Prop 8 Campaigning

HERE'S WHAT MOST PROP 8 SUPPORTERS DID TO CAMPAIGN:

-Made phone calls
-Held signs at street corners
-Knocked on doors (As in knocked on doors, waited for someone to respond, and then left after talking to them. Not barging into houses & ripping up marriage licenses.)
-Blogging

PROP 8 OPPOSERS DID MANY OF THE ABOVE ALONG WITH THE FOLLOWING CAMPAIGNING EFFORTS:

-Punching out elderly people or a man innocently standing on the sidewalk with Yes on Prop 8 signs
-Trespassing private property to steal signs
-Throwing rocks
-Created a hypocritical "No on 8" ad that singled out & attacked a church group, (coincidentally, my own), that supported the proposition in a hypocritical effort to ostracize & divide supporters of Prop 8
-Defaced & keyed cars that had Yes on 8 bumper stickers
-Bully, patronize, mock, & other such immature & foul behavior

WHAT IF PROP 8 DIDN'T PASS? HOW WOULD I FEEL?

-I would be disappointed; but I would move on.
-I would understand why others voted "no" even though I disagree.
-I would prepare myself for an increasing amount of people wrongly accusing me of being a homophobe, a hater, discriminatory, a bigot, and receiving all sorts of foul language & treatment.

SO HOW DID THE OPPOSERS OF PROP 8 REACT? HERE ARE SOME DIRECT QUOTES:

-"I've got a big list of names of mormons and catholics that were big supporters of Prop 8. … As far as mormons and catholics … I warn them to watch their backs."
-"I hope they all rot in hell, those servants of a lying, corrupt devil! BAN RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM"
-"I have never considered being a violent radical extremist for our equal rights. But now I think maybe I should consider becoming one."
-"Can someone in CA please go burn down the Mormon temples there, PLEASE. I mean seriously. DO IT."
-"I'm going to give them something to be f---ing scared of. … I'm a radical who is now on a mission to make them all pay for what they've done."

TOLERANCE: a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, RELIGION, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry

BIGOTRY: stubborn and complete intolerance of ANY creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own

I know that opposers would react to this by saying that we are the intolerant ones because we legislated our beliefs. If Prop 8 did not pass, the same could be said that the opposing side legislated THEIR beliefs. A majority of Prop 8 supporters are religious, however, the word "marriage" being defined as solely between a man and a woman is not only a Judeo-Christian ideal. It has been around with MANY cultures & religions since the beginning of time. To those who compare this with the Civil Rights movement, here is a FACT: a whopping 70% of African-Americans voted YES on Prop 8.

If you want to call me intolerant, you go right on ahead. Just make sure that you get your facts straight as to WHAT exactly it is of which I am intolerant.

Here is what I tolerate: people believing how they choose, loving, spending their lives with, and making personal commitments to whomever they choose.

Here is what I am intolerant of: being wrongfully accused of hatred, bigotry, and homophobia. Being threatened.

In all of my time writing my thoughts about Prop 8 I have been opinionated. I have defended & taught what I believed. I have also been NOTHING but understanding, respectful, patient and tolerant. I am now past walking on eggshells & padding my words because I don't want anyone to be offended. If you want to play hardball & throw me a fast one, I will still keep my dignity & grace. But when people have the NERVE to hypocritcally threaten burning buildings that are most sacred to myself and 13 million other people in the world, I'm ready to step up to the plate with a bat.

More of my own thoughts to follow . . .

Prop 8 Passed!

The fight is not over, in fact, it is just beginning! But thank you and a big congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to see that this proposition was passed.

CLAIMS BY NO ON PROP 8 GROW MORE DESPERATE AS POLLING NUMBERS SINK

SACRAMENTO— Polls continue to slide for No on Prop 8 Equity for All, as reports leak out that the campaign’s management structure is in utter disarray. A series of orchestrated, factually false press statements have been issued alleging the sky will fall if Proposition 8 passes on Tuesday.

“Clearly, this is nothing more than a floundering campaign grasping at straws to save its effort,” said Chip White, Protectmarriage.com – Yes on 8 campaign spokesman. “It’s quite sad because those who are hurt most are voters. We invited the No on Prop 8 campaign to debate Proposition 8 this weekend in a live, televised format, but it declined our invitation. If the No campaign is so confident in its arguments, why refuse the debate?”

Claims reporting Proposition 8 has nothing to do with schools, to Proposition 8 will cause a high-tech brain drain, are being passed off as fact. These claims are nothing but noisy rhetoric and last minute campaign stunts aimed at confusing voters instead of educating them.

Claim One: Proposition 8 has nothing to do with schools.

Truth: A few weeks ago children in a 1st grade class attended their teacher’s gay wedding in San Francisco on a school-organized field trip. The principal called it a “teachable moment.” That sure sounds like same-sex marriage instruction in schools.

This week kindergartners at Faith Ringgold School of Arts and Science in Hayward, CA, were asked to sign pledge cards saying they would not use anti-LGBT language. Parents who felt their children were far too young for such a discussion, most at an average age of 5 who are just learning the basics of reading and writing, were not permitted to opt-out, but instead had to keep their children home from school.

As we have clearly demonstrated, California Education Code Section 51933 states schools “shall teach respect for marriage and committed relationships.” According to the California Department of Education website, 96% of schools teach this curriculum. And under the Supreme Court’s ruling, current California law means teaching about marriage includes instruction on gay marriage. Thus, gay marriage is already part of the curriculum. Perhaps because of these simple facts, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell refuses to debate..

Claim Two: Proposition 8 would have no effect on a church’s tax-exempt status.

Truth: The No on 8 campaign used a classic lawyer trick, rolled out a group of lawyers yesterday to falsely state our concern about the impact of same sex marriage on religious freedoms, and then saying our concerns are false. For the record, the Yes on 8 campaign has never said that churches, acting as churches, would be forced to perform gay marriages. However, it is clear that where churches interact with the public square, in providing social services or even conducting business, their tax exempt status is at risk.

In one well publicized case, Catholic Charities in Boston ran adoption facilities that managed 700 cases since 1987, most involving children with special needs. Catholic Charities placed such children into parents in traditional marriages, according to their faith. After gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts, the state told Catholic Charities it had to place children with gay marriage couples as well. Faced with such a decision, Catholic Charities reluctantly decided to stop providing adoption services.

Another religious non-profit, Ocean Grove Campground in New Jersey, lost a portion of its tax-exempt status on a rental pavilion because it refused to rent the facility to a lesbian couple for a civil commitment ceremony.

Claim Three: Proposition 8 discriminates against gays and lesbians.

Truth: Under California’s current domestic partnership law, (Family Code Section 297), gay couples are awarded the same legal rights and privileges as married couples. California has the strongest civil union/domestic partnership law in the nation, and Proposition 8 does not take away any of those rights.

Claim Four: If Proposition 8 passes there will be a brain drain to gay-friendly Massachusetts.

Truth: Gay marriage has been legal in Massachusetts for five years and California still remains the epicenter of technology, biomed and other science-based industries. If a “gay brain-drain” was going to happen, shouldn’t it have started 5 years ago?

“The claims being disseminated by the No on 8 campaign are preposterous,” said White, “and have no basis in fact. We realize the No on 8 has a new team that has to justify their hiring, but cheap campaign stunts and false claims do not serve the public.”