were worth sharing.


First of all, I understand and realize that this is a really sensitive subject. And I hope that I don't offend anyone. If I do, please know that this was not my intention. Also, please know that the thoughts that follow, are not my own, but those of my aunt.


Okay, so her first main point was that this issue of defining marriage was already brought to the voters of California in 2000 (proposition 22) and was passed with a 61% of voters defining marriage between a man and a woman only. So, technically the people of California have already voted on this issue and have made their voice heard. Then in 2008 The California Supreme Court, by a vote of 4-3 overturned this ruling and decided that this violated the equal protection clause in the constitution.


She also stated that although they passed prop 22 back in 2000, they also passed civil unions there where gay couples are granted all the same legal rights as married couples. So,this isn't about gay couples not receiving the same rights, privileges, and treatments as heterosexual couples? Then I asked her, so this is about the definition of marriage, the word? And the answer is yes.



Her point was that if prop 8 goes through then religious organizations would have to allow their pastors, and leaders to marry gay couples. And since most christian religions believe marriage is between a man and a woman only, then it would give government the right to muddle in religious stuff. Because the minute one church group turns away the marriage of a gay couple, then that couple could sue the church/religion for breaking the law, and not giving equal opportunity (via the constitution).


And to be honest, I hadn't really ever seen it from that point of view. I have been so worried about my religion muddling in politics, that I never realized that the government would then be able to muddle in religion. Hmmmm. Although I understand this point, I don't think gay couples would necessarily be asking an organization to marry them who didn't support their actions, but she said this very thing has happened in Massachusetts. Hmmmm. Lots to think about.


She also said, that without prop 8 going through, that public school teachers would have to explain marriage as a union between a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, and a man and a man (like they now do in Mass.). Now, I'm not so sure how I feel about this argument. Because really, by the time my kids are in school I hope to have already explained all this to them. I don't see how this really impacts children negatively. But if you think it does, please comment and let me know. It just honestly isn't one of the arguments I understand.


We also discussed lots of other things about proposition 8. It was a very interesting conversation. One of the things I've been blessed with in life (or cursed, depending on how you see it), is that I can almost always see the other side of an argument, and sympathize with it. Must be the Libra in me. But in all honesty, I have struggled with this issue a lot. And I can't say that my opinion has necessarily changed, but my mind has been opened at least to the reasoning and understanding behind this issue.


I again, hope that I have not in any way, offended anyone by sharing my thoughts and my aunts thoughts about this sensitive topic. One of the things I love about living in this country is freedom of speech. Freedom to be able to discuss, write, and talk about the things that impact our lives. If you are so willing, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. And if you would like to remain annonymous, that's fine. So, fine naptime readers, what are your thoughts?