Cascadia Journal

OK, so I wasn’t intending to comment on any ballot measures outside of Cascadia when I decided to highlight them over the next few weeks.  Sometimes I just react to the news as I see fit.

According to recent articles, a number of religious groups in California are mobilizing to get out the vote to pass Proposition 8, a ballot measure that would add a constitutional amendment that would overturn the California Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage. I understand that same-sex marriage is contrary to the beliefs of many religions.  However, there are quite a few people who believe that Americans should be free to do as they wish and make their own choices as to who they might love and who they might choose to marry.

Many of the Christian and other religious groups state that they are taking up the cause to “preserve the family” or to “protect children” or other similar phrases.  I would only comment to this that they are really preserving only the families that are like themselves.  They seem to prefer that family units that are different than themselves would be better off breaking up and re-forming into other families.  I certainly do not see the logic in this argument.  To insist on families headed only by married couples, then forbidding certain couples from getting married, seems to be a contradiction.

Further, the assertion that we are somehow going to “protect” our children by hiding from them the reality that the world is made up of people with a variety of belief systems, seems positively silly.  I would not discourage parents from teaching their children their own beliefs on how people should lead their lives.  But to wonder “how we are going to explain this to our children” is to suggest that those parents have been lying to their children about the realities of life.  I would protect my children by teaching them that families exist that are made up of people from a wide variety of cultures, genders, and religious beliefs.  Then go forward and teach them that your beliefs are the proper ones.

There is nothing in the current law that would require the clergy of any religion to marry anyone who does not meet the standards of that religious body.  Thus, if a particular religion forbids same-sex marriage, there is no requirement for them to perform that ceremony.  Anyone saying anything different is simply trying to exaggerate the situation.

The “selling point” of the proponents of this constitutional amendment are packaging it by saying that it would require that a marriage only be between a man and a woman.  Yes, traditionally, that has been the case.  Also, in our recent history, it was a tradition for dark-skinned people to have a lower social standing in our society, or even to be slaves.  It was tradition for women to be paid less than men for the same work, and for women to not be allowed to vote.  It has been tradition for centuries to describe recent immigrant groups as a lesser class of people.  It is time to finally put an end to all of these traditions.  There is no need to enshrine any of these examples of discrimination into the constitution of any state.

I do understand the need for the religious in our society to be able to lead their lives according to their faith.  I celebrate the fact that we are in a country where we are all generally able to practice our religions as we understand them.  If you do have a belief system that stipulates that a marriage should be limited to one man and one woman, then I suggest that you follow that belief.  However, I would hope that you would allow those of other belief systems to lead their lives using the ethical system that they believe in.  It is sometimes difficult for me to get beyond the hypocrisy of a religion that posts the words “All are welcome” on the sign outside their church, who preach “Love thy neighbor” inside the church, then work against their neighbors family when they choose a different but equally ethical and spiritual belief system.

Love thy neighbor.  Preserve our families.  Allow adults to marry whichever other consenting adults they wish so that we can allow their families to thrive, too.  I don’t believe that this is too much to ask.