California's Proposition 8 Vote: Protecting The Institution of Marriage

*You may be wondering why I am posting something about California's election when I live in Utah and the reason is that it's something that Cass and I have been following very closely and Cassidy will be voting on it (by mail) in November. Her family is right in the middle of it down there and has done a lot to promote it and we have tried to do what we can from here. Let me also warn you about the length of this post. I had meant to just get some facts and points up about this but it turned into a novel about how much I believe in it and how strongly I feel, so thanks for taking the time to read it whether you share my views or not.*

I'm not big into politics, I never have been. I've never even paid attention to any elections other than the Presidential one before and growing up in a small town there weren't many city or state ordinances and policies that I felt strongly enough to take the time to go and vote on. I just figured my parents would do it and I would just support their vote. To be honest I've never voted before, on anything, and I've always just rationalized that my vote didn't matter. There is so much that I don't know about when it comes to politics and whenever I hear people talking and getting into why this candidate is better than that one and tax cuts, health care, foreign policy and so on it never makes sense to me.

That being said, there are some issues that I do have an opinion on and feel very strongly about and in some situations, like this one, I even feel compelled to speak out and share my views with others. This particular issue hits especially close to home because of my personal feelings and beliefs in my religion, watching Cassidy work in Social Work, and also some situations that have happened in my own family.

Whether you are familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and it's teachings or not, we believe that;

"...marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

With specific regard to marriage we believe that;

"Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."

In watching Cassidy work with and try to help families that she was involved with, it was so sad to see some of the situations that she would come across. In the majority of cases there would always be problems with the family relationships.

In my own family both of my sisters have gotten pregnant out of wedlock. My older sister put her baby up for adoption and I know without a doubt that was the best decision for the baby. It gave her a chance to be raised in a family with a loving mother and father. I'm sure it was the hardest decision that my sister has ever made and I have so much love and respect for her to be able to make that selfless decision and giving her baby something that she couldn't, both a mother and a father.

My younger sister is pregnant now and has decided to keep her baby and although I don't believe it is the best decision for the baby, she is my sister and I love her and will do what I can to support her. She is planning on getting married so that the baby will have the opportunity to have a mother and a father.

Now I realize that not all marriages and families are your white picket-fence, picture perfect families and there are still plenty of issues and problems in families that do have both a mother and a father, a lot of the families that Cassidy worked with are examples of this, but children who are born into families with a loving mother and father still have such an advantage over those who aren't.

You may know or even be a child that was raised by a single parent or be a single parent yourself and think that I have no idea what I am talking about because you yourself or the child has turned out just fine. That may be the case, my own father was raised for a good part of his life by a single mother because his father died when he was young. His mother was an amazing woman and probably one of the greatest influences in his life, all I am saying is that there is an advantage to being raised in in a healthy family environment with both a mother and father. There are always exceptions, but there is a definite advantage.

For those of you who still don't know what California's Proposition 8 is and why I am spending all of this time talking about my beliefs and personal experiences, here is a summary of what it is:


- It is the proposition that places into the California constitution that "marriage is defined only between a man and a woman"

- This proposition passed in 2000 by 61% of California as Prop. 22 but was overturned in 2008 by a 4-3 vote by the California Supreme Court (Yes, 4 judges reversed the whole thing)

- A "yes" vote established traditional marriage as a constitutional amendment (this means that the CA Supreme Court cannot challenge it) and a "no" vote allows the legalization of same-sex marriage

- The marriage amendment does NOT change current domestic partnership benefits (this means that the gay couples lose nothing and their protected rights are not removed)


There's a great site to look at if you want to find out more, go to http://www.preservingmarriage.org/ or click here. There are short videos and some great info to read under "Resources."


Key points(from this site) of Prop 8:

- Having tolerance without condoning.We can love someone while still maintaining and advocating our standards and beliefs.

- Unless Proposition 8 passes, California society will soon undergo a profound change in its basic understanding of marriage and family life.That will affect everyone in numerous ways. Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs.

- Proposition 8 will not hurt gays.In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.

- Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children.If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.

- Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches.The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family.



This isn't something that is only being preached and promoted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, religions all over the country are uniting and I know that in California there are multiple churches working together to protect the family and the institution of marriage. Here is a video that the Catholic church has put out that I thought was really good.





Basically, if you or someone you know can vote in California on November 4th (either in person or through an absentee ballot-see link below) please pass this along and VOTE yes on this if you can. We need to do all we can to protect marriage and families and that means getting Proposition 8 passed.

Complete an application for a vote-by-mail ballot. You can print one here:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/Outreach/absentee/links/absentee_app_gen_fill.pdf

Send off your completed an application for a vote-by-mail ballot to your county elections office immediately, since you will still need to receive the ballot in the mail! You can find the address for your county elections office here: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_d.htm