Another way to look at this is that even if you believe this, you should still vote no on Prop 8. I know most who believe this won’t vote no. However, since we are supposed to have separation of church and state, people should not feel justified in making their views into law, if they are based on religious beliefs. I think it is safe to assume that a large number of people who are opposed to same-gender marriages, are opposed for religious reasons.

I read a comment about marriage (somewhere else) where the writer believed marriage could only be between a man and a woman, because they could have children. I rather dislike this viewpoint, because there are many mixed-gender marriages who don’t want kids, or perhaps can’t have kids. Are their marriages less valid than mine, just because I do have kids?

Differing religious beliefs is part of what makes our country what it is. But the religious beliefs should not cross over into law.

Just to be clear, I am a Christian who is in a committed mixed-gender relationship. And yes, it is a marriage, but it doesn’t seem fair that I can say that when there are many who want to be married and can’t be.

I don’t hate anyone who voted for Prop 8. I’m saddened by them. But hating people I don’t know because they hold different beliefs to me is not good for me or the planet. I continue to hope that some of those people will change their mind. Especially those who voted against it because they believed the lies they’d been told.

Also I think those who voted for Prop 8 are historically on the losing side. Back in 1967 it was still illegal in several US states for a black person to marry a white person. Now it’s not illegal anywhere. Before too long the same will be true of same-sex marriage.

Anyway I just finished How to Ditch Your Fairy. It was SO good. Very original, which is hard to come across with fairy books now a days.I just want to give kudos for awesomeness.

You weren’t snarky. You were justifiably cranky. Nothing wrong with that.

But, if there is a bright side here, and I am trying to find one to hold on to, it might just be this: maybe the proponents had to resort to ridiculous lies to gain the votes necessary. Maybe.

I say maybe, because I’m not sure I buy it. That they bought the lies. BUT, here’s my thing, if the people who claim they voted based on these lies, actually did vote based on these lies (as opposed to plain old fashioned homophobia) then they should be outraged and join the cause to repeal prop 8, now that they know they were mislead. And, if their religious leaders are honest and honorable people, then they should tell their congregations that they were mislead.

And maybe, at least for me, a brighter side is that I think a lot of people who claim to have fallen for these lies did not, not really – but they are at least feeling embarrassed or ashamed enough to have to say they voted for some other reason than mere-homophobia. Not so long ago people wouldn’t have been embarrassed to say they voted for their true feelings, and if we are in a place where people are starting to feel embarrassed, then maybe, just maybe, things are changing more than it seems.

emily

What I can’t understand is what the Yes supporters are so afraid of. Obviously, I’ve heard some of the reasons behind banning same-sex marriage, but none of them make sense. They sound like excuses. And having said that, I’m not including the “it’s against my religion” argument in the excuses category, because, as many people have already said, we have separation of church and state in this country (allegedly), so whether a church/synagogue/mosque/temple/etc. sanctions a marriage or not has nothing to do with whether it’s a legal marriage in the United States.

I, too, am glad we can all talk about our views in a more or less friendly way. It’s the only way we’ll ever gain any ground on this issue, and any other issue. But I’ll also be the first to say that Prop 8, and other laws like it, make my blood boil. I really and truly believe these laws are wrong.

I’m very glad that you specifically brought up these topics in a post. Whenever I looked at reasons people were voting Yes on 8 these two were the first that came up. In this election a lot of people weren’t voting Yes to stop gay marriage, they were voting Yes to stop people “infringing upon their rights” – rights that weren’t going to be infringed upon anyway. It was never a fair fight from the very beginning.

And I hope my comment on your previous post is not too snarky. I’m feeling very snarky today.