yes on 8

I found this on another blog and thought it expressed my feelings on this sensitive topic better than I could. I will insert a few of my own comments in brackets like this, [You didn't really think I could be completely quiet did you??] So, from Splendid Chaos by Chanel--

1. I believe that marriage is ordained by God and only between a man and a woman.

2. In 2000 61% of California voters passed Propositon 22 that stated "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California," then 4 judges overturned the will of 61% of the state.

3. With a Civil Union, gay couples currently have ALL the legal and tax benefits that married couples have. I do not want to take away any of those rights. I do feel that I need to protect my rights as a parent [see # 4]. As a religious person I want to protect the rights of churches [that now may be challenged for their beliefs]. I want to protect the rights of children to be raised by a mother and a father. [I have both a mother and father and think all children deserve the same whenever possible. To think that children, who don't get to choose, don't benefit from both a mom and a dad is devaluing the significance of the genders when both are essential from the conceiving to the nurturing and raising. Did I just write conceiving?]

I fully agree with Steve Pogue from San Jose. He perfectly articulated how I feel about this: "Our opponents in this fight seek to characterize our motivation as hatred. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I oppose abortion but do not hate those who have it done.
I have opposed bond measures without hating their proponents.
I oppose drinking but do not hate those who drink.
I oppose carpool lanes but do not hate people who carpool.
I oppose couples living together out of wedlock, without hating people who do it.
I oppose same-sex marriage without hating the people who want it.
I oppose what I believe to be error, not because I hate those who err, but because I love the truth."

4. I do not think that children need to learn about gay marriage in school. In Massachusetts (where same sex marriage is legal) when they teach about "diversity" parents do not even have the right to opt out. [I believe parents should be the ones to decide when and how to teach their children about this topic. And it certainly will be in schools. It already is in Massachusetts and in some schools in California.]

[Even liberal France upheld marriage between a man and a woman in 2006 saying that the interests of children were more important than lifestyle choices of adults. Obama, Biden, McCain, and Palin have all said, and I've heard them, that marriage should be between a man and a woman. There just might be something to that.]

Thanks, Chanel. I'll see you at the polls.