Protect Marriage.......from what?

"Protect Marriage" is the message I see on many cars as I drive to work each day, displayed proudly by the sea of homophobes and stubborn, close-minded individuals whom I share the road with. No doubt the core of this issue is religious, while most will quote the bible in saying that marriage is defined as the union of man and woman. My problem with that way of thinking is that the bible is not the blueprint for life for many people. Furthermore, I find it cruel and offensive to fight something that has no real effect on those voting in favor but causes such frustration and sadness for the targets of this kind of discrimination. If a same sex couple gets married tomorrow, nobody is affected by it, at least not negatively. Who has the right to say who can and cannot legally be joined together as any man and wife are? NOBODY, that's who.

The tagline for Proposition 8 is "Restoring marriage and protecting California children". First of all, who says that the institution of marriage needs restoration? The need for restoration comes only when something is damaged and the divorce rate for California is the only sign that marriage is in trouble; gay unions are not to blame for that. The second part is infuriating to me, "protecting California children". What exactly are we protecting our children from, gay people walking the street hand in hand and blissfully wed? Homosexuality is not like the flu, it's not something you pick up if a gay rights parade marches by so there is really no need to "protect" our children from gay married couples. If you really want to protect your children, protect their rights because anyone can have a gay child and how would you feel if your vote meant that your own child could not be married to the one they love?

You might think that if I didn't have any gay friends I would not be so vocal about this; you'd be wrong. I'd like anyone who is thinking of voting in support of Prop 8 to think of how life would be if you couldn't marry the person you love because you were born "different". That's really what it comes down to, a "shift" that occurs sometime in the womb when your gender assigns itself mistakenly. By no fault is anyone born into homosexuality but society has decided to try and make life harder for them simply because their sexual preference is different.

I believe there is nothing more pathetic, useless, and ignorant than the movement to support Proposition 8.