Most Teachers Supported Prop 8!

NPR Analysis Reconfirms CTA’s wasted money

Read this from the pomegranate apple, one of my favorite bloggers. Surprise, surprise! While my teachers union wasted $1.25 million to fight Proposition 8, NPR found that contributions from individual teachers went to the Yes on 8 campaign by a margin of 2 to 1. So much for MY union supporting MY rights! See the complete article from NPR here.

Why Vote Yes on Prop 8?

I received an email from a friend today which I thought did an excellent job at summarizing all of the reasons to vote yes on proposition 8. Please read and forward to all your friends who are registered voters here in California. And for those of you who are able, please donate to the Yes on 8 campaign by visiting: Donate to Yes on 8

Here’s the email:

“I’m contacting you now because of a crucial issue that we’ll be voting on in less than two weeks here in California. I’m speaking of Proposition 8, the proposed amendment to the state constitution stating “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Here’s a short video that provides a great summary of prop 8: Prop 8 in Plain English

There’s been a lot of confusion in the media about Prop 8 being discriminatory to same-sex couples. That’s just not the case. California’s Domestic Partner Act provides same-sex couples who register as domestic partners all “the same rights, protections, and benefits, and . . . responsibilities, obligations, and duties under law” as married couples. (Rights and Benefits ) The passage of Proposition 8 will have no affect whatsoever on these civil rights.

Proposition 8 will not take away anyone’s rights, but it will preserve vital protections we now enjoy under the law. That’s why I’m writing to tell you why I’ll be voting “Yes” on Prop 8 on Nov 4th.

For me, Prop 8 is vital to protect parent’s right, religious freedom, and freedom of speech. Please take a look at this video ( Who Does Same Sex Marriage Hurt? ) and allow me to explain.

Education and Parents’ Rights

If same-sex marriage remains legal, California schools that accept state money for their health curriculum will be required by law to present same-sex unions and traditional marriages as equal, whether their parents approve of this message or not. This is not a red herring as some in the “No on 8” Campaign have claimed. The erosion of parental rights on this topic has already happened in both California and Massachusetts. (Massachusetts was the first state in the union to legalize same-sex marriage). See here: No Parental Disclosure

Alarmingly, some first-grade students here in California are already being introduced to the concept of same-sex marriage. Just recently, first graders at a public charter school went on a field trip to a same-sex marriage performed by SF’s major. Same Sex Field Trip

In Sacramento, Kindergarteners observed “Ally Week” as part of the “Gay and Lesbian History Month.” And on Oct 24th they celebrated national ‘Coming Out Day”. Parents were not informed at all beforehand. Coming Out Day

Do we really believe this is an appropriate topic to introduce to children in our schools? I was particularly alarmed to learn that the California Teachers Association has taken an activist stand against traditional marriage by recently donating over $1.25 million to the “No on Prop 8” campaign, implying an agenda among educators that, in my mind, is inconsistent with their primary responsibilities. Here’s a teacher’s reply to the CTA: Teacher Rants Against CTA Parents should retain the full rights to educate their children on such moral issues. Personal issues are for parents!

Religious Freedom and Freedom of Speech

Our nation was founded by religious people who sought the freedom to follow their conscience. The founding fathers preserved that freedom of religion, without control from the state, in the Bill of Rights. The failure of Proposition 8 would likely erode this freedom as “anti-discrimination” laws begin to take precedence over our constitutional rights. For example, a pastor or minister who discusses moral beliefs from the Bible regarding homosexuality could be in danger of being sued for hate crimes.

Churches who do not endorse homosexuality risk losing their tax-exempt status as religious institutions for not exercising their religious freedom. A Methodist church in Massachusetts recently lost a lawsuit for refusing to lease their facilities for a same-sex marriage.

Similarly, employees may have their freedom of religion compromised in the workplace, as happened to a Christian gynecologist at North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group in Vista, California. He declined to provide in vitro fertilization treatment to a lesbian patient on the grounds that doing so would violate his religious beliefs. (The doctor referred the patient to a partner in his practice who agreed to do the treatment but the woman still sued and won. The judge also recommended he find a new line of work.)

Wedding photographers who prefer not to shoot same-sex weddings and civil unions for religious reasons are getting sued. Catholic Charities performed adoptions in Massachusetts but was sued and closed their doors permanently. The religious freedom we have enjoyed in this country is in further jeopardy if prop 8 does not pass.

Intolerance?

Proponents of same-sex marriage often label those who oppose them as being ‘intolerant’, and frequently use terms such as ‘discrimination’ and ‘bigot’. This is totally inaccurate and manipulative. I don’t feel any animosity towards people in same-sex relationships. You can respect people who disagree with you without embracing their beliefs. In fact, not one of the people I have worked with on this campaign has made a single disparaging remark about gays.

I agree with Orson Scott Card who said, “Tolerance implies disagreement – it means that even though we don’t agree with or approve of each others’ beliefs or actions, we can still live together amicably. When we agree, we aren’t being tolerant at all, we’re being uniform.

Those who promote gay marriage have already shown a disposition to insist on uniformity of thought on the topic, and will certainly attempt to use the power of the state to suppress any attempt to publicly express a preference for heterosexuality, even (or especially) when such a preference has a religious basis, making this a religious-freedom and freedom-of-speech-and-press issue as well.”

Unfortunately many voters have been manipulated into thinking this is an issue of “tolerance is good” and “discrimination is bad.” It concerns me that our state is “proceeding headlong into a vast social experiment whose consequences, as far as we can see, risk serious damage to many in order to create only the most marginal benefit for a few”. (OSC)

California is my home. I plan to raise my family here and want my children to have the kind of protection and security that we experienced during our childhood and youth. Passing Proposition 8 will make an important contribution to making that dream come true for our families.

I hope you’ll carefully consider these issues and decide to vote “YES” on Proposition 8 and if you feel as I do, please forward this message on to your family and friends in California. The election will be very close and forwarding this message could really make a big difference. Also, please consider making a donation to our cause at ProtectMarriage.com

For more information about Prop 8, visit What Is Prop 8?