To being an "Us" for once, instead of a "Them." La vie Boheme.

Fucking Californians.

I have long felt that California was a bastion of liberal and progressive thought in a morally stagnant country.  It's more than just the shining beacon of Blue lining the west coast I see every election period (although that helps), but also the fact that California exudes such an air of progressive thought that my own family doesn't want me to live there for fear I'll forever be one of those bleeding heart liberals (I seriously wish that I was joking about that...).  I was not surprised when California decided to join a very small subset of states in the 21st century by affording marital rights to all citizens, and stop discriminating against their fellow humans based on outdated and immoral beliefs about sexual orientation.

And then they passed Proposition 8 with a 52% majority.  This means that 52% of voting Californians are small minded bigots.  They have chosen to use their civil right to vote to attempt to stifle the rights of their fellow (wo)man just because what those people choose to do in the privacy of their home grosses them out.  That's all there is to it, because there are no logical or moral reasons that can be used to justify their decision.  There are a lot of bullshit excuses that people will respond with because they don't want to believe that they are bigots, but their reasons will not stand up to any scrutiny, because bigots they are.

The most often repeated claim is that gay marriage is going to destroy the sanctity of marriage.  Never mind the fact that 50% of all heterosexual marriages in the United States end in divorce (quite the sanctimonious institution...), there is no reason to believe that a homosexual couple's marriage would be any less important to those involved than a heterosexual one.  Because honestly, a marriage does not affect anyone outside of the immediate family of those involved.  If the two gay men who have lived down the street from you for the last three years are suddenly husband and husband your life does not change.  And if you are married then your marriage is no less significant, because there is no intrinsic significance to marriage.  I personally think marriage is an outdated institution that only exists because people are slaves to tradition, but that doesn't mean that other people can't find meaning and hope in their marriages.  It means what you want it to mean, and if you think it means less because 'those queers' are doing it too then you're ignorant and hateful.  (People who opposed interracial marriages 60s thought they were preserving the sanctity of marriage too).

Religion is the next recourse of the intolerant.  The Bible says no homo, therefore if we allow it we are going down the path of moral bankruptcy and soon God will smite our country for our heathen ways.  And you know what, if you really want to cling to your bigotry because a two thousand year old book tells you to, I guess that's all well and good, but it's about time you stopped with the double standards.  The Bible wants you to keep slaves, murder your adulterous wife, murder people of other religions, not eat pork, and I'm sure with a few more minutes research I could find a half dozen more 'moral guidelines' from the Bible that nobody actually follows anymore because they recognize that they are immoral.  So if you want to discriminate against homosexuals because your god(s) told you so, I expect I will be reading about your arrest in the news after your killing spree (and that your last meal won't be pork chops).

After being backed into a corner on the two primary points the next recourse is an appeal to naturalism.  Homosexuality is not natural, so we should not be supporting it!  Unfortunately, this argument is a fallacy.  Not only is an appeal to nature fallacious, homosexuality is a natural occurring behavior.  We see it throughout the animal kingdom.  

So please stop the ignorance.  Stop imposing your beliefs on other people just because you're disgusted by the way that they get down, as it has no impact on you.  Because you don't like it is not a valid reason to violate another person's rights.  I personally don't like cilantro.  In fact I absolutely hate the taste of it.  Yet people would think me daft if I made a serious effort to forbid cilantro eaters from getting married, or outlaw eating it period!  What right would I have to impose such a ridiculous belief on other people?  It's none of my business if people are putting cilantro in their salsa in the privacy of their homes.  

Which is exactly my point.  A person's sexual preferences are no more your business than their dietary habits, and until the majority of Americans can understand this simple concept we will continue to vote in favor of hatred and intolerance.