Ryan ChartrandI came to California for the beaches, the people and the progressive outlook this state takes on issues.
This is why I am saddened by Proposition 8 on the November ballot – it goes against the view that all are equal under the law.
The conservative underdogs of California are once again butchering the constitution by leading the effort on the initiative that asks voters to decide whether or not to ban gay marriage, after the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage last May.
The court ruled that individuals of the same sex have a right to marry under the California Constitution; defining marriage only between a man and woman violated the equal protection clause.
The proposed ban was put up by the religious right and backed by our state’s Republican representatives.
But, it is stripping the rights of the American people and being led by bigots.
Growing up in Montana I faced bigotry head-on. In high school, I had classmates who were part of a student white supremacy group who shaved their heads and discriminated against the few non-Caucasians. My senior year, I protested against the Westboro Baptist church group of Topeka Kan., who came to our town to protest churches that supported gays along with Montana Supreme Court. They had problems with the courts, which had just ruled that the Montana University system needed to give gay and lesbian partners the same rights to health insurance benefits as heterosexual partners.
They held up signs that said: “The Montana Supreme Court supports sodomy” and “Hell is real: Ask Matt” referring to the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of North Dakota who was killed solely because of his sexual orientation. I stood outside the church I had belonged to, holding hands with fellow churchgoers as the members of the Westboro group yelled their anti-gay messages of hate and we advocated love between all people.
St. Paul’s Methodist Church, which I belonged to at the time, was a liberal church in a conservative town. The motto of the church was ‘Open Doors, Open Hearts.” We had a woman pastor and a lesbian youth pastor.
Growing up outside the religious right, who are in full support of this Proposition 8, I have come to understand that gays deserve the same right to marriage as I have as a heterosexual. The outside perception of sharing the word “marriage” with gays scares some, but it doesn’t hurt anyone.
Heterosexuals ruined the sanctity of marriage a long time ago when divorce rates skyrocketed. Opponents to the bill say that same-sex couples have the same domestic partner rights as heterosexuals in California and they are right to a point.
But my gay sister still has to carry a piece of paper with her partner’s permission along with a copy of her partner’s license in order for my sister to admit their son into a hospital. The importance of the legalized marriage is important to same sex couples like my sister and her partner. My nephew also deserves the right to grow up in normalcy, to see his parents married just as his friends’ parents are.
If this ballot measure fails, it will give gay rights a step forward on a federal level, where they are right now stripped of their rights as couples.
Imagine a ballot measure against interracial marriage; people would be insulted and outraged. Americans need to wake up and stand for their fellow Americans by embracing diversity before it’s too late. Vote no on Proposition 8 and when making decisions on local, state and presidential elections this year, keep in mind what each candidate stands for.
Presidential candidate John McCain has spoken publicly for the proposition while Obama has outright opposed it. Locally state Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) supports the ban while San Luis Obispo Congresswoman Lois Capps stands in opposition to Proposition 8.
There’s no greater power than voting and standing up for a cause.
Cassandra Carlson is a journalism senior and the Mustang Daily wire editor.