Sunday, September 14, 2008

Help Protect Marriage

I'd like to post about something that is very important to us and that we've been involved in since moving to California. Please excuse us for having to get political on our blog, but I hope you'll take a sec and read this. (Thanks, Karene, for the example.)

In the year 2000 Proposition 22 was passed by 61% of the people of California to state that "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." This summer four judges on the California Supreme Court overturned this by a close 4-3 vote. This November will be our one and only chance to overturn that decision by a popular vote at the elections.

A yes vote on PROPOSITION 8 will amend our state constitution to restore traditional marriage in California. Joseph and I have been helping in our area by making phone calls and will also be canvasing areas to get the word out about Proposition 8. As of right now our side is losing in the polls. WE NEED HELP! Please, even if you are not a Californian you can help, since this will ultimately affect everyone. ProtectMarriage.com (go here to find out more on the issue) needs financial assistance so we can make commercials, fliers, signs, and buy TV and radio spots. It is not a cheap endeavor and we need help. Those who are fighting against us just received 1.2 million dollars from the ACLU, and have the backing of major companies. They are fighting hard and we need to fight back! WE MUST PROTECT MARRIAGE! There are so many consequences to this and we need to protect marriage between a man and a woman. Here are a few facts to dispel myths that the opposition is spreading:

1: Prop. 8 is About Preserving Marriage; It’s Not an Attack on the Gay
Lifestyle. Proposition 8 doesn’t take away any rights or benefits from gays or
lesbians in domestic partnerships. Under California law, “domestic partners
shall have the same rights, protections and benefits” as married spouses.
(Family Code §297.5.) There are no exceptions. Proposition 8 will not change
this.

2: Prop. 8 does not enshrine discrimination in our Constitution.

3: The legal meaning of marriage is up to the people to decide, not four judges.

4: The narrow decision of the State Supreme Court effectively renders all civil marriage meaningless and will result in tremendous confusion for children. The state Education Code (§51890) requires that teachers instruct children as young as kindergarteners about marriage. If the gay marriage ruling becomes permanent, teachers will have little choice but to teach young children there is no difference between gay marriage and traditional marriage.


That last one is the scariest to me. If you're thinking to yourself "Who cares what they do? Let them get married, it won't affect me", you're very wrong. It will effect our children in schools (even kindergarteners!) in a devastating way. And what happens here will set a precedent for the rest of the country, so it will eventually reach your states as well.

We ask if you have the means and would like to fight for a good cause to go to this site and donate! We will be blessed in our endeavors. Thank you. Also, if you feel so inclined, please copy this onto your blog as we need to spread the word! *I want to Donate*

7 comments:

Ashley Lamb said...

We are doing the same thing here in AZ, making phone calls to people asking for support. It's sad because I don't think a lot of people really understand what this means. I hope we can get more support!! Keep up the hard work! Support marriage!

Karene said...

Becky, I accidentally posted a dead link to the donation site on my blog and it looks like maybe you got the same problem. The correct link is https://www.icontribute.us/protectmarriage. Hope that helps. I'm glad you posted this!!

Evan said...

Hi Becky - thanks for helping spread the word. The good news is that the state education code gives teachers a lot of leeway in teaching about marriage. All it requires is, sometime before high school graduation, to teach about:
"the legal and financial aspects and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood." (§51890) So schools have broad leeway, and there are no requirements to discuss this with young children.
--Evan

terrah said...

Thanks for the info Becky. I linked to your blog and copied your post on my blog, so I hope that's ok. I think not enough people know about this! So it's good to spread the word.

Poppy said...

Danny and I did the neighborhood walks for prop22. It was difficult, but worth it. I can't believe that we have to go through that again, shouldn't one vote be enough. Thanks for your example and work. I'll take a look at the website.

Annie Leavitt said...

my sister has been all over highland spreading the news too for her ward. good for you. signs of the times i guess.

Anonymous said...

GOOD FOR YOU GUYS....You guys are living in a place where you really can make a difference and you surely are now. Thanks for letting us know and what we can do to help....SUPPORT MARRIAGE!!