Proposition 8

i was talking to my friend matt the other night about election results and he mentioned some things about prop. 8 in caifornia. he mentioned that they had temporarily closed the LA temple to keep protesters off the grounds, which really surprised me. honestly, i hadn't looked into it much. i've felt a little out of it lately, but i've seen so many of my friends posting things for/against it and especially the lds church's support of it on facebook that i just had to say something.

firstly, i found this which is the file copy (stamped by the AG's office and everything). while i was talking to matt i really wanted to know what the acutal language was. it is surprisingly short and simple. it is a state constitutional amendment and not a statute, which i know from my limited legal experience are much longer. i was expecting something more complex in design, but was very refreshed to see how short and to the point it was.

secondly, i'd just like to say this: all individuals are equally free to be married. of course, that means to marry a person of the opposite gender. i suppose to some that sounds as though i'm being callous and unfeeling. i am not. my favorite cousin is gay. i had many friends in high school and college who were gay and i am one of the few girls i know who has kissed a gay guy (in a play, but still...). i am not a racist or a sexist or in other way prejudiced or homophobic or what-have-you. however, i think that it is important that people be reasonable and deal with the fact that you don't always get what you want, even when you personally may feel like it's not fair. often, i hear people comparing a gay persons "right" to marry someone of the same gender with other rights such as voting rights for women or minorities and the ending of segregation. once again, the right to marry is inherently different than these rights in that no group of individuals (except minors) is unequal in marriage rights. everyone has and equal right to get married. if they are unhappy with the fact that legal contracts in marriage require that the parties be of opposite genders then i understand that they are unhappy. but they are not being discriminated against. they have the opportunity to marry a person of the opposite gender, but they are unhappy that they cannot instead marry a person of the same gender. i am unhappy that everyone tells me that i am a legal midget and should get a handicapped parking sticker so they can use me to get better parking at busy events like concerts. that is completely unrelated but i felt like i was getting boring and saying the same thing over and over.

i mentioned before that i had a gay friend who i kissed in a play. i noticed today a very angry note he wrote on facebook about the lds church's support of prop. 8. a mutual friend then posted some well-researched comments with appropriate citations and i was very impressed. unfortunately i doubt others thought these very persuasive, but i very much enjoyed the matter-of-fact way that adam expressed himself. check it out here if the privacy settings will let you (not sure). adam, you rock! i am thankful for reasonable and intelligent people like you.

lastly, my friend ruben posted this link to an article on the subject by one of my all-time favorite authors. i HIGHLY recommend you check it out. i know that a lot of my friends support gay marriage, and i in no way wish to hurt or offend you, but i think that mr. card makes some very poignant and persuasive points and i think it's a great read that will possibly result in a great "think" as well... and also this one which is based on social and anthropological research and actually written by a liberal and published by the LA Times no less.

once again, i love gay people as much as i love everyone else on the planet, and God does too, but frankly that isn't the relevant issue here.