Saturday, November 08, 2008

Punishing Supporters of Traditional Marriage

Gay marriage supporters aren't just angry that more Californians support traditional marriage than the court-ordered expanded version. They want to punish them.

This has become a standard tactic of the Left. Cram the agenda through the courts (it's easier to persuade a few judges than thousands of voters). If voters have the temerity to object and go through the electoral process to restore the status quo, vilify and threaten those who hold traditional values.

Behind the scenes, the mood is turning increasingly ugly. "If they're going to vote away my rights based on fear and ignorance and prejudice, I'm going to give them something to be fucking scared of," read a message posted on the online bulletin board Queerty.

The truth is, no one "voted away" anyone's rights. What they did was restore the rights of the millions of Californians who believe marriage is between a man and a woman.

Liberals have gotten used to using a perverted court system which redefines words and ideas for particular agendas rather than using persuasion of voters and legislators to create consensus.

If Californians want gay marriage, then let them approve it either through the legislature or the ballot box. It's that simple. In either case, it would be an expression of the will of the people, not the dictates of a minority.

This is what, on a national level, the amendment process for the Constitution is all about. Black people and women both had to go through it in order to gain important rights. But since the 1960s, it's been treated as legitimate for courts to "discover" rights never seen before and force the majority to accept them. This brings about results for the plaintiffs rather quickly, but sets up resistance and long term hostility from those forced to accept these judicial fiats.

My views on gay marriage are still evolving. But one thing I do know is that I don't want courts making determinations that citizens should be forced to make (and I use "forced" because that's what I mean).

I truly detest the attempts to demonize the Mormon church because its members actually believe strongly enough in traditional marriage to give millions for its defense and then go out and vote on it. The No on 8 crowd are completely dishonest when they try to say that it was the LDS church which gave the money. It was not. Just like citizens of every political persuasion, Mormon adherants can spend their money supporting issues that they deem important.

And I'm pretty sure that ads like this one didn't help:



People who support traditional marriage don't do so to be vindictive or hateful. They do it because they believe strongly that marriage has a particular history and purpose that is not served or honored by changing the definition. I heard many arguments from the Yes on Prop 8 folks, which included points regarding what children are taught about marriage and family. I really can't disagree with this. I don't want the schools contradicting what I believe about the importance of family and marriage.

This isn't the last round on the issue of gay marriage. I just think that persuading people rather than trying to overturn their will is more likely to achieve better results.