I read an interesting quote today about Prop 8 from its proponents, Protect Marriage (actually their counsel said this):
“For our opponents to say, as they have repeatedly, that there is no rational reason for limiting marriage to a man and a woman except for animus and bigotry is to spurn 7 million Californian voters, 70 of 108 judges, the vast majority of state legislatures and electorate after electorate who support marriage between a man and woman.”
It occurs to me that this statement is designed to imply something that is just a false supposition; that because a majority of people say something it is neither animus or bigotry.
If that were true, the history of the world would be sunlight and roses…and its not. The truth is that just because majority vote supports something that doesn’t make it right, equitable, or just…it makes it LEGAL. That is all.
Our nation is founded on the ideas of freedom; it is where we cast off the shackles of the old-world monarchies, it is where our entire system of government is based on documents that talk about rights.
In a nation that came up with the term “Freedom Fries” – to say that one group of people do not deserve the same rights as another because they love the wrong partners is simply hypocritical and prejudicial.
Now, if we want to stand up and say that this is the nation where we get our rights and freedoms so long as we are roughly white and heterosexual, then legislation and law that supports that would seem consistent to me…
If not, then we are obligated to allow that of which we as individuals and small groups disapprove…and any law that prevents people from loving whom they choose needs to be challenged every doggone day.
Anything else would be simply unpatriotic and would violate the spirit of the pioneers, yes, even the Mormon pioneers, who fought to create their own freedoms. Just because somebody isn’t like you doesn’t mean they do not deserve the same freedom, rights, and societal support that you have.