Everybody has a right to their own opinon? Apparently not.
So I have officially lost all faith in humanity.
I am completely nonplussed. I cannot even comprehend what is happening in our state.
First of all, let me say that I had decided that I was just simply not going to vote on Prop 8. I was very torn on the issue. Some of my best friends are gay, and I felt like I would be betraying them if I voted yes. But I felt like I would be going against my family and other friends if I voted no. So I just felt it was best to not vote at all. For those of you that don't know what Prop 8 is, first, you need to come back from whatever planet you've been visiting for the last however long, and second, you should know that it simply states "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." At least that's what it originally said, before state Attorney General, Jerry Brown, changed the wording on the official ballots to say "Eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry."
That's it. It's just keeping the definition of the word 'marriage' the same as it's been for hundreds of years. Absolutely nothing has changed in the laws since it passed. And nothing has been taken away from gays. They have all the same rights under civil unions. Trust me, I have done a TON of research on this subject since I've been so torn on what to do about it. But the Prop 8 opponents have twisted it around to make it sound like it's this horrible thing that is taking away all their rights and making them second class citizens. WHAT?!?! They still have the right to a Civil Union. They have all the same state rights. It is true, that they don't have all the federal rights, but this Prop is on a state level. It's not going to change anything federally either way. And I hope that one day they will be able to have all the same rights federally. They should have the same rights.
But all that doesn't even matter to me right now....the whole reason I'm blogging about this is because of what has taken place because of this issue.
Let me now say that I finally, at the last minute, decided to vote yes on Prop 8. And I will tell you why.
I cannot stand the fact that the whole campaign slogan for the opponents of Prop 8 was "No on hate, No on 8". And yet, these people seem to be filled with nothing but hate. And yes, I realize that not everybody opposing it feels this way, but it seems to be a large majority. And these people are representing the rest of the opponents of Prop 8. How is it okay for them to claim to be against hate, but be calling people bigots and other hateful words. And the fact that they have chosen to mostly attack Mormons is completely contemptible. And now even though I may not agree with everything having to do with the LDS church, it is full of very good people. Some very important people to me in my life. People that have helped me a lot throughout my life. People that I care about immensely and would do absolutely anything for. And they have not done anything wrong. They have simply stood up for what they believe in. And so has the rest of the state of California. The no on 8 camp has put most of the blame on the Mormons. But the Mormon population of California is less than 5%. How is 5% of the population responsible for over 52% of the state voting yes on 8?? True, the Mormon population did raise a lot of money for Yes on 8. But a lot of non-Mormon people donated also. And there were even some Mormons that donated to No on 8. I don't suppose the opponents of 8 think that they are horrible people.
And then, don't even get me started on this video. Now...not that I'm saying it's ok....but it would be one thing to imply that they are Mormon missionaries. Still not necessarily appropriate, but a little more forgiving. But to actually specifically identify themselves as being Mormon missionaries is absolutely dispicable.
I don't understand how it is okay for my friends and family to be confronted and harrassed in their work and school settings. Called hateful names, yet being accused of being hateful people themselves. Losing friendships because people don't agree with them. Why is the tolerance only required to go one way? It makes me sick. So much for freedom of speech in our country. I thought that was one of the reasons our country is so great.
So now I've had my say. If you don't agree with me, that's fine. Unlike other people, I fully respect everybody's right to have their own opinion. Feel free to share it with me. I'm curious what other people are thinking about all of this.
I am completely nonplussed. I cannot even comprehend what is happening in our state.
First of all, let me say that I had decided that I was just simply not going to vote on Prop 8. I was very torn on the issue. Some of my best friends are gay, and I felt like I would be betraying them if I voted yes. But I felt like I would be going against my family and other friends if I voted no. So I just felt it was best to not vote at all. For those of you that don't know what Prop 8 is, first, you need to come back from whatever planet you've been visiting for the last however long, and second, you should know that it simply states "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." At least that's what it originally said, before state Attorney General, Jerry Brown, changed the wording on the official ballots to say "Eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry."
That's it. It's just keeping the definition of the word 'marriage' the same as it's been for hundreds of years. Absolutely nothing has changed in the laws since it passed. And nothing has been taken away from gays. They have all the same rights under civil unions. Trust me, I have done a TON of research on this subject since I've been so torn on what to do about it. But the Prop 8 opponents have twisted it around to make it sound like it's this horrible thing that is taking away all their rights and making them second class citizens. WHAT?!?! They still have the right to a Civil Union. They have all the same state rights. It is true, that they don't have all the federal rights, but this Prop is on a state level. It's not going to change anything federally either way. And I hope that one day they will be able to have all the same rights federally. They should have the same rights.
But all that doesn't even matter to me right now....the whole reason I'm blogging about this is because of what has taken place because of this issue.
Let me now say that I finally, at the last minute, decided to vote yes on Prop 8. And I will tell you why.
I cannot stand the fact that the whole campaign slogan for the opponents of Prop 8 was "No on hate, No on 8". And yet, these people seem to be filled with nothing but hate. And yes, I realize that not everybody opposing it feels this way, but it seems to be a large majority. And these people are representing the rest of the opponents of Prop 8. How is it okay for them to claim to be against hate, but be calling people bigots and other hateful words. And the fact that they have chosen to mostly attack Mormons is completely contemptible. And now even though I may not agree with everything having to do with the LDS church, it is full of very good people. Some very important people to me in my life. People that have helped me a lot throughout my life. People that I care about immensely and would do absolutely anything for. And they have not done anything wrong. They have simply stood up for what they believe in. And so has the rest of the state of California. The no on 8 camp has put most of the blame on the Mormons. But the Mormon population of California is less than 5%. How is 5% of the population responsible for over 52% of the state voting yes on 8?? True, the Mormon population did raise a lot of money for Yes on 8. But a lot of non-Mormon people donated also. And there were even some Mormons that donated to No on 8. I don't suppose the opponents of 8 think that they are horrible people.
And then, don't even get me started on this video. Now...not that I'm saying it's ok....but it would be one thing to imply that they are Mormon missionaries. Still not necessarily appropriate, but a little more forgiving. But to actually specifically identify themselves as being Mormon missionaries is absolutely dispicable.
I don't understand how it is okay for my friends and family to be confronted and harrassed in their work and school settings. Called hateful names, yet being accused of being hateful people themselves. Losing friendships because people don't agree with them. Why is the tolerance only required to go one way? It makes me sick. So much for freedom of speech in our country. I thought that was one of the reasons our country is so great.
So now I've had my say. If you don't agree with me, that's fine. Unlike other people, I fully respect everybody's right to have their own opinion. Feel free to share it with me. I'm curious what other people are thinking about all of this.
posted by RaLelle at
10:47 AM
|
9 comments
