I know I'm late to the wake, but I need to vent about Prop 8

Prop 8 was backed by religious forces mostly OUTSIDE California. It was not a homegrown movement (which is what the propositions were supposed to reflect) but an outside movement, with outside money, mostly from the Mormon church and religious fundamentalists in Arizona. This is no different than having the Las Vegas casinos fund a California proposition to open the state to Vegas casinos and take away profit from the local Indian casinos.

These were outsiders and their commercials relied on scare tactics and raw emotion. "Your kids will learn that a prince can marry a prince in school!" They played on the most vile emotions of some of the electorate. They had money to burn, and California was their big challenge. The fact that Prop 8 had to be an amendment because a regular law against gay marriage would be unconstitutional was too deep a thought for some of the electorate. And the gay marriage movement--I'm sorry, but you all launched the most anemic commercials in response. I watched them and shuddered because they couldn't compete with the emotional intensity (or the money) of the Prop 8 people.

And today, the California Supreme Court held up this garbage proposition, this bigotry peddled from outside the state. How can you have an amendment that is against the entire spirit of your constitution? How can the court decide that this was ok?

I'm bitter tonight, and I have lost faith in the processes of my state. Add this to our current fiscal crisis and the irresponsible vote on the propositions last week, and I am beginning to think it's time to leave here. Maybe I'll change my mind in the morning, but something is gone. California has just fallen in tatters around me.

A hug is all that I have at the moment. I realize that it's not much, but I'm still trying to make sense of the decision by the CA court.

My state has been falling apart for a while.

It's just painful watching my state right now.

Its results are bad laws, special interest group mischief, and (as is obvious by the state of the State) literal bankruptcy. As a former Californian (guess why!) and current property owner, I say Get Rid of Propositions (and then overturn Prop 13 while you're at it)!

I worry when so many people vote on the props based on misleading commercials and absolutely NO research on the measures. And so many of them are deceptive and backed by groups that hide their allegiances.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PgjcgqFYP4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8j2y9WtTPw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNaHpHl3t8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75J3TN9Zzck

But then, they have always lied, haven't they.

:-(

Up here, it isn't even a matter of "same-sex marriage," but of a newly-passed law that grants "domestic partnerships" the same rights and privileges as marriage. Needless to say, the Prop H8 folks (you know, the ones that insisted that they didn't want to curtail civil unions, but merely reserve the sacred word "marriage" for opposite-sex couples?) are now starting up an initiative to throw out the law here.

Most likely, this November, we'll be seeing the exact same flood of deceptive campaign ads (coming out of Salt Lake City, if you know what I mean) flooding the airwaves here, too. And lots of people claiming that to grant the same privileges to domestic partnerships as to marriage is an attack on all we hold dear, and a threat to the liberty of every heterosexual in the state. :eyes:

That seems to be what does it. Don't be afraid to call these people haters. Call them bigots in the commercials. Make a commercial that shows prop 8-type supporters trying to pass an initiative to undo Brown vs. the Board of Education. Seriously, play HARD BALL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PgjcgqFYP4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8j2y9WtTPw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNaHpHl3t8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75J3TN9Zzck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aGvFiAWY9Q&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l61Pd5_jHQw&NR=1

people are waking up. This is so wrong, all I can offer you now is my support and love. But the fight will go on. You can count on that.

They shipped barrels of money in from Colorado.

Thanks for the reminder.

I'm still sick about it. I'm not enjoying our new theocracy in CA.