Desmond E. Bing
Professor Kerr
English 101-H4
October 20, 2010
Prop H8
The Declaration of Independence states:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Equality for all has been a struggle waged since the beginning of recorded time. The word “struggle” (in relation to finding one’s Creator) established its origins in the Arabic language by defining itself as “Jihad.” That word, jihad, has now been mutated into something much more negative than the initial purpose intended. Now, the struggle to identify the word “marriage” has resurfaced and in doing so, placed it under threat of being altered in similar fashion by denying a particular group of people their unalienable rights. In the fall of 2008, California residents received the chance to circumscribe this topic by voting on Proposition 8. According to Hub Pages, a San Francisco based political Internet publishing company, Proposition 8’s sole purpose for existing is, “To define marriage as being between a man and a woman only.”(“California Proposition 8”). Opponents to Prop 8 say legal recognition of gay marriage will promote stable relationships for same-sex couples, benefit children in same-sex families, and have no effect whatsoever on opposite-sex marriages (“Gay Marriage Showdown”). A widely accepted prerequisite for marriage is love and love can be defined as a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. Person is the word that speaks volumes; not man, or woman, but a person. The passing of Proposition 8 can be examined in terms of Right-Wing Christian efforts to further theorized agendas, false promises made by the Barack Administration, and Voter Confusion/Campaign Shifts.
Given the scores of Christians invested in the belief that the pope has authority to speak infallibly on matters of faith and morals, it’s rather alarming that he was recently quoted in New York Media Magazine referring to Gay Marriage as “one of the most insidious and dangerous threats to the Common Good of today.”(“Pope on Gay Marriage”). Statements like that seem better off left to one whom works in the field of law enforcement. Nevertheless, many right-wing Christian leaders tend to hold these types of biased ideas on any subject that does not directly correlate to what many believe their real agenda to be: enlarging the number of followers behind their dogmatic beliefs in order to increase the size of the endowments available at their disposal (“Religion”). The Huffington Post, a non-profit Internet blog, video, and newspaper site, stated that spending for and against Prop 8 reached $74 million dollars, making it the most expensive social-issues campaign in U.S. history, and the most expensive campaign this year outside the race for the White House. Forty percent of the campaign funding for the passing of the amendment can be linked directly back to church groups who argue gay marriage goes against tradition, nature, and the teachings of the Bible (“Prop 8”) (“Religion”). However, The Mormon Church seems to be front-runner in the race to stop the legalization of gay marriage by allegidly providing more than half of the money allotted towards the bills passing. In the mid 1990’s, the Church was reportedly receiving over $5 billion in tithes per year. Today, with an almost 14 million-member congregation who has an obligation to donate 1/10 of their income and a total of assets that are reportedly worth at least $30 billion, it’s no wonder the Mormon Church was more than capable of producing a majority of the forty percent of funding used by church groups to aid in the passing of Prop 8 (“Religion”). It seems as though, ironically enough, that in one of the most liberal of states, many of the same people who turned out to elect America's first black president also voted against gay marriage.
Regardless of the view one may hold of our current president, it’s fairly accurate to declare that many of the promises uttered during his campaign for the Presidency would be in need of an archeological team to be found at present. Culturally, we can see a huge increase in the acceptance of gays and lesbians. Specifically in the federal courts, there is for the first time a willingness to embrace the Constitution as a vehicle for securing equality for gay people. Yet in our nation's politics, we see essentially the opposite (“Gay Marriage Issue”). Barack Obama’s presidential campaign website posed that “he supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples equal legal rights and privileges as married couples,” but many feel that President Barack has held somewhat of a panderly view on same-sex marriage. "My religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman," Obama was quoted as saying during his 2004 Senate campaign in Illinois (“Gay Marriage Showdown”). Richard Socarides, a former Clinton White House adviser on gay rights, was quoted as saying that “President Barack Obama has failed to deliver on his pledges to gays regarding marriage recognition.”(“Gay Marriage Issue”). According to Socarides, it seems as though President Barack made a conscious decision coming into office that these were second-and third-tier issues. People were very excited by him, but he over promised and under delivered. (“Gay Marriage Issue”).
Ninety-five percent of precincts in California reported the ban of gay marriage had 5,125,752 votes, or 52 percent in favor, while there were 4,725,313 votes, or 48 percent opposed, but many feel this may not be the most accurate measure of how the Golden State thinks about the controversial idea (“Prop 8 Voters”). Researchers have been trying to figure out if confusion over Prop 8 may have thrown off some voters. Many people were perplexed by what a vote for “yes” or “no” meant; voting “yes” supported passing the proposition, and thereby a ban on same-sex marriage, while voting “no” was a vote to strike down the measure and allow gay couples to marry (“Prop 8 Voters”). Another big question posed after the election: Who shifted? Six weeks before the vote, Proposition 8 was too close to call. However, in the final weeks, supporters pulled ahead, and by Election Day, the outcome was all but certain (“Gay Marriage Showdown”). The “Yes on 8” campaign targeted parents in its TV ads. "Mom! Guess what I learned in school today!" were the cheery-frightening first words of the supporters' most-broadcast ad. They emerged from the mouth of a young girl who had supposedly just learned that she could marry a female when she grew up. In the last six weeks, when both sides saturated the airwaves with television ads, more than 687,000 voters changed their minds and decided to oppose same-sex marriage. More than 500,000 of those voters, the data suggest, were parents with children under 18 living at home. Now, because the proposition passed by 600,000 votes, this shift alone more than handed victory to proponents (“Behind the Numbers”). This data presents a clear picture that supporters of same-sex marriage have many obstacles to overcome before they return to the ballot, but that work is already underway, and hopefully, now true comprehension of how to illuminate this issue to all can underpin any efforts in order to avoid confusion or shifts in the future (“Gay Marriage Showdown”).
Pertaining to the fight for equal rights for all, Martin Luther King wrote:
“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note and given the citizen of its country a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."”(“I Have a Dream”)
Dr. King couldn’t be more precise. These rights were a guarantee to every American, without stipulation of sexual orientation, and it seems as though the time has come to send back this bad check and collect the money that rightfully belongs to every citizen of this country. A San Francisco judge appeared to be in alignment with this movement in the case of Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, partners celebrating the over-turning of Prop 8 in there home state and a ten year anniversary all in the same week, by writing "Proposition 8 singles out gays and lesbians and legitimates their unequal treatment.”(“Prop 8”). This is a milestone case; but the causes of the Right-Wing Christian efforts to further theorized agendas, false promises made by the Barack Administration, and Voter Confusion/Campaign Shifts, which lead to the passing of this bill, still seem to be unresolved. Hopefully, someday America will not only live up to the covenant enacted by our four fathers many years ago, but create a way for no one to have the opportunity to use this sacred pact for any other means than the specific goal intended: freedom for all.
Works Cited
“Martin Luther King Jr., “’I Have A Dream.’” American Rhetoric. Web, October 27,
2010. Intellectual Properties Management, Auburn Avenue NE Atlanta, GA 30312. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
“Religion.” BBC News. Web, October 18, 2010. British Broadcasting
Corporation. Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London, W1A 1AA 2010.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/
“Gay Marriage Showdowns.” CQ Researcher. Web, October 15, 2010. The CQ Researcher, September 26, 2008, Volume 18, Number 33. CQ Press, a division of SAGE publications, 2010. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2008092600&type=query&num=Prop+8&
“California’s Proposition 8.” Hub Pages. Web, October 18, 2010. Hub Pages, Inc. 2010
http://hubpages.com/hub/Californias-Proposition-8
“Prop 8.” The Huffington Post. Web, October 16, 2010. Huffington Post.com, Inc. 2010
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/prop-8
“Behind the Numbers of Prop 8.” LA Times. Web, October 15, 2010. Los Angeles Times, 202 West 1st Street, Los Angeles, California, 90012, 2010.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-fleisher-gay-marriage-20100803,0,7125032.story
“Did Prop 8 Voters Know What They Were Voting For?” Newsweek. Web, October 12,
2010. Harman Newsweek LLC, 2010. http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/the-gaggle/2010/08/03/did-prop-8-voters-know-what-they-were-voting-for.html
“Pope on gay marriage.” New York Media. Web, October 17, 2010. New York Media
LLC.2010.http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/05/pope_gay_marriage_one_of_the_m.html.
“In States Races, Gay Marriage Resurfaces As Issue.” NPR News. Web, October 18, 2010. NPR and PBS 2010. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130625231
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