Callifornia VOTERS!! NO on Prop 8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And sadly enough, 52% yes, 48% no

I haven't ever posted on this board, but I was also dismayed and saddened that this prop past. I live in CA, and have close friends who are gay, it is unbelievable. I hope that it can someday be removed from CA's constitution, and I hear that action is already being taken against it, with San Francisco attorneys insisting they will sue on behalf of the first lesbian couple to be married in LA county.

I still just can't believe it.

I fully agree.

I still stand by my "love whomever you want" belief. If that couple wants to display that love through marriage, they should be granted that.

I also hope the lawyers get what this couple deserve, as well as the re-vote of this. This is going to be insane.

Hi All,
I haven't posted in this forum before, but I honestly feel the need to apologize to all of you here for the Prop 8 result. I can't believe people are still so close-minded this day in age.
As a straight female who just got married in June, I find it especially appalling. If someone told me that I couldn't marry the man I love more than anything else in the world - that I didn't have that right - I would be absolutely devastated, and feel very cheated. LOVE IS LOVE. I don't know why there are still people in this world who don't see that.
My heart hurts for those who are gay right now. All we can hope is that someday soon, people will open their eyes. When I have children, if they should be gay, I would hope they'd have exactly the same rights as all other American citizens. It breaks my heart to think that may not be possible.
Stay strong & hopeful everybody; I hope one day ALL of you are legally able to marry who you love.

~*Rachel*~

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=eqRGoofEuYk& amp;feature=related

This ain't comin' from no prophet
Just an ordinary man
When I close my eyes I see
The way this world shall be
When we all walk hand in hand

When the last child cries for a crust of bread
When the last man dies for just words that he said
When there's shelter over the poorest head
We shall be free

When the last thing we notice is the color of skin
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within
When the skies and the oceans are clean again
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud
'Cause we shall be free
When we're free to love anyone we choose
When this world's big enough for all different views
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew
Then we shall be free
We shall be free

We shall be free
Have a little faith
Hold out
'Cause we shall be free

And when money talks for the very last time
And nobody walks a step behind
When there's only one race and that's mankind
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith, hold out
We shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, have a little faith

We shall be free

Proposition 8 passed, revoking marriage rights for gays and lesbians in California and setting back the gay-rights movement throughout the country.

So did similar bans in Florida and Arizona, not to mention an Arkansas ban on adoption or foster parenting by unmarried couples. Supporters of the latter ban—written expressly to thwart “the gay agenda”—apparently believe that it is better for children to languish in state care than to have loving gay parents.

With the pressure of the election behind us, we can step back and talk about long-term strategy. What must we do to convince majorities that our love is just as worthy as theirs?

Some will complain that we shouldn’t have to convince them. In an ideal world, that would be true. In the real world, it’s useless whining. Let’s face it: complaining that we shouldn’t have to fight for fundamental rights never helped anyone secure their fundamental rights.

Here are my top five strategic suggestions as we move forward.

1. Tell our stories. A striking feature of the various anti-amendment campaigns was the invisibility of those they were supposed to help: gay people. I’m grateful for straight people who support our rights. But straight people can’t directly illustrate the palpable ways in which our families matter to us.

For every time the “Yes on 8” campaign showed that little girl telling her mom how she learned in school about two princes who got married, I wish “No on 8” would have shown a little girl asking her mom why Aunt Ellen and Aunt Portia can’t get married. Or a little boy asking his two adoptive dads—who sacrifice to make his life better—why they can’t get married.

I’m guessing that focus groups showed that images of actual gays turn off swing voters (which, if true, would be further evidence of the stigma we still face). I’m skeptical about focus-groups—focus groups, after all, gave us New Coke.

But whatever was true for the campaign, it’s time now for the long view. Over time, people tend to be more pro-gay the more they know actual gay people.

2. Cut the vague talk about “rights” and “discrimination.” It’s wrong to take away rights, right? Well, sure—but we need to be more specific than that.

Gay-rights opponents cleverly granted the premise that it’s wrong to take away rights, and then argued (falsely, but effectively) that marriage equality meant taking away THEIR rights, specifically their parental and religious rights, or that gay adoption interfered with a child’s right to a mother and father.

It’s not enough, therefore, merely to demand “rights” or to oppose “discrimination.” We need to flesh out why these rights matter and why this particular discrimination is harmful and wrong. That requires talking about the moral value of our relationships—and not just talking about it, but showing it (see #1).

3. Use words like “bigot” and “hate” sparingly. There is no doubt that some of our opponents are hateful bigots. (I’ve got the mail to prove it.) But 5.7 million California voters?

No. Most of those who voted yes are people you’d recognize as your coworkers, your neighbors, your grandma. Misinformed? Absolutely. Shortsighted? Without a doubt. But generally not hateful.

Furthermore, as a strategic matter, labeling widespread religious and parental concerns as “hateful” doesn’t typically convert those who harbor them.

4. Don’t let opponents hide behind religion. 83% of weekly churchgoers voted in favor of Prop. 8, and they contributed a large percentage of the $36 million raised to promote it. 90% of self-identified atheists and agnostics voted against it.

To be sure, there were progressive religious organizations and individuals who strongly opposed the amendment. We should continue to harness their enthusiasm: God, after all, can be invoked by all sides of the political spectrum. But we should also recognize the dangers inherent in accepting beliefs “on faith.”

In my view, America is due for a healthy dose of religious skepticism, as well as a vigorous conversation about what religious freedom means and why.

5. Patience, yes; complacency, never. Time is on our side. California marriage-equality opponents drew 61% of the vote in 2000 but only 52% this year. Voters under 30 heavily opposed Prop. 8.

Meanwhile, ordinary gay and lesbian citizens are motivated like they haven’t been in some time. They are peacefully demonstrating outside churches and city halls; they are donating time and money; they are coming out to friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

Ironically, opponents’ efforts to “protect children” from learning about gay people has not only catapulted us to the front of the news, it has increased our determination to make our everyday presence known.

We need to do that for our own dignity. But we also need to do it for those children, who deserve an equal chance at “happily ever after” regardless of their sexual orientation. Keep fighting the good fight.

John Corvino, Ph.D. is an author, speaker, and philosophy professor at Wayne State University in Detroit.

For over fifteen years he has traveled the country speaking on homosexuality and ethics. His writing has been featured in regional and national periodicals, at the online Independent Gay Forum, and in numerous scholarly anthologies. His column “The Gay Moralist” appears Fridays on 365gay.com.

For more about John Corvino, or to see clips from his “What’s Morally Wrong with Homosexuality?” DVD, visit www.johncorvino.com.

This is the Mayor of San Francisco..straight man who is the catalist to suport Gay Marrage!

Same-sex Marriage May 15 SFCity Att. Herrera & Mayor Newsom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Ke8gEc4Hs

California Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRDYx1b5wTM &feature=related

Gloria Allred on California Same-Sex Marriage Case
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIN0PuW3NRQ &feature=related

Chris Rock - Gay marriage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sKWo3Q-UZ8 &feature=related

S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom on passing of Prop 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRS2E309EJA

I cant tell you how many videos on Youtube I came across where people are berating and bashing the GLBT community.Calling us fornicating sinners and perverts and words that cant be typed on this forum..This is what happens,you give people the right to deny others there human civil rights and before long they think it is OK to hit those people, abuse and harass those people and commit homicide in the name of there ignorant views and hate...this will end but the cost could be very high,as it was for black people and for interracial couples...but that will not stop anything..time and progress marches on.


Protest against Prop 8 - Long Beach, CA - 11/07/08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnkTY8HEo0k

NBC 5 (Salt Lake City): Local News - Rally Against Prop 8 Held in Salt Lake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBqf7CxG9NY &feature=related


ABC 7 (San Francisco): Local News - Prop 8 Campaigns Step Up Over Weekend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Ry3AivaOg &feature=related

ABC 10 (Sacramento): Local News - Heavy Rain Can't Stop Feverish Prop 8 Debate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tPXUjrzvZ8 &feature=related

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS) ― The California Supreme Court could decide as soon as Wednesday whether to review the constitutionality of the proposition that bans same-sex marriage.

Six different lawsuits have been filed asking the state Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8. The justices could defer deciding whether to take up those cases until after the Thanksgiving break, a decision both sides would find agonizing.

"The voters deserve to find out from the Supreme Court whether this is valid or not," said Andrew Pugno, an attorney for Yes on 8. "Of course, we think it is and will be upheld, but it's just in everybody's interest to get it done now."

The court could choose not to hear those cases at all and return the matter to a lower court, an option Pugno said would mean years of protracted litigation.

The question also remains whether a stay will be issued that would allow gay marriages to resume until all the litigation is settled.

"We're talking about a right that is fundamental, that the court has clarified as a fundamental right, and that people would be harmed if they were precluded from exercising that fundamental right," said Courtney Joslin, a UC Davis family law professor formerly with the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The court also has the option at its weekly conference on Wednesday not to settle the matter at all, something Joslin said would be very unlikely.

Wow

Friday - November 21, 2008
Same-Sex Marriage: Prop 8 Debate
It’s a hot-button topic in California and around the country: The passage of Proposition 8, which reinstated a ban on same-sex marriage. Supporters of this initiative voted to preserve the sanctity of marriage solely between a man and a woman. Opponents of Prop 8 say it violates the constitutional rights of the gay community and that America’s laws should treat everyone equally. Since Election Day, numerous protests and rallies have been organized to overturn the law, and the debates are getting heated regarding this highly personal and controversial topic. Dr. Phil’s guests debate their opposing points of view: Discrimination attorney Gloria Allred, president of the Human Rights Campaign Joe Solmonese, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Pastor Jim Garlow, president of National Organization of Marriage Maggie Gallagher and co-campaign manager for the Yes on 8 Campaign Jeff Flint. Whatever your beliefs, you won’t want to miss this show!