So Californians will have the chance--again--to vote upon whether or not same-sex couples should be allowed to wed in our state. Deja vu all over again.
I clearly remember being among the 61% who voted for upholding the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman in 2000. However, four people in black robes decided they knew better and deemed that majority vote ''unconstitutional." So here we go again, giving the "gay marriage" issue another spin this November as Proposition 8, the California Marriage Protection Act.
I like to respect people's way of life, so long as they are not inflicting harm. But when a completely legal vote is overturned on a judge's whim, I feel violated. My right to have a say in my government has been usurped. It's unfair and unjust. And besides, judicial say-so doesn't magically make same-sex marriage valid.
Suppose I decide I want to be Ukranian. I have no Ukranian blood in me (that I know of), but I want this to be true badly enough to go to court and have myself declared Ukranian. Everyone must now recognize me as a Ukranian national, whether they like it or not.
Fine, good for me. I won my case and my piece of paper. But I'm still not Ukranian.
Same-sex couples are entitled to their rights, of course. Domestic partnership, civil unioin, whatever they would like to term their partnerships to obtain legal protection. But marriage, the basic unit of civilization, is between a man and a woman. Two different human sexes, joining together to form a dynamic familyunit capable of continuing society through offspring of their union. This is our human nature, our history, and our future. Judges should be more careful with so many thousands of years of precedent.
I'll be voting the same as I did in 2000. Who knows how much has changed in eight years. Voters in favor of Prop 8 may find themselves blown all the way to...Ukraine.
