Politics

[dragonimp]

I viewed the results of the presidential race with a mixture of happiness and sheer relief. I believe in Obama as a candidate, but these last few months, even over that, the thought of Sarah Palin in the Whitehouse scared the shit out of me.

But aside from that.

Prop 8.

As of the time I write this, according to CBSNews.com, 24898 of 25429 precincts have reported their votes. It's ... still close. That means there's still a SLIM chance. But I know better than to get my hopes up. Right now, 52% of the votes that have been tallied are "yes" votes. That means, 52% of the voting population let lies and scare tactics persuade them into legalizing discrimination. Into writing discrimination into the constitution.

Come on, California. I thought you were better than that.

I've always loved my state. I've always been proud to live here. Right now - not so much.

Comments

[shawk.livejournal.com]

Amen.

I am profoundly sad that California, a state that so often leads the nation in progressive issues, took a huge leap backward on this one. I can only hope that things will change in the future.

[kianacao.livejournal.com]

I too am disappointed...but I am more than that. I am angry that our state, our state that leads so often, fell victim to lies. That our state would let bigotry thrive...And so many people just don't care. They don't see the discrimination. They do not even think about it.

Had the public voted, 60+ years ago, to allow a marriage between a Latina American and an African American instead of the courts ruling; the majority would have likely voted against the marriage. Why? Because they didn't see it as the discrimination it was...Just as today, many do not see that taking away a basic right such a marriage between two people is discriminatory...

Rewriting the constitution to take away peoples rights instead of insuring that those rights are protected.

It is frustrating.

Grrrr.

[dragonimp.livejournal.com]

I know - the entire YES campaign was built on lies. And so many people bought into it. I saw a comment from someone that said:

I don’t have any problem with same-sex couples having some kind of joining. If they’re legally together, perhaps in a partnership, then that’s fine. I believe they deserve the same rights as straight married people. They should be able to visit each other in the hospital. They shouldn’t face discrimination. However, as a member of my faith, if that proposition was not passed, people could have sued my church for not allowing same-sex couples to be married there.

No. No, they couldn't have. Nobody has sued the Catholic church for refusing to marry non-Catholics, and nobody could have sued over this. Then it went on:

That’s infringing on my religious beliefs, and that’s crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Or teaching about same-sex marriages in school. I think that should be a parent’s responsibility, not the school’s.

Which is such a complete fabrication that I struggle to find a place to start.

Someone responded to that with this:

The trouble is, and I can’t say this any other way, someone has lied to you about Proposition 8, and what its effects would be. ... I don’t understand why these lies were spread. I don’t understand how any church that reads the gospels can justify spreading lies, EVER. But that’s what’s happened. It’s like the political operatives who distribute lying pamphlets that try to get voters from the other party to turn up on the wrong day - they clearly don’t get the fundamental idea of democracy.

Which pretty much nails it.

It's sad. I hope this gets overturned.