I hate talking about Gay Marriage. In California currently there is a proposition that will be voted on very soon, The proposition is Prop 8. Prop 8 is proposing a ban on same sex marriage and defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

On May 17, 2008 the California State Supreme Court over turned a ban on same sex marriage. The decision was based on the fact that excluding a specific group from marrying was discrimination. On June 16th, 2008 the first couples were allowed to marry, which were the couples who were apart of the case and on the 17th Same Sex marriage was made available to all Gay and Lesbian couples in California.

This effort to promote Freedom and Liberty for all has been met though with more adversity. The fate of 11,000 couples and many more waiting to marry in the state of California will be decided on November 4th , 2008 and I hope In writing what I am about to write that i will convince others to vote no with me.

Those who advocate this proposition do so for a number of reasons:

1) According to the bible, homosexuality is an abomination

2) Marriage is something only a man and woman should share

3) Churches may lose their tax exempt status

4) The 4 million people who voted against gay marriage will have their votes ignore

5) Procreation

The first argument to me about homosexuality being an abomination is null and void. In the united states our constitution is supported by a separation of church and state. Banning an activity is not suppose to be based on personal beliefs. Many people would like to say this country was founded on Christianity but what they forget is more importantly this country was founded on fleeing religious persecution. Religious persecution was the reason the Pilgrims set sail in the first place, not Christianity. To go back on what this country was founded because of and persecute homosexual people because they are against "God's Law" is unfair. In the 1950s and 1960s the majority of Americans supported racism and segregation. Just because the majority believes it doesn't make it okay and to top that off most people found ways to say god supported racism and god supported segregation they even went as far as to say that god supported a ban on interracial marriage. As an American of today does this seem right to you? Does racism and segregation seems fair? Well I'm surprised that god would support discrimination and the alienation of a group of people.

Also to add to that argument research has began attempting to explore the causes of homosexuality and have determined that it does in fact have to do with abnormalities in the brain and chemical functions. If god created this person, why create an abomination. "All men are created equal." and thus to me all people should also be treated equally in all aspects of the law and life.

Then it's been brought to my attention that some people think marriage should be something only between a man and a woman, but why because it's tradition? At a point in time and in other countries it still is tradition to sell your female daughter into marriage. It was also tradition to consider females as nothing more than property. There are hundreds of more examples in which traditions have evolved. Time seems to force progression. Why try and stifle what needs to happen so that we as Americans can live in a more harmonious society. Why does marriage need to be defined as between a man and a woman? How does defining marriage as the union of two people in love desecrate what marriage stands for? The current divorce rate in America is around 50%, people who aren't in love but are heterosexual have the choice everyday to get married but two people who are in love and homosexual cannot? Someone please explain to me how that is fair. I thought marriage was about Love not about gender.

As for Churches losing their tax exempt status. They shouldn't be telling people to vote yes or no anyways. Also i think that teaching what the bible says is not a problem. The bible is several thousand pages and it is not all about homosexuality. To teach hate and discrimination towards homosexual individuals is wrong and needs to be stopped but i don't think that is what all churches are doing so i don't think that this will be a problem for most churches. Also churches will not be forced to preform homosexual marriages and if they choose not to preform homosexual marriages they will not lose their tax exempt status, they are protected, please see the You Tube Video below.

To the 4 million people who voted against Gay Marriage. There are nearly 40 million people in California. So they are not a majority and as i have previously stated the majority about 50 years ago believed in racism, segregation, lynching and were against interracial marriage. Go back a couple more hundred years and you'll find the majority believed in slavery and burning witches at the stake. So in short just because a lot of people think so, doesn't make it right or fair.

The final argument i seem to hear about it Procreation. A gay marriage cannot have children. Okay well neither can infertile people and some people just choose not to have kids. Should these people not be allowed to marry as well?

Now my argument. By voting yes you are stopping people from having a wedding, you are stopping people from filing taxes together, immediate inheritance, visiting each other in the hospital etc... How is this Progressive? I also believe that this Prop promotes hate and discrimination and Hate and discrimination are WRONG!!!!! To teach and promote hate is WRONG!!!! 21 year old Matthew Shepherd was brutally murdered in Texas several years back because he was gay!!!! He was tied to a fence and beaten. When he was found blood covered his face except for where tears had ran down his face. He died on October 12th 1998. It's sad to think that 10 years later that Matthews death to me is still being ignored. To me voting yes on proposition 8 is voting for hate and discrimination. We need to bridge these gaps and end this cycle. "All men are created equal" in every aspect of the law and life. My views will not change but i hope many will change their views on prop 8 and end the hate. How will a yes vote really help anyone?

I haverecently learned how much fun it is to post videos on my blog. This Video is from a man older than me and he has an amazing argument against Prop 8. Please watch it, it's very moving.