Why is Proposition 8 even on the ballot? The official ballot label says it “eliminates the rights of same-sex couples to marry,” which is exactly what it would do. However, if you are on the religious right it is the “California Marriage Protection Act,” which will preserve the sanctity of marriage. The underlying question is why is this even on the ballot? Marriage should not be a political issue.
In ancient times, marriage was a religious thing. If you were of the Judeo-Christian persuasion, Adam and Eve (not Adam and Steve for the Pro-8 crowd) were the first married couple. In ancient Greece, pedastry and other forms of same sex relationships were valued higher than relationships between men and women.
The first time in history where marriage became a political issue is when John Calvin, a religious nut, imposed the marriage act of Geneva, which allowed the state to recognize religious marriage.
Nowadays, the religious concept of marriage is so tied up in politics and law; there are only certain ways you can get married, certain people who can perform the marriage, and other legalese issues surrounding it.
Married couples also have rights that an unmarried couple technically aren’t afforded, such as power of attorney, visitation rights in hospitals, legal guardianship over a child, tax exemptions, as well as other ties recognized by the states, according to “Marriage, Family and Residence” by Paul Bohannan and John Middleton.
So how did the State of California end up at a point where we are preparing to vote on marriage?
In 2000, 61% of California voters, according to protectmarriage.org, approved a change to the California Family Code, adding that a marriage is between a man and a woman.
In Feb. of 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom started performing gay marriages that were completely illegal, and in March the Supreme Court put a stay on those marriages being performed.
On May 15 of this year, the California Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the change was unconstitutional and opened the doors for same sex marriages.
This is all unnecessary; California needs to remove any mention of marriage from its constitution. It is the responsibility of the family or church to teach about marriage.
Churches need to decide on their own what kind of marriages they will perform. The church should not influence the government, and government should not influence the church.
The state should recognize and only perform civil unions. It should recognize religious marriage as a civil union, and any courts appointed or otherwise regulated civil union as valid, and apply rights accordingly.
According to the California Secretary of State, over $9 million is being spent to battle over this proposition. For those worried about family values, teach your own family and don’t try to force your values on someone else. For the state, don’t judge equality on anything.
The bottom line is that there should be equality for all men and women.
