Chad Peace
Conventional political sentiment tells us that we are either for a particular proposition, or against it. We are told to support Proposition 8 if we believe in traditional marriage, or against if we believe in equality. What about those who believe that a government authority empowered by a simple majority, should not have the authority to tell dissenters that they have to share the majority’s proclaimed moral virtues? What if we should not be debating equality or traditional marriage per se, but a deeper question; should we be governed by the whimsical morality of the majority, regardless of the issue? Should it matter whether I personally believe or don't believe in gay marriage? Is it not self-righteous to put my moral grounds on a pedestal and force others to accept my belief?
Minorities come in many different forms and as the Founders of this country understood, the individual is the smallest and greatest minority of all. So what if I believe in the equality not of the collective gay minority, but in the equality of each individual inside and out of that minority to construct his or her own set of moral convictions? If Person A and Person B want to get married, and Church C thinks it’s a good idea, why should I have the right to check their pants first? I believe our government should protect individual rights, and not individual words, and that if Church A should differ from Church B in it's definition of marriage, the churches should have the right to use different dictionaries.
It always amazes me that the traditionally conservative small government voters are the ones that support issues like this. On one hand, they demand that the government get out of our lives. On the other hand, they ask the government to protect their definition of marriage.
It always amazes me that the traditionally liberal progressives are for equal rights for all. On the one hand they demand that government protect the rights of minorities. On the other hand, they ask the government to force everyone else to accept their definition of marriage.
I am not gay and I am not married. If gays are allowed to get married, I will continue to search for a woman, and I will continue to desire a traditional marriage. Frankly, I think proposition 8 is a lot less about marriage than it is about the role of government in our lives. So, I will cast a No vote on proposition 8 not because I am against defining traditional marriage. I will cast a No vote because I believe in the right of everyone else to disagree with my definition.
