San Jose Mercury News: Proposition 8 Must Be Defeated

Another major California news paper, the San Jose Mercury News, has come out with an editorial condemning Proposition 8 and among other things focuses upon the disingenuous argument that gay civil marriage somehow threatens or diminishes heterosexual marriage. As I have said numerous times, Proposition 8 isn't about protecting marriage. Rather, it is all about keeping LGBT citizens inferior and second class citizens for their failure to conform to Christianist religious beliefs. The "protect marriage" litany is merely the ruse to dupe the ignorant, bigoted and uninformed into voting the way the intolerant Christianists want them to. If the Christianist evangelicals were truly concerned about marriage they'd do something to reduce their own sky high divorce rate, the highest among any religious denominations. Here are some highlights from the editorial:

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Of all the reasons people give for banning gay marriage - the purpose of Proposition 8 on the November ballot - the most difficult for us to fathom is that a marriage between two people of the same sex somehow diminishes the institution of marriage between a man and a woman.

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The state constitution should never be amended to limit Californians' right to their own personal and religious beliefs. It should scrupulously uphold equal rights under the law. That is what it now does, based on a state Supreme Court ruling this year affirming a right to same-sex marriage. Voters should not take the extraordinary step of amending the constitution to take a right away. They should reject Proposition 8.

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Those who would impose their own intensely personal or religious feelings about marriage ignore the word's equally important secular and legal definitions. Marriage confers a whole range of rights and responsibilities around inheritance, parenthood, medical decision-making, tax benefits and liabilities, and on and on. In American law, all of these are affected by marriage.

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Some hold as a religious belief that homosexuality is a choice. Science points to the contrary, as do centuries of prejudice against homosexuality: Historically, being gay rarely has brought individuals a special benefit in society.

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Affirming a right to same-sex marriage over the long run would increase acceptance of the reality that sexual orientation is predetermined - like race and ethnicity, it may be hidden, but it can't be changed. Legal discrimination of the kind embodied in Proposition 8 discourages tolerance and can foster hate crimes.

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All couples who exchange vows know, in their own hearts, the depth and spiritual meaning of their union. That is for them, not others, to determine. The law should not discriminate in marriage. And Californians should not amend their constitution to take away a human right it now confers. Vote no on Proposition 8.