Proposition 8

Now that I live in the land of silliness I get to cover some issues that will reshape this nation over the next several years.  Proposition 8 is one of those issues.  Californians voted two years ago to deny gay couples the right to marry.  A federal judge tossed the marriage ban today. 

A lot of money poured into the state to get Prop 8 passed.  A big chunk of change came from the Mormon church.  The Mormons aren't alone because the Catholic church backed the ban as well as do a lot of conservative Christians.
 
I'll be the first to admit that 30 years ago I couldn't have stomached much less supported the idea of Gay marriage.  As I grew older I came to realize that we fear what we don't understand.  The issue of Gay rights over the course of the last 30 years has unfolded much like the issue of civil rights for Blacks in post World War II America.
 
Gay marriage doesn't hurt me.  The fact that two men or two women want to join together and perhaps adopt or have children doesn't strike me as some great corrupting influence.  I don't see how it harms my family or my community.  Gays aren't any more morally bankrupt than straight people.  Take a good look at some of the people that have led the Evangelical movement over the last 40 years and the high profile cases of drug abuse, infidelity, corruption and for goodness sakes, homosexual behavior.  Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Proponents of the ban are decrying the judge for being Gay and for dismissing what the voters approved.  The judge did his job.  He interpreted the Constitution of the United States of America.  The Constitution guarantees the rights of ALL Americans, regardless of race, religion, or sexual preference for that matter. 

These homophobes remind me of what I encountered last year in Russia.  The city of St. Petersburg is coming to grips with a burgeoning community of activists who want Gay rights.  The average Russian sees that plea as a corruption of youth.  They believe that the Gay community is trying to promote homosexuality and recruit heterosexuals to join their ranks and become Gay.  The majority of Russians hold views that would safely fit into the America of the 1960's.  I pray that we never allow this country to be ruled by this kind of fear and ignorance