Yeah, you thought I was done with this, didn't you?
Next thing you know I'll be blogging about our garden again.
Those of you who follow my blog know we were highly involved in the passing of Proposition 8 this last November. I recently had a long discussion with my brother, Wes, about the whole thing which caused me to revisit the whole experience and feelings associated with it. For those of you who live out of California, you may not understand the scope of the whole thing. Allow me to open your eyes...
Proposition 8 came about because last May, 4 corrupt judges in San Fransisco overturned a previous vote which defined marraige as between one man and one woman. These judges decided that it was unconstitutional to prevent gays from getting married. So they allowed it to happen. Between May and November 2008, 18,000 gay couples were married.
The work that was put into the passing of Proposition 8 cannot be understood by anyone who wasn't a part of it. Our church is normally not involved in politics AT ALL. But this was different. This was an attack on the family. Members in each ward were assigned to head up the project in their ward. Call centers were set up; lists of numbers given out; donations, large and small were made; a broadcast from Salt Lake was held for all members; signs were made and held up on street corners; Saturdays were spent educating those who didn't know about the Proposition about the consequences of it passing or not; flyers were put on anything that would stand still...and so much more that I'm not aware of. From my point it felt like the world was either standing on one side or the other and each person had really strong feelings about the side they were on.
Why did this mean so much to me? It hit close to home. Literally. If this hadn't passed my children would be taught in school that anyone could marry- regardless of sex. The No on 8 campaign claimed this was a lie. Immediately after Prop 8 passed, a close friend of mine and teacher had her little girl (6) come home from kindergarten at a different school with a paper about counting and numbers. The worksheet had different families to count. Two of the pictures had families with 2 men. She immediately called the teacher who claimed that she hadn't looked at it that closely and was sorry. So though they claimed they wouldn't teach children about it in school it doesn't have to be directly teaching.
The day before the election the No on 8 campaign ran this commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q28UwAyzUkE
Can you believe that???!! What if this had been put out against the Jews, or the Catholics or ANY other group than the Mormons? There would have been a public outcry. But no, the Mormons are easy targets because we don't fight back and we are used to it, right?
Anyway, voting day and the time after waiting to see if it had passed or not was really stressful. It passed 52% to 48%. I was so relieved. All the hard work was worth it.
Though many religious groups were involved in the passing of 8, as I predicted, the Mormons were targeted as bigots and haters, the exact things that spurred on the vicious attacks from those opposing Proposition 8. To see a video of the protest at the LDS temple in LA, go here(it gets more interesting after 5 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxagcNFyHyc
There were also protests at the Salt Lake, Long Beach, New York, and other temples. It was really hateful. They wrote on our temples. They jumped on cars and even prevented people from going to or leaving the temple. They held signs calling us names and making fun of things most sacred to our religion.
Like I said, it's hard to understand unless you have lived it. But I have to say that it was one of the coolest experiences I have been through. To face the rest of the world and stand up for what I believe in was a testimony-building experience that I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience. I have heard many people say that different hymns helped them during this time. The one that continually ran through my head and gave me courage was "Who's on the Lord's side, Who?" A song that has always been a little awkward to sing. But seriously, every day, that is how I felt.
Immediately after Prop.8's passing the No on 8 people started appealing to the California Supreme Court to overturn the voice of the people once again. Their argument is that the Proposition was taken to the polls prematurely. Today the Supreme Court heard arguments for both sides of Proposition 8 and they have 90 days to reach a conclusion.
Please, please pray that Proposition 8 will remain part of the California constitution. This affects your life, no matter where you are. If this is overturned here there is a chance the same thing could happen in numerous other states where similar things have passed.
Wow, this was long. Thanks for sticking in there with me and for your support!!
