This profile has been set up to spread the word about the fight to stop the 2008 California "Proposition 8" referendum. We're an alliance of progressive minded folk, lesbian, straight, bisexual, gay, and transgendered, from all parts of the political spectrum... all of whom support equal marriage rights in California.
Our goal is to overturn proposition 8, the referendum to repeal California's legalized marriage of same-sex partners. The referendum, dubbed the "California Marriage Protection Act" was slated as Proposition 8 on the November 2008 ballot, and passed. A defeat of this referendum would have meant that same-sex couples in California and elsewhere could continue to be able to get married legally, and have those marriages recognized by the state. The passage of Prop 8 was fought all the way to the CA supreme court, who recently upheld the marriage ban.
We feel that marriage is a civil right sanctioned by the freedoms granted in the US constitution, and should not be arbitrarily limited. Even if we ourselves aren't married, or don't plan to be, we don't believe that this option should be taken away from those who do. And we certainly don't want discrimination written into the California state constitution.
Marriage rights are civil rights, and civil rights are for all.
Why do we say Prop 8 = Hate ?
Whenever people work hard to take away the rights of another group of citizens, it's not because they have a special place of love in their hearts for that group. We don't feel that it's out of bounds to say that if you want to promote and vote yes on a proposition to brand a specific group of people as second class citizens-- taking away their legal rights and instilling that into the state constitution-- you are coming from a place of hate. We appeal to everyone out there with a conscience... even if you are not in favor of gay marriage, why would you be so hateful as to remove the legal rights of your fellow Americans? Think to yourself... if the proposition were to take away the rights of Latinos, African-Americans, Jews, Asians, Women or any other minority, wouldn't it be considered a hateful law? This is the 21st century. Shouldn't we be beyond this?
FACT VS. FICTION
First, you must remember that prop 8 is a referendum to
outlaw same-sex marriage. The wording of the referendum (as put forth by the right-wingers) and the voting yes=no for same-sex marriage / no=yes for same-sex marriage is strange and confuses most people. The least you need to know? Prop 8 = HATE. VOTE NO ON HATE.
There's also been a lot of pro-8 ads and propaganda in the media, and they are riddled with outright lies. The right-wing "Yes on 8" campaign has been putting forth a lot of misleading and downright false accusations in order to muddy the waters around proposition 8, including "teachers having to teach gay marriage," churches "losing their tax-exempt status," and "people being sued over their personal beliefs." It's all bunk, designed to keep people confused.
Read the breakdown of facts versus fiction here.
This page/profile/group is not affiliated with the statewide "No on Prop 8" campaign. We're not a fundraising organization, we're just a group of online friends who believe in a cause.
No on Hate!