Welcome To The New Blog & Why I'm Voting NO

Hey guys! First, I want to say welcome to the new blog, and thanks for visiting. I hope you all enjoy taking a minute to read about my thoughts, opinions and views on various different things.

This first blog is about Proposition 8 here in California. First, let me say that if you don't really know what the prop is truly about or what it states, let me ask you to research both sides of it as I have. Or at least research the side you are voting on. If it doesn't make sense, read the opposition. If the side you are voting on makes sense, I would encourage you to read the opposition anyway. There may be something there you don't know about, or a consequence you didn't think of before.

Prop 8 is not mostly about teaching children about marriage in schools. Prop 8 is about same sex people being able to legally marry each other. At the end of the day, who teaches your children about what their family beliefs and values are? You, the parents, not the teachers. Yes, they may teach your children that same sex marriages are acknowledged BY LAW, but you can teach your children that you don't agree with that, or what have you. You have the opportunity to instill your values and beliefs to your children without jeopardizing the rights of others.

The majority of people that I know will be voting YES on this prop, however, I will be voting NO. Most of the people I know that are voting YES are voting based on the commercials they have seen on TV. The commercials say that this prop is going to enable schools to teach our children that same sex marriages are okay. I understand that everyone has their values and beliefs about religion and marriage, and that's fine. We are all entitled to our own beliefs, values, traditions and decisions. No one should be able to tell us that what we believe in is right or wrong.
It is true that the California Education Code requires schools to teach about marriage in Health Education classes. Now, granted, I was in school quite some time ago and attended school in Texas. But when we had our sex-ed portion of Health class, our parents had the option of allowing or not allowing us to participate in that part of class. I'm not sure if things have changed, or if they do that here in California, but it should be an option. If you decide to vote YES on this prop, schools will teach that marriage is not valued or 'worth' anything unless it is a man and woman that are married.

The previous law that was undermined by four Supreme Court Judges is a law passed in 1977 when, lets face it, times were different. The justices argued that the limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples enacted in 1977 and 2000 was similar in important respects to the laws struck down 60 years ago by the court (Perez v. Sharp, 1948) that had restricted marriage to same-race couples. At the time, the majority of the public was opposed to mixed-race marriage, but the court ruled that civil rights of a minority should be subject to the law, not the whims of the majority.^[11] (taken from http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=California_Proposition_8_(2008) In the 70's, homosexuality wasn't as prominent as it is today. Marriage between homosexuals is a touchy subject to most. I think I may be biased in the situation, but all in all, even if my entire family were heteros, I do think I would still feel the same way. Is it really your place to decide whether or not two people should be married? I don't think it is.

The same could be said for people deeply involved in their faith. Would you ban your child from marrying someone outside of your religion? Would you ban your child from marrying someone of a different race? Who are we to judge?

As for the education aspect of it all . . . I don't mind my children learning about same sex marriage. I don't want them to be sheltered and closed minded. I value the importance of well-rounded, aware children. I don't want my kids to be appalled by things in 'the real world' when they get out there on their own. On the same token, I'm not going to be teaching Austyn that boys can marry boys at the young age of 3. I think everything needs to be learned at the appropriate age, and at the age of 3, he can't comprehend that. However, if he were to ask, I would give him an honest answer.

Taylor recently overheard a commercial where the mom said she was appalled when her son came home from school telling her that his teacher told him that boys can marry boys if they want to. He asked me if that was true. My answer wasn't cloudy or over-protective of what my child might be exposed to. He's not being exposed to anything that is harmful. I told him that yes it is true that boys can marry boys and girls can marry girls. I told him that just like he may like being friends with one person, someone else may not, and that is perfectly okay. Not everyone likes the same things. Everyone is different. People are all different colors and sizes. I asked him if he would be friends with someone if they didn't like baseball. He said Yes. I said, well you see, just because someone doesn't like something, you don't make fun of them and you can still be friends with them. So, it doesn't matter what people like, dislike, or even what they look like. You just don't treat people badly for those things. And the same rules apply if a boy likes other boys or a girl likes other girls. It's not your place to judge, or your place to tell them that they are wrong! Its a personal choice.

At the end of the day, I'm just a dreamer, hoper and a wisher. I wish everyone could just get along and treat each other equally. I wish that people didn't meddle in other people's private lives and decisions. I dream of a world at peace and a world of non-judging people. HAHA. That will never happen, but hey, I did say I'm a dreamer!