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Post by theqtpie1981 on Nov 5, 2008 15:26:49 GMT -5
Today I can't help but feel a heavy heart... the shocking news that California may have passed Propostion 8 is both saddening, and outrageous. I am not an L, G, B or T... but I have always done what I could to defend the rights of ALL Americans - regardless of religious choice, race, gender or sexuality. Proposition 8 goes against everything I was taught about being American... the right for all of us to be treated as equals. It goes against the very grain that I thought my country stood for. Even more heart breaking is the news that apparently Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas have also passed similar legislation. I can not understand this. With everyone talking about today being a great day in our history because an African American is now President... I can't help but notice the unbelievable irony that on the same day people voted for a minority president, they signed a proposition that so obviously violates the rights of other minorities. It just truly hurts my heart.  |
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Post by tara on Nov 5, 2008 20:29:39 GMT -5
I'm with you, incredibly sad.
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Post by Connie on Nov 6, 2008 14:43:01 GMT -5
What is Prop 8 about? Doesn't sound too good!
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Post by theqtpie1981 on Nov 6, 2008 15:04:22 GMT -5
Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.
Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California - which effectively eliminates marital benefits for same sex couples.
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Post by mscody on Nov 7, 2008 18:10:20 GMT -5
I frankly don't give a hoot who sleeps with who or who loves what-I don't agree with prop 8 (as it passed I believe) I think it falls back on personal choice. I don't think the gov. has the right to say who can love who. BUTTT...I am going to drink another 5th on this one too!
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Post by Connie on Nov 7, 2008 21:12:07 GMT -5
Well pass it over to me! I have a tough time with this one for many reasons.. number one being: If we are going to decide that personal choice is a freedom and a right.. then why do we also get to decide that it's illegal to drive drunk.. it's illegal to do crack or cocaine or shoot people.. who gets to decide what is harmful to society and why?
So okay.. you say it's a moral issue more than something that is harmful to society.. yet we can still sue our spouses for cheating.. that's a moral issue.. do we now make it a non-issue and say cheating is a personal choice?
In all fairness.. I have MANY friends who are gay.. and I have yet to find one who believes that marriage between gay people is "a" right.. This is true.. and we have talked about this. I also believe marriage is between a man and a woman. As for the benefits... we all laugh.. "what benefits"? The tax laws are designed to be more beneficial for a head of household than a married couple.
As for the other rights... everyone has the right to make a will or a living will and designate who will be responsible for any decisions including "pulling the plug".. it's each persons responsibility to make sure all of that is in place before it needs to be.
My two cents.
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Post by mscody on Nov 8, 2008 13:45:39 GMT -5
I hear ya Connie- I just think it is like outlawinf a white person marrying a black person-ya we are all HUMAN, just different colors and cultures. I dunno...I just don't think one who marry's one of the same se x is harming anyone -just maybe going against anothers beliefs? Drunk driving DOES hurt though so I am all for the regulation of that-just not the regulation of some one telling me how much I can drink..so..I am passin' the fith Conne heads up!
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Post by eileen on Nov 9, 2008 23:48:09 GMT -5
There once was a law that outlawed interracial marriage. Love vs Virginia (not sure about the state) They won the right after the civil rights acts were passed. They just did a really bad job in Cali of informing the voters of the lies being spread about it. It was a sad day for many a married couple in California.
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Post by theqtpie1981 on Nov 10, 2008 7:57:18 GMT -5
Voters have decided that if you fall in love with some one of the same sex, you can not be married - your relationship can not be viewed as an "official" partnership, because you are not man and wife. I don't think that should be allowed in America. I understand that not everyone wants to be married - or that some folks argue that you don't need to have a marriage certificate to be a "real couple"... what I don't understand is how people can defend the fact that they have decided for someone else that they will never be able to marry in their own state. That they don't have the option anymore to be married to their spouses. That the marriage they have had or wanted to have is no longer valid.
It is not okay to take a basic right (the right to marry) away from citizens because of their sexual preference. That just isn't right.
I have heard so many people say "well, it threatens the sanctity of marriage". Really? Gay couples do that? Not the folks who get married and divorced 3 times? Not the fact that 50% of marriages (straight marriages) end in divorce? So... gays getting married lessens the commitment a straight couple makes to one another?
There are others who believe that our nation will go the way of Sodom and Gomorrah - we will become a godless nation if we allow gays to marry. I don't question or attack anyone's beliefs... but since when did Christian love include taking rights away? Shouldn't we allow God to judge others? Not ourselves?
Maybe I am too much a product of my generation... but to me, the idea of a "gay marriage ban" is ludicrous. I just can't believe in this day and age, something like this actually passed - it is truly a shame.
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Post by tara on Nov 10, 2008 8:35:25 GMT -5
I agree with you, it is shameful. One of the states banned gay couples from adopting children? why? It's just stupid and wrong to me.
Hatred, intolerance and ignorance is alive and well in this country. This is why I don't like religion. I bet 9 1/2 out of 10 of this people who feel they have a right to say what others should and shouldn't do, do so out of some sort of twisted obligation to their religion.... or more importantly what some MAN told them god wants. I find that laughable.
I don't understand why people find it so threatening, I really don't. I do not see how Tom and Gary down the street being married has ANY effect on anyone other than them, I do not see why anyone else needs to get their panties in a knot over it. I can see the marriage isn't a right argument, but then it should apply for straight people too. Why is straight marriage a right but gay marriage a privilege? It's hatred. Plain and simple. We are all people.
We have possibility of seeing gay marriage here in NY now. One can hope. I do not think someone deserves less rights than me because the person they love happens to have the same anatomy.
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Post by mscody on Nov 11, 2008 15:37:11 GMT -5
I totally agree with you! (qtpie & Tara) Hate rules...how sad..Since when should one have to live their life the way OTHERS think they should? wth?
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Post by theqtpie1981 on Nov 14, 2008 13:26:55 GMT -5
Peaceful protests for equality are being held all across America and Canada tomorrow, November 15th. If you are interested in participating, please visit www.jointheimpact.com. I will be at the one in Charlotte, NC  |
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Post by tara on Nov 14, 2008 14:02:15 GMT -5
Weather permitting I plan to take the kids. Unfortunately hubby has to work.
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Post by mscody on Nov 14, 2008 15:31:57 GMT -5
I just got this email from a group I am with-there is a petition those who disagree can sign- the 1st link it to the rally venues and the second it to the petition: Along with our tremendous excitement over Barack Obama's victory, a lot of us are sad and angry about a different election result—the passage of California Proposition 8, which reversed marriage equality and wrote discrimination into the California Constitution. Many people worked hard to defeat this measure—including MoveOn members, who contributed over $300,000 to defeat it. But agents of intolerance used fear-mongering to eke out a win. After the election, people across California immediately took to the streets, vowing to put the state on the right side of history by overturning Prop 8. Now folks everywhere are coming together to add their voices. Tomorrow (Saturday) there will be rallies in support of marriage equality in every single state. If you want to attend an event in your state, go to this page and click on your state name—you'll see the location of any rallies planned: www.moveon.org/r?r=51025&id=15118-10084752-lR.Ndux&t=1 These rallies will send a strong signal that depriving people of rights is no longer acceptable in America—and it will also be a first step in ongoing activism across the nation. There's one other thing you can do to support the fight for marriage equality. The Courage Campaign (which does MoveOn-style organizing in California) is working with other groups on a two-year grassroots plan to overturn Prop 8 in the 2010 election. The first step is for folks to speak out together with one voice right away by signing a pledge to help overturn Prop 8. Over 100,000 people have already signed the pledge—and thousands more are signing every day. Even non-Californians are signing the pledge in solidarity. If you'd like to sign, click here: www.moveon.org/r?r=51024&id=15118-10084752-lR.Ndux&t=2 Thanks for all you do. –Wes, Joan, Carrie, Mari, and the rest of the team |
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Post by havingfunnow on Nov 14, 2008 16:24:04 GMT -5
... There are others who believe that our nation will go the way of Sodom and Gomorrah - we will become a godless nation if we allow gays to marry. I don't question or attack anyone's beliefs... but since when did Christian love include taking rights away? Shouldn't we allow God to judge others? Not ourselves? ... Darn right! Kill em all and let God sort em out!  But seriously - don't we live in a Democracy  Majority rules So there is a vote, and the majority ruled; but the minority cries "foul" and all of a sudden it is a h8ate vote. Gimme a break - John Stossel Just stirring the pot...  |
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Majority rules 