Hypocrisy and H8 in American Marriage Politics

After the results of the California ballot surfaced to reveal that the majority of voters were "yes" on Proposition 8, there was an uproar coming from the LGBT community and its allies that a fundamental right of marriage was snatched away. The appalling news urged many celebrities-- from the essentials, like Ellen DeGeneres, and others, including Rose McGowan, Drew Barrymore, America Ferrara-- to lend their voice to boost morale to protest Prop 8. However, famous or not, Americans across the nation are coming together for the National Day of Protest Against Prop 8 (and similar anti-gay marriage measures across the country) on November 15th, this Saturday.

Prior to the votes, though, there were plenty of ads from both perspectives on Prop 8, "yes" and "no". The arguments for "yes" asserted that it was not an action that was for the people and it would taint schools, therefore poisoning the minds of young children. It was an unnerving experience that the Republicans lost so much faith in the government over a social issue, rather than the economy which apparently, is not doing so well right now. The way that they were also using children to illustrate a point seems somewhat underhanded. The ads claimed that homosexual marriage would be taught about in elementary school, but there has never been a time, especially not at such a young age, marriage education. The particular ad I watched called "Gay Marriage Has EVERYTHING To Do With School" showed a couple talk about how their 2nd grader told them it was okay for a man and a man to wed, with a picture of the book "King & King" as evidence that there are attempts to convey homosexual themes to children. The couple must have been either Robb and Robin Wirthlin and David and Tonia Parker, two couples that filed a lawsuit against their respective child's school, claiming that sexual education should not be taught in school without the notification of a child's parents. Robb Wirthlin went on CNN to say that his problem is "this issue of romantic attraction between two men is being presented to my seven-year-old as wonderful, and good and the way things should be".

In rebuttal, it is not right to regard homosexual relationships as purely sexual by referring to their presence in education as "sexual education". The book is a clever story, but it is surely not trying to manipulate the minds of children to believe that it is "the way things should be". There are many more stories and fairy tales that tell of a princess for a prince; it is embedded in folklore and one book cannot dramatically change culture from the extreme of entirely heterosexual to entirely homosexual living. Rather, there is the in-between of coexistence, where the two ends of the spectrum of sexual orientation live harmoniously. That is the book's purpose; to promote acceptance, not necessarily homosexuality. The judge understood this and claimed, "Diversity is the hallmark of our nation."

The bigger gripe I have for the "yessers" is that there is always a religious aspect of the debate that is more influential than it should be. The fundamental right of marriage is the government's duty to uphold and it should not be swayed by religion, because of the separation of Church and state. In an online ad made by two brothers, they portray two Mormon men, who barge into the house of a lesbian couple to "take their rights". They pull of their wedding bands, rummage through drawers and their belongings, when they find their marriage certificate. One of the women tries to stop them, by saying that they have rights and one of the men rights it, claiming, "Not if we can help it." It is sinister and it gives facts of that the LDS Church paid over $20 million to have Prop 8 passed. Another fact it stated was that if Prop 8 was passed, then the marriage rights of legally wed gay couples would be stripped. Like how I stand on religion and government, it says at the end to not let a Church run the state. But now, I'm just repeating myself....

It's just there is so much to be said that could have been saved had there been that simple "No".

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My Conclusions:

• Bridget McManus, my favorite comedienne (also an "out" and married lesbian), is in the "Home Invasion" ad with the Mormon boys. She is the one with dark brown hair.
• Please look up "Home Invasion Anti Prop 8" or something of that sort on Youtube. It is an entertaining ad, creepy and meaningful.
• I am supportive of religion, but not of using it to endorse hate. I admit that "Home Invasion" was very biased, however it told a disturbing, exaggerated story of what the hate could escalate to: your marriage not being your business anymore.
• Visit http://www.noonprop8.com/ .
• The National Day of Protest Against Prop 8 is on my birthday.