The Most Intolerant People I have ever met...

... are the ones preaching tolerance.

You guys know how I voted. I'm pretty moderate but lean right (Disclaimer: I am a proud Roman Catholic, gun owner, soon to be in a law enforcement career, soon to have a BA in Criminology and Law, etc.). I did give my vote for Prop 8 to my friends even though after reading the proposition, I knew this was poorly written and would lead to a whole shit load of problems in future.

Did people stop to think or wonder what no definition of marriage would really be like? Most people think it is equality for everyone... Well, everyone and everything is included when you think of it from a purely legal and sterile perspective. Judges will have no legal standing to decide whether a "marriage" is legal or not... including that of arranged marriages, marriages between minors, marriages between people and pets. Seriously, I am not trying to be funny or equate gay unions to something equivalant to beastiality. Far from it. (And anyone who dares call me a hatemonger will just have to look at my friends and the company I keep to know how wrong their words are.) There are sick people out there who really would start a case based on sick shit like this; and they'd win!

The proposition really should have had a definition something akin to "Unions between consenting persons, regardless of sexual orientation and gender, accepted by the State of CA." Something that is clear cut and leaves out the crazies while making it clear that it is a State function instead of a religious one. And don't start bitching at me for using the word "union." Straight people who had civil unions are in marriages! People don't say, "Hi, we were just unionized." They say, after they walk out of city hall, "We just got married." It's the same deal, folks. I thought actions were louder than words...

People can spout off that the word "marriage" is neutral all they want, but 99% of people will equate it with religion. It's just the natural conotation. "Marriage" has been thought of as a religious sacrament whether you're Christian, Jewish, Islamic, whatever, for thousands of years. Plus, the threat that churches, mosques, and synagogues could be sued for not administering same-sex marriages was a bad part on the No on 8 people. Never should have brought those into play. The saying is "God and Country," not "Country and God." People's personal and private beliefs will trump any state thing as we just saw.

Hey, and there's hope out there. Four years ago, the vote was over 60% against same-sex unions. This morning it was 52. Get a good legal writer in there, take out all the religious conotations, keep it a state function with no threats to religious freedom or institutions, and you'll win! Fair and Square! I would love to see some of my friends walk down that isle and marry their partners. Their relationships are even more strong then some hetero ones I know.

So please, before you start saying "haters!" "bigots!" and shit like that, stop and think about being open minded. Doesn't it mean being open to all things and respectful of another's opinion? I thought closed minded people were the ones who didn't look at all the perspectives... Just the phrase "I will never know how you can think like that" is closed minded and you basically outed yourself and shown your ignorance. Knowing both perspectives helps greatly.