Choices?

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past month, Prop 8 was on the ballot in California, to add a new phrase to the California constitution: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." It is an egregious act of discrimination which was appallingly allowed to be put to popular vote. In case you don't know already, I am against it.

I have heard many arguments over the past couple of weeks supporting Prop 8. The one most interesting to me is that being gay is a choice, not genetic. I personally believe it is genetic. Our attraction to people has a lot to do with chemistry and biology. Anyone who watches Discovery channel knows this. We also know that people are born all the time with different genetic anomalies. Some people get cancer. Some have conditions that make them age very fast. People are born without limbs, or cleft palates. Why is it so hard to believe that a person can be born with the chemical makeup of a man, but the body parts of a woman?

Now, before you attack me for lumping homosexuality in with what are generally referred to as "birth defects," hear me out. Most gay people will tell you that they grew up confused, because society tells them that they must, MUST behave according to the way they look. They are "trapped" in the wrong body. Their brain is telling them that they really like girls when society says they must like boys. Why is it so hard to imagine that biology got mixed up for them? Homosexuality has been documented in many species of animal, too. It seems that nature just "messes up" from time to time. The great thing about being gay is that it's not a life-threatening malady. As long as society leaves you alone, you can live a normal, happy life.

There was a time when people who were born left-handed were vilified, and schools attempted to force them to use their right hands. It seems silly today, and today we completely accept left-handed people as a matter of course. I look forward to the day when we treat gay people the same way. Until then, however, we must fight for equality for our gay brothers and sisters.

However, all that being said, it's a moot point! It is absolutely silly for a Prop 8 supporter to suggest that gay couples don't deserve the same rights as straight couples, because they made the choice to be gay. Even if this were true, so what if they chose that lifestyle? Isn't that what our country was founded upon? Aren't we supposed to be able to make any choice we want in America, as long as it doesn't harm anyone else? Don't we choose our religion as well? Is it ok to discriminate against Mormons and tell them that we are taking away some of their rights as a Morman? If they want the rights back, all they have to do is choose to be Catholic. Right?

No, gay people do not choose to be gay. But that is beside the point. It is just another argument made in support of discrimination. The fact that this discrimination was allowed to go to a popular vote is abominable. It is amazing to me that we as a people continually make the same mistakes, over and over and over again. We never seem to learn, and grow. Yet again, a minority has to fight for their right to simply be an equal member of society. When will America get off this ridiculous roller coaster? People will claim that we are making in progress in America, and point to our new black President as proof. I say bullshit. We just transferred our prejudice somewhere else. You can't just move your dirty laundry to another pile and expect it to go away. You have to clean it. And that takes effort. People need to choose to be tolerant.

Wait, maybe that's the problem... maybe intolerance is genetic, and I need to learn to accept intolerant people...

Nah.
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Michael Glass
mglass@gmail.com
follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WebSmith

Shame on you, California

I am reminded recently of a quote from one of my favorite movies, Men in Black…

Edwards: “People are smart. They can handle it.”

Kay: “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.”

I have to agree. People are dumb, panicky and dangerous. They demonstrated this on November 4^th.

As most of my family and friends know, I voted for the Libertarian, Bob Barr. The country voted Obama into presidency. Do I think that was stupid? Nope. He says he’s an agent of change, and boy does this country need change! We’ll see what he can do. So what am I talking about? Read on…

In California, voters picked Obama as well, by a better than 3-2 margin. He got a 61% vote! How did this happen? Exit polls show that there was a larger than average turnout of black voters, and that made a very large difference in the results. I don’t know the statistics, but it was covered by several of the stations I watched. What floors me is what this group of people also did.

Another issue on the ballots in California was Proposition 8, a measure that proposed putting a ban on gay marriages in the Constitution. Specifically, it adds these words to the California Constitution: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

And it passed!

The exit polls showed that while white people voted No by a small margin, and Latinos and Asians were split, blacks voted Yes on Prop 8 by a large margin. It was this large margin that tipped the scales enough to pass this discriminatory, bigoted, and outrageous Proposition.

So… why am I bringing race up in this topic? Quite simple – this is an issue of discrimination, and the group of people whom you would think would be against such outrageous injustices are the very people who outlawed gay marriage.

Those who support Prop 8 have this to say in their ads (among other things):

1. Making gay marriage legal would force schools to teach our children about gay marriage
2. Churches will be required to marry gay couples
3. Adoption agencies will be required to allow gay couples to adopt children
4. Marriage is a sacred institution, for procreation and ensuring the continuation of the species.

The ads are not really about these issues. The ads are meant to scare people, and they did their job. But those points are bullshit. Here’s my take on it – if you agree or disagree, please feel free to leave me a comment.

Making gay marriage legal would force schools to teach our children about gay marriage

This just isn’t true. The pundits for the Proposition like to cite an example where a teacher in Massachusetts (where gay marriage is legal) read a story about two princes to her second grade class. Parents complained and were told that they had no right to know beforehand that this was being taught in the class. This would not happen in California, because there are currently laws in place protecting parents’ rights in the classroom. Proposition 8 does not have anything to do with school teaching.

Churches will be required to marry gay couples

No. Churches are not currently required to marry anyone – they can, and DO, turn couples away all of the time, because of many reasons. That wouldn’t change, and if a certain church did not want to marry a same-sex couple, they wouldn’t have to. The Proposition mentions NOTHING about churches.

Adoption agencies will be required to allow gay couples to adopt children.

What? First of all, denying Proposition 8 would have changed nothing. It would not have added anything to the Constitution, it simply would have been “business as usual.” Are adoption agencies currently required to allow gay couples to adopt? Nothing would change. Second of all… SO WHAT? My brother was raised by my mother and her partner for his entire life. He is a wonderful, well-rounded, and quite masculine individual. He was raised with good moral values, and he is just an all-around awesome guy. Children are raised by gay couples all the time, and they don’t turn out any more messed up than children raised by “traditional” families.

I would think that we should worry about children growing up in families where the parents are abusive, do drugs, drink too much, or getting divorced. Rapists, murderers and child molesters have every right to get married and have children of their own… why are people not protesting this?Single mothers and fathers are celebrated for their ability to raise their children. Why should it be different if there happens to be two women, or two men raising the child? This argument is not about “the children.” It is about gay discrimination, and homophobia.

Marriage is a sacred institution, for procreation and ensuring the continuation of the species

Really? How many marriages end in divorce? How many children are born OUT of wedlock? How many deadbeat dads and moms are there? Don’t tell me marriage is sacred, and that gay marriage is where you are going to draw the line. Are we really on the edge of extinction, where allowing gay people to marry will tip the scales to our doom? Yes, perhaps we should force these gay folks to marry the opposite sex, and raise children in a loveless relationship while they have adulterous sex behind their spouses back. Because marriage is sacred, dammit. Oh… and all of you people who are infertile, either by choice or by nature are out of luck. You’ll need to divorce, and live a life of solitude from now on. Marriage is all about procreation and continuation of the species, not about love, commitment, and partnership.

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Hey, I’m not saying I’m perfect, of course. I have sinned enough in my lifetime. But I seriously do not believe that I have any right to tell someone else who they are allowed to love and marry. And in this country of ours, where we pride ourselves on being the “land of the free,” it is appalling to think that we would pass a law that takes away a basic human right.

Just imagine this: Less than 100 years ago, we could have easily passed laws stating “Only marriage between a same-colored man and woman is valid or recognized in [your state].” We recognize that to be wrong now. Why can’t we recognize how wrong it is to discriminate against gay people?

It’s wrong, plain and simple. You Californians who passed this measure should be ashamed of yourselves, and for those of you fighting to repeal it, bless you and good luck!

An Ugly Proposition

In my home state of California, they are still tallying the results from voting last night. One of the ballot entries was Proposition 8, a horrible attempt to ban gay marriage in California.

The race is very close. It saddens me, not as a California native, but as an American, to think that half of the people of California, a state known for its progressive thinking, might pass a law legalizing discrimination. The supporters of Proposition 8 are using lies and misdirection in their ads to dupe people into passing a law that is, quite frankly, a religious issue.

I hope and pray that Prop 8 is not passed. California needs to send a message to the rest of the country – we will not tolerate discrimination in any form!