Proposition 8

I've thought about writing a blog about this a lot recently. I see when my Facebook friends change their status, change their profile information and join groups. Recently I have seen quite a few friends join a group 2 different groups that support California's Proposition 8. To see this really makes me sad, because I completely disagree with the proposition. I think everyone should have the same rights. Everyone should have the same rights to college scholarships, jobs, voting, etc. regardless of skin color, gender, or sexual preference. I did a bit of research a couple days ago, and found a site that stated specific examples of what will change if the proposition doesn't pass. I disagree with what was said and feel the need to vent about it.....

Statement: Children in public schools will have to be taught that same-sex marriage is just as good as traditional marriage.

The California Education Code already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890)

Therefore, unless Proposition 8 passes, children will be taught that marriage between any two adults is of the same worth, regardless of gender. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.

My opinion: I don't even see this as a valid argument. Teachers everywhere already have to teach things they may not necessarily agree with. Some teachers don't believe that genocide, Hitler, Martin Luther, etc. are "right" in terms of their beliefs, but they are still required to teach it. Being a teacher, is teaching about history and things that happened. It's fact, not opinion.

Churches may be sued over their tax exempt status if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings open to the public. Ask whether your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, or rabbi is ready to perform such marriages in your chapels and sanctuaries.

My opinion: I think every marriage should be civil, then done as a religious event. If our country can recognize each religious ceremony, they should do the same with marriage.

Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston already had to stop providing adoption services in Massachusetts because courts legalized same-sex marriage there.

My opinion: I think it's great that a church would want to help couples adopt a child, but again, it's not just a religious thing. In fact, it doesn't have anything to do with religion. I can see some points that talk about children adopted by gay couples lacking in a mother or father figure. It is ideal if children do have both parents to learn from. However, there isn't a single perfect family in this nation. Some kids are raised by grandparents, some by an aunt, some in a foster home, and some by single parents. What makes these kids any better or different than one raised by a gay couple? A child of a gay couple, would most likely be more accepting to others' differences and have a more open mind.

Religions that sponsor private schools with married student housing may be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if counter to church doctrine, or risk lawsuits over tax exemptions and related benefits.

My opinion: I highly doubt that a religious school that didn't support homosexuality, would have a gay couple try to attend. For example, it seems out of the ordinary that a gay couple would enroll at BYU, when the LDS religion doesn't support their choice.

Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages may be sued for hate speech and risk government fines. It already happened in Canada, a country that legalized gay marriage. A recent California court held that municipal employees may not say: "traditional marriage," or "family values" because, after the same-sex marriage case, it is "hate speech."

My opinion: This is just dumb. Everyone should have the right to say what they want to say without it being considered hate speech. There's an amendment for freedom of speech for a reason. Sadly, there are dumb people in the world that will sue over anything, like crashing an RV because the cruise control didn't keep the car going straight. Lame.

It will cost you money. This change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits, including some already lost (e.g., photographers cannot now refuse to photograph gay marriages; doctors cannot now refuse to perform artificial insemination of gays even given other willing doctors). Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today's activist judges), think of the money – your money – that will be spent on such legal battles.

My opinion: I don't think anyone should have the right to refuse service to ANYONE for ANY REASON. There's a reason you get paid for a service. It's your job! You don't want to deal with people that aren't exactly like you, live in a damn cave. This is America. The place where not a single being is exactly the same as the next.

And in regards to the lawsuits. Again, there are dumb people in the world who will sue someone over anything. Until we can all live in unity, that will always happen. Unfortunately, the only way we can all live in unity is to accept each other as we are, no matter what. This includes sexual preference.