No on 8

October 18, 2008 at 5:49 am | Posted in politics | 1 Comment
Tags: California, Prop 8, Same Sex Marriage

California has long been a state that has paved the way for civil rights. Although California was not the first state to recognize same sex marriage it was the first state to have same sex marriage approved by the state legislature, in both 2005 and 2007 (unfortunately Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed it both times).

In May California continued to shine a line on civil rights when our supreme court overturned the ban on same sex marriage. Same sex couples from all over the states, and the country, began getting married in California. Unfortunately, our celebration was extremely short lived.

In just 16 days Californians will vote on whether to continue to show fairness and equality or to write discrimination into our state constitution and eliminate same sex couples right to marry.

Many people argue that same sex marriage is not in the California State Constitution. Of course it’s not but equality is. Equality means equal. As a good friend of mine says what part of equal do you not understand.

In California and the United States as a whole people have the freedom to practice any religion they want or not religion at all. Yet people still hind behind the bible to justify their homophobia. Never mind that doing that imposes your religious beliefs on other people.

So yes I am a gay man. And I have faced homophobia everyday of my life. Whether it was own father calling me a fag when I was a two year old boy, kids calling my house to harass me when I was in middle school, a hostile neighbor at my boyfriends apartment or uneducated close minded students at my job, It has been there everyday.

Yet I have fought to accept myself for who I am. I do believe in god. I believe that god made me gay and that god wanted me to find love with another man. I believe that he passage in the bible that condemns homosexuality is as irrelevant as the passage that says you should not eat shellfish or that a father can stone his daughter to death if he disobeys her.

Love is love. So if you live in California and you have any compassion or sense of equality in your heart and mind Vote No on Prop 8. I am moving in my boyfriend later this month. Please do not take away our opportunity to get married. And more than us please do no take way the right for couples that have been together for fifty years and want their relationships recognized by the government.

Domestic partnerships are not enough. Separate is not equal.

And please whether you live in California or not contribute to No on 8.

http://www.noonprop8.com/