I don't live in California right now, but my family does. My dad wrote the following and sent it as a letter to the editor for their local paper. With his permission, I'm going to post it here:
Please, if you live in California vote yes on Proposition 8.Recently a majority of Californians voted to retain marriage as between a man and a woman. When four judges overturned the will of the majority, a very vocal minority rejoiced.
Marriage advocates gathered enough signatures to get Proposition 8 on the ballot to restore the definition of marriage. The vocal minority quickly found large donors to finance a media campaign against the will of the majority. It seemed that this vocal minority was the majority.
Gradually, however, many of the silent majority have spoken up, donating, canvassing, calling, putting up signs, sporting bumper stickers. As this grassroots support for marriage gained momentum, the illusion that the vocal minority were the majority dropped away.
Unfortunately, some members of the vocal opposition have taken to other methods: removing signs and bumper stickers, shouting curses at sign twirlers, even physically assaulting Proposition 8 supporters.
In America even the silent majority has the right to free speech, not just the vocal minority. If some resort to theft, vandalism, and violence, they are only admitting by their actions that they have the weaker argument, the less worthy cause. We should express ourselves respectfully and let the entire electorate work it out at the polls.
2 comments:
That's a great letter. I can't believe some of the things the No on 8 people have been doing. Candace and Tyler, for example, have had their sign cut up numerous times. Other people have been cursed out. It seems strange that for a bunch of people that think WE are the ones that "hate" -- they have so much anger!
The problem is confusion between the legal definition of marriage and the religious one. The state does not define what a marriage is in the eyes of God and the church.
But the state should not treat people differently on the basis of their gender.
Personally I don't think the state should recognize any marriage, regardless of the genders involved.
PS Hi Margot, it's me Ernie Cusack.
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