Proposition 8

Though we are not residents of California, we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have been encouraged to use social media to educate others on Proposition 8.

Here are 6 reasons why voting yes on Prop 8 is so important for our generation:

1) Children in public schools will have to be taught that same-sex marriage is just as good as traditional marriage.
The California Education Code already requiresthat health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890)Therefore, unless Proposition 8 passes, children will be taught that marriage between any two adults is of the same worth, regardless of gender. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.

2) Churches may be sued over their tax exempt status if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings open to the public. Ask whether your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, or rabbi is ready to perform such marriages in your chapels and sanctuaries.

3) Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston already had to stop providing adoption services in Massachusetts because courts legalized same-sex marriage there.

4) Religions that sponsor private schools with married student housing may be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if counter to church doctrine, or risk lawsuits over tax exemptions and related benefits.

5) Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages may be sued for hate speech and risk government fines. It already happened in Canada, a country that legalized gay marriage. A recent California court held that municipal employees may not say: "traditional marriage," or "family values" because, after the same-sex marriage case, it is "hate speech."

6) It will cost you money. This change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits, including some already lost (e.g., photographers cannot now refuse to photograph gay marriages; doctors cannot now refuse to perform artificial insemination of gays even given other willing doctors). Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today's activist judges), think of the money – your money – that will be spent on such legal battles. The following reasons were blatantly copied from the website: http://www.whatisprop8.com/

Hate is not the issue here. Not in the least. I can LOVE people who are gay. That does not mean that I agree with their lifestyles. I don't. I don't believe in many things that are becoming more tolerant in our world (pornagraphy, drugs, alcohol) but that doesn't mean that I hate or dislike any people who have a lifestyle that tolerates them. Quite the opposite.

It is wrong to me that a court, supposedly representing the people of California, can change something that the people already voted on. The people of California already voted against gay marriage. They cannot change the minds of the people.

What has surprised me is that amount of angst that comes from the opposition. The opposition demands tolerance but is unwilling to show any towards our views.

Please take the time to review what voting on this Proposition means. You have a voice, you have the ability to choose. The following sites have a great deal of information regarding Prop 8:
http://www.preservingmarriage.org
http://www.whatisprop8.com/

Please pass the link along and encourage your friends to vote! Every vote matters.