California Proposition 8 …

PROPOSITION 8
This initiative measure is submitted to the people in accordance with the provisions of Article II, Section 8, of the California Constitution.

This initiative measure expressly amends the California Constitution by adding a section thereto; therefore, new provisions proposed to be added are printed in italic type to indicate that they are new. 

SECTION 1. Title
This measure shall be known and may be cited as the ‘California Marriage Protection Act.’

SECTION 2. Section 7.5 is added to Article I of the California Constitution, to read: SEC. 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” <Source>

The people have spoken …

No matter how much money was spent on California Proposition 8 campaign to define marriage, no matter how many prominent people are for or against the proposition, the people have spoken and their collective will should be respected.  If you disagree, you can turn to the courts to rule on matters of constitutionality and law or mount another campaign to attempt to persuade the majority of Californians to adopt your views.

Enough is enough …

When the egregious actions of a small band of gay activists are designed to punish and intimidate other law-abiding citizens who may believe differently, it might also be time to start considering legal procedures for denial of civil rights relating to the injured party’s right to freedom of free speech and freedom of religion. 

Per the Los Angeles Times …

“A life thrown into turmoil by $100 donation for Prop. 8”

“Margie Christoffersen didn't make it very far into our conversation before she cracked. Chest heaving, tears streaming, she reached for her husband Wayne's hand and then mine, squeezing as if she'd never let go.
’I've almost had a nervous breakdown. It's been the worst thing that's ever happened to me,’ she sobbed as curious patrons at a Farmers Market coffee shop looked on, wondering what calamity had visited this poor woman who's an honest 6 feet tall, with hair as blond as the sun.”

“Well, Christoffersen was a manager at El Coyote, the Beverly Boulevard landmark restaurant that's always had throngs of customers waiting to get inside. Many of them were gay, and Christoffersen, a devout Mormon, donated $100 in support of Proposition 8, the successful November ballot initiative that banned gay marriage. She never advertised her politics or religion in the restaurant, but last month her donation showed up on lists of ‘for’ and ‘against’ donors.”

“And El Coyote became a target. A boycott was organized on the Internet, with activists trashing El Coyote on restaurant review sites. Then came throngs of protesters, some of them shouting ‘shame on you’ at customers. The police arrived in riot gear one night to quell the angry mob.”

“The mob left, but so did the customers.
Sections of the restaurant have been closed, a manager told me Friday during a very quiet lunch hour. Some of the 89 employees, many of them gay, have had their hours cut, and layoffs are looming. And Christoffersen, who has taken a voluntary leave of absence, is wondering whether she'll ever again be able to work at the restaurant, which opened in 1931 (at 1st and La Brea) and is owned by her 92-year-old mother. ‘It's been so hard,’ she said, breaking down again.”

“Christoffersen, raised Mormon by her late father, told me she has no problem with gay people. ‘I love them like everybody else.’
But she supports her church's position that marriage is between a man and a woman.
I, on the other hand, opposed Prop. 8. And as I wrote more than once, I think organized Christian religion reached new levels of hypocrisy in using the Bible to preach discrimination and promote the initiative.”

Ending discrimination by discrimination …

There is no rational justification for any gay activist to attack a person who is expressing their Constitutionally-guaranteed right to free speech and freedom of religion. Especially when the person participated in a lawful demonstration of their constitutional right to vote on a matter of public importance. It is even more egregious to attack the innocent employer of such a person in order to force a person to behave in a manner contrary to their rights and nature.

The process of attempting to end discrimination by discriminating is both illegal and immoral and those who engage in these activities should be required to answer for their actions in a court of law.

It is one thing to boycott a company whose company position makes them liable to the public for their statements and actions … it is quite another to boycott a company with regards to seeking action against a particular individual.

In an Orwellian world where up is down, right is left, and words are continually re-defined to fit some political agenda, we are faced with a major problem that is not being confronted by the media or our politicians.

One, marriage is popularly defined as “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law.”

Two, laws the recognize this particular definition are not “hate speech” promulgated by “haters” as the gay activists would want people to believe.

Three, the premise that all people are equal under the law, should receive equal protection under the law, and that there should be no class of people who should receive special privileges  not available to others is being overlooked.

My position …

I am all for giving gays access to all of the legal rights and privileges of a state-sanctioned union.

I will not concede them the right to re-define any word in the English language to fit their own political/sexual agenda. Unless the word marriage becomes defined through common usage, as historical precedent, then the word’s original definition applies.

And I am dead set against giving gays or any other group special rights which they may wield as a legal hammer to pound all of us into the ground.

This has not worked well in the past as there are those who abuse the law. Fire an incompetent Black person and it becomes a racial issue with legal consequences. I do not want to see the same misuse of the law by any additional groups. Unless you are covered under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), then you are to be treated like everyone else.

It has been the historical policy of far-left democrat liberals and others to use the courts when they fail to achieve their political agenda at the ballot box. I see no reason why any group can be permitted to maliciously and malevolently attack individuals without legal consequences.

Time to carefully watch our politicians …

Politicians and others who are courting donations and votes from special interest parties with their own agenda should not be elected or, if currently serving, should not be re-elected.

The Governor’s race …

Here in California, we are about to face an upcoming election (2010) in which the far-left democrat liberals are most likely to win. People like Diane Feinstein, Jerry Brown (who coincidently authored the wording of Proposition 8), San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Tony Villar (his real name is not Villaraigosa) and others who are openly courting the GLBT community and might continue to support their aggressive stance.

It is up to the rest of us, providing that we haven’t left the state for economic reasons, to insure that San Francisco far-left liberal democrats do not continue to rule California and assist in the further devolution of the formerly Golden State into a third-world reception area for the importation of additional poverty and illiteracy.

What can YOU do?

Support equal rights for all while respecting precedent and tradition – become a conservative Republican.

Do not create any more special classes or privileged constituencies for purposed of political manipulation.

Do not allow any politician or group to impose San Francisco politics on the rest of California. It hasn’t worked, it isn’t working and it is not likely to work in the future.

Support those whom the GLBT community has unfairly attacked. It may be your rights and your job that is compromised next … all because you exercised your rights to free speech and freedom of religion.

-- steve

Quote of the day: “I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.”  - Joseph Baretti

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

A life thrown into turmoil by $100 donation for Prop. 8 - Los Angeles Times