Myths About Prop 8. The last time I'm writing about this.

OK, now that I have everyone’s attention with my pretty new header, here are some things MYTHS about Prop 8.

The “yes” ads say that schools will have to teach that gay marriage is “okay.” Schools do NOT teach about marriage. I’ve been teaching school for 12 years (Kinder, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th grades.) Never once have I ever been required to teach about marriage in the classroom. In addition, “okay” is an opinion. If the district told us we had to teach that gay marriage was legal, there is a difference between the words “legal” and “okay.” A wise teacher knows the difference, would define the word “legal” and move on. The California Teachers Association (which includes almost all CA teachers) is against Prop 8 and very unhappy about the way the “yes” ads are scaring people into thinking that their children would be taught about gay marriage in school. That is an absolute lie. If the kids bring up any controversial subject that we are not required to teach, we are fully within our rights as teachers to say, “This is something you need to talk to your parents about.”

The overturning. “Yes on 8” ads are telling people that this is all about getting rights back that were taken away from us when 4 judges overturned previous CA votes. Another lie. Back in 2002 CA had something on the ballot called Prop 22. Prop 22 was kind of the same idea as Prop 8, and equally unconstitutional. Let’s define what “unconstitutional” means. It means that people are being treated differently under the law. The “4 rogue judges” overturned Prop 22 because it was unconstitutional and should never have been put on the ballot.

The last myth is that churches will be forced to marry gay couples. Here is what the 1st Amendment of the constitution says:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

This is called the Establishment Clause, which, if you read it carefully, actually PROTECTS religions so that the government cannot tamper with their doctrine. The actual “separation of church and state” clause can trace its history to this:

[Thomas] Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 to answer a letter from them written in October 1801. A copy of the Danbury letter is available here. The Danbury Baptists were a religious minority in Connecticut, and they complained that in their state, the religious liberties they enjoyed were not seen as immutable rights, but as privileges granted by the legislature - as "favors granted." Jefferson's reply did not address their concerns about problems with state establishment of religion - only of establishment on the national level. The letter contains the phrase "wall of separation between church and state," which led to the short-hand for the “Establishment Clause” that we use today: "Separation of church and state." (www.usconstitution.net)

And lastly, remember this: voting a Yes on 8 will set a precedent, as most votes do. Today it is the gay community’s rights that are taken away. Sure, they’re an easy target. But who will be next? Maybe you.

NO on 8.

Clint, the Microphone is Yours...

Aside from the presidential election, the most heated issue in California is Prop 8. I won't even get into what Prop 8 is, because everyone probably already knows.

People are really getting aggressive about their feelings on Prop 8, churches are talking about it and even putting "Yes on 8" signs outside of their buildings. At the carnival at the Catholic church around the corner this weekend there were parishioners at a booth handing out yard signs. (Does "separation of church and state" not exist anymore? Where was I when that happened?)

Now, the great thing about having your own blog is that you can pretty much say whatever you want to say and it is your own space to say it. I, personally, am against Prop 8 (as many Democrats are,) but here's my dilemma:

• I'm LDS (short for Mormon)
  
• I'm a Democrat (a rare breed in the Mormon church)
  
• I have many LDS friends (and former Brigham Young University roomies)
  
• I have many gay friends--in fact, 3 of my closest friends are gay.
• I love and respect all of my LDS friends and all of my gay friends.
  

I've been wanting to say something about Prop 8 for weeks, but how do I do that without alienating any of my LDS friends or my gay friends? I'm hoping that their opinions of me outside of the political issues will work in my favor.

But this is what I know: at the end of the day, we must each vote based on our conscience, not based on what anyone else is telling us. I know that I have to face myself and my God and my judgment, and it is my belief that being more inclusive is being more Christ-like. It saddens me to see gay people feel so reviled by religions. When I saw those signs outside the church around the corner I thought to myself, "What if there is a gay person in this parish who is struggling with his faith and is coming to church for some sort of solace?" The message they are getting is that they are not wanted there.

It also saddens me to see some "Yes on 8" people hiding behind all of the legal jargon associated with it or blindly following what they hear at church without making up their own minds (I'm speaking generally, not specifically.) I respect people who feel strongly in favor of Prop 8, but I hope they are being honest with themselves and others about WHY they are in favor of it.

Tonight I was on Facebook, where I joined a group for Mormon Democrats called the LDS Left. I was reading the message board and a guy who was clearly a conservative Republican had written some very strong comments in favor of Prop 8. But he didn't stop there. He also called into question anyone's testimony who was against it. Now you could tell that this guy loves a fight--why else would he put such a post on a site where he was sure to get pummeled?

(If you have the stamina, you can read the thread here. It is draining just to read, because people are very vocal on this subject...)

Many people did pummel him, but it was one particular comment that really impressed me. A girl named Natalie wrote back and informed "Dan" that it was not his job to question people's testimonies or why they were members of the Church, which he did. She also recommended a blog for him to go and read called Soy Made Me Gay.

The blog is written by a guy named Clint, who is Mormon and gay. When I read some of his posts--which are both humorous but incredibly insightful, I realized that he did all my work for me on the things I had planned to write here. But his basic message is this--no matter how you feel about Prop 8, be sensitive to others when discussing it, don't assume that someone who disagrees with you is stupid or lacks faith, and choose your words carefully.

Thanks, Clint, for getting the job done.

By the way, you have to admire this guy's courage. He "came out" to his entire congregation at a testimony meeting. That takes real guts.

And one last thing: NO on 8.