Let’s get to the true point of opposition against same-sex marriages: It’s not about “preserving” the institute of “traditional” marriage. It’s about discrimination and homophobia.
Two years ago, Proposition 22, which defines marriage as a union specifically between a heterosexual couple, was passed in California by 61 percent.
The reasoning?
Many in favor of Proposition 22 will tell you it’s because God intended marriage to be between a man and a woman.
Their proof is their faith, an indication that you can “live and let live” as long as no one else minds.
Last year, Gov. Gray Davis signed one of the most debated bills in the legislature, AB 25. In effect since Jan. 1, it allows many legal benefits for registered partners.
True, this is a step in the direction for equality among gay couples.
But they are still being denied equal legal protection, including benefits in taxes and insurance.
Not accepting homosexual marriages means you don’t accept gay people as human beings either. Denying gay marriage restricts the freedom of choosing who you can love or how you love them.
Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, introduced AB 1338, which would establish civil unions in California, but dropped it in mid-January because he felt the Central Valley was unlikely to support the measure.
Republican state Sen. Pete Knight, who represents Kern County, is the author of Proposition 22 and believes AB 1338 is a threat to the institution of marriage, possibly opening the floodgates for unconventional marriages between several people, underage couples, or closely related couples.
If Knight is so worried about gay marriages destroying such a “beautiful” tradition, he should pretend to ignore all of the heterosexual couples who have already tarnished the silver lining on the marriage cloud.
Karen Holgate, the director for the Capitol Resource Institute, was quoted in a Focus on the Family news release as saying AB 1338 “offers no authentic religious exemptions and every church, synagogue and religious organization will be forced to offer homosexual couples all of the same benefits that they currently extend to married couples.”
The underlying theme, ladies and gentlemen, is that we are all created equal, but gay couples will never be equally accepted.