Sunday, November 9, 2008

Another post from a bigot



Proposition 8 passed. There is now an amendment to the California State Constitution which reads, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California". I discussed my view on this before the election, here. Although it is a victory, I believe it is short lived. The ACLU and a gay rights advocacy group has already initiated more legal proceedings, petitioning the Supreme Court the following:

"Contending the initiative was invalid because it improperly altered fundamental principles of the state Constitution. Taking away the right to marry from gays and lesbians violated the constitutional commitment to equality for all because straight couples can still marry. Proposition 8 should be struck down because it prevents courts from enforcing equal protection rights."

Proponents of Prop 8 have said that it is very unlikely that they will be able to undue a constitutional amendment through the legal system. My uneducated guess is that they will work to pass an amendment to repeal the previous amendment. (Like US Constitution's 19th and 21st amendments, prohibition and it's repeal).

The protesters are targeting the Catholic and LDS church sites specifically, calling them "Bigots, bigots, bigots!" as one protester told a reporter. I have seen commentators on CNN and other news shows compare the protest in West Hollywood to the Civil Rights march from Selma to Montgomery. Can you even imagine if Prop 8 was not passed, and it's proponents took to the streets carrying signs and jumping on cars. What would be said of them? At the very least, that they are sore losers. People who belong to my faith have been harrassed, ridiculed, picketed outside their homes. Where is the tolerance for our, and the majorities, differing opinion? We have a long road ahead, and I pray that protests and name-calling will be replaced with tolerance and respect. I typically don't share a quote, scripture or doctrine from my specific religion, I just found this quote to be too perfect not to share. It was given by a leader in our Church, an apostle, Neal A. Maxwell, in 1979. He states:

"This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions. Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened. Let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel".

Read the rest of the article here.

5 comments:

jeanine said...

What a great quote. I have a lot of family and friends in California. They have endured a lot these past few months--and worked tirelessly to pass prop 8. It is ridiculous that the opposition continues to ridicule and persecute citizens that stood for their moral beliefs. Throughout the whole campaign the most hateful and bigoted words came from them (the opposition). The yes side has been, in most cases, nothing but respectful.
Another thing is this... a majority voted YES. There are a lot of mormons in CA... but not THAT many. I think that heaven was working just as hard to pass this as the adversary was trying to stop it.

jeanine said...

ps. sorry for the long comment... but I have tons more to say ;)

Jen said...

Many people mentioned in the post on the politicalmomsunite site that they felt like they (the gays/those NOT in favor of prop 8) had been jerked around. I agree, but no one mentions how we (the supporters of Prop 8) have also been jerked around. We have stood up on this issue time and time again. The people of California voted in 2000, but that wasn't good enough so the courts felt the need to get involved and overturned the ruling. Then again in 2008. The people have spoken yet again and have let their voices be heard. We believe in the scantity of marraiage and that marraiage should be between a man and a woman. So, when are we (the supporters of this prop) going to be left alone and no longer "jerked" around. It's not fair to the voice of the people. The people have spoken.

This ammendment does not discriminate against those who desire to be gay, it just puts forth the definition of marraige. Also, people are often stating that no one is discriminating agains the church and their desire to practice pologmy. Well that's not true, in order for Utah to become part of the Union, they had to stop the practice of Pologmy. And let's not get started on discrimination. No other group, other than blacks, have been persecuted as much as the Mormons have. We were completely kicked out of the state of Missouri, there were laws on the books that said that a mormom could be shot and killed with no probable cause. I'm not complaining, the very fact that we haven't complained and haven't played victim, is, I believe, the very reason the church is prosperous today.

L said...

Apparently you forgot about the Jews.

Enough with the poor me. These people are suffering. We need to be kind and not say, Wah Wah, but what about US?

How about you read my post all the way to the end before you comment on it.

Jen said...

Lula, what's with the hostility? I wasn't even referring to your comment. I was referring to a comment on your post by someone else. Also, I was referring to persecution on THIS land, the U.S.A. not internationally--sorry I didn't make that more clear. I ALSO said I am NOT complaining. I was putting things into perspective. And YES, they are suffering. If you've read any of my other comments on previous posts then you also would have read that I have a cousin that is Gay (whom I am close to) and I have many friends who are gay. I'm not being insensetive to them by stating that those who supported Prop 8 have also been "jerked around".

Nice try :)