Why I Voted Yes

I voted yes on proposition 8. I did it for several reasons.

First, I believe in absolute truth and absolute morality. I do not believe morality is relative, depending on the circumstances of an individual's life. I believe there is a basic, universal moral law which brings consequences - good or bad - to people, depending on whether they follow it or not. This absolute morality is something that can be learned by all people, if sought after through both reason and faith. Don't stop reading! This is a big topic and one I have just begun exploring in my own mind, so I don't have flawless arguments, yet. But this absolute truth and morality, I believe, is a premise of pretty much all I do. So, i vote based on my moral views.

One of the truths I believe in is that marriage is the foundation of society. I'm not speaking of a loving relationship between two people. I'm speaking of a man and woman united together, often raising children. This marriage has been the basis of all successful societies. The family is the institution in which children learn about basic morality, justice, love, and all good things. True, this is the ideal and does not always happen, but no other organization or institution of man has been as successful at producing good people as the traditional family.

Many of society's recent ills show correlation with the falling apart of the family. Some may ask, "Have society's problems, such as widespread drug use, pornography, crime, increased anger and much more, been the result of the break-up of the family, or the cause?" I propose that the break-up of the traditional family is the cause.

With the family in such a precarious position, why do we want to experiment further? What evidence do we have that gay marriages will contribute to the well-being of society? I feel that the burden of proof lies with them. We know traditional marriage works. It worked for thousands of years. Only in recent decades, as our society has experimented with reforms, has the traditional family begun to deteriorate. Experimenting further is risky business.

Now to go from the slightly abstract to the facts. The legalization of gay marriages poses threats to both families and religious freedom. In Massachusetts, two events show this. First, the reading of a book about two princes marrying led to a lawsuit in which parents tried to control their children hearing about homosexuality. The court ruled that the parents cannot control what their children learn at school. When courts take away a parent's right over the education of their children, something is wrong. Public schools are there to assist parents in teaching their children, not to replace them or try to do the job better. Second, Catholic adoption agencies had to shut down because the state was forcing them to adopt children to gay couples, even though this is against the Catholic faith. Does this sound like freedom and tolerance to you?

Finally, people claim this is about equality, comparing it to the black civil rights movement. This argument is fundamentally flawed. First of all, one of the main arguments for black equality is that skin color does not mean a person acts, thinks, believes or is different in any meaningful way. It is simply skin color. But this does not work for homosexuals. Regardless of whether or not homosexuality is wrong, it cannot be compared to skin color. Skin color does not affect behavior, but the definition of homosexuality is a type of behavior. This is not about equality. it is an issue of a type of behavior.

Proposition 8 takes nothing away from homosexuals. It preserves marriage as it has existed for all of Western society. Justice and morality, as well as genuine Christian love, requires that we treat homosexuals like all other people - with respect and dignity. I do not hate gays. They are people just like anyone else. But I do not accept their behavior and will not accept that preserving marriage, the foundation of society, is somehow bigotry and a hate crime.

Please, comment and help me refine my argument.