* I accept all comments, within reason.  Comments with vulgarity, bashing, hatred, or anything along those lines will be deleted. Let’s play nice.

I was undecided for a long time how to vote on Proposition 8.  My friends who live alternative lifestyles want me to vote no, my religion wants me to vote yes.  I’d like to think that I would pick God over country every time, but this one was hard.  On the one hand, I don’t care if my friends want to get married–let them; on the other hand, I believe that traditional marriage, one man and one woman, is right.

Here are a few of the reasons why I choose to support Prop 8.

An initiative similar to this one was passed by the people and the Supreme Court ignored the people’s voice and overturned the initiative in May 2008.  That is not the way our country should work, in a democratic society the voice and power is with the people.

My ancestors immigrated to America in large part for the religious freedoms afforded here.  We are slowly turning into a Godless society.  People don’t want God talked about, God’s name on money, in the schools, in our pledge of allegiance, which was written in 1892, well over 110 years ago.  God is slowly being removed and I don’t like it.  This is an excerpt from The Family: A Proclamation to The World (1995):

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan.

I firmly believe and stand by that statement by my church leaders.

People living this lifestyle need only apply for Domestic Partnership under Family Code section 297 to have all the rights afforded them that traditional married couples have.  Why can’t it just be called something else?  Traditional marriage of one man and one woman = “Marriage”, and anything else can be called “Union” or “Marriagetastic” or “Tiddlywinks.”  I don’t care, they can have something of their very own and a service to go with it.  Is it really just about the word???

Discrimination.  I understand both sides of this, truly I do.  However, if the same rights are given to both groups already, where is the discrimination (see point above)?  Equal is equal…you can’t get more equal than the Family Code sited above.  If it’s a term other than “Domestic Partnership” come up with one and propose that.  Same sex marriage is not inherently the same as opposite sex marriage so let’s call it something else.

297.5. (a) Registered domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections, and benefits, and shall be subject to the same responsibilities, obligations, and duties under law, whether they derive from statutes, administrative regulations, court rules, government policies, common law, or any other provisions or sources of law, as are granted to and imposed upon spouses.

I want the right to stand by my religious beliefs just as others want the right to marry, but somewhere we have to be tolerant and meet in the middle.  Somewhere that will satisfy church and state at the same time.  Somewhere that one group’s views and lifestyle will not be forced on the other.  It will be difficult, but not impossible.  This measure just isn’t the right one.

God speed.