Prop 8 - It's not over yet!

Saturday afternoon we spent the day in Oceanside, a bittersweet day as we watched my family's last performance of "Beauty and the Beast" (I watched every performance, except for one, for a grand total of 5 times to the show, of course, with Lucy that probably only amounted to 2 full shows after subtracting all the scenes we missed. She did make it through the full show the first time and I was impressed with her attention span most of the time.)

After the show, the family indulged at a nearby pizza joint and then went out for an evening stroll to Oceanside Pier. We had no idea the excitement we were headed for. Halfway down the Pier we met a large group of protesters, bitterly fighting the newly passed Proposition 8, heading toward us at full speed, and full volume for that matter. It was hard for me to quietly let them pass, although I knew that was the appropriate action (especially considering there were about 1,000 protesters that were for No and only our 5 family members were Yes). They had many very hateful signs, specifically targeting LDS people and I wished at that moment I had a BYU sweatshirt or anything to identify me as a Mormon, without standing on the bench and proclaiming that I was LDS and I didn't hate homosexual people! It pained my heart as I realized many of these people just honestly cared about equality and had no idea of the consequences legalizing marriage between same gender could pose.

After the heated event, we were caught by the local news where I felt very blessed to be able to explain my opinion, and even more grateful after I watched the broadcast and found that the splicing of what I said left my my message completely in tact and safe from the twisted effect editing comments can often have when being quoted by the media.

Watch my moment of fame in this quick 2 minute clip:




I know most of the people reading this blog are probably of the same opinion I am, but I can't sleep until I get my heart out!

It has nothing do with hating anybody. Homosexuals have all the same rights with a civil union that they would have with a marriage, so how does this have anything to do with equality? It's just a word, a different word for a different thing. We are standing up for a very important definition of a word, that doesn't deny anybody any rights, except ourselves if it does become legal. Making marriage legal between same gender couples forces society to treat it as acceptable and decent behavior. By voting Yes we were protecting our Religious Freedom (if it becomes legal how long will it be before our church leaders will be forced to marry same gender couples as has happened in other places?) and the sacred family unit, and Parent's Rights to teach our children our own morals without having to compete with such an influential party in our children's lives as the public school system (some people argue that wouldn't happen and that they don't teach about marriage in school, but there are already documented cases in Massachusetts of reading books about homosexuality without any prior notification to parents, as well as enticing literature about homosexuality being distributed at public schools). People say we discriminate, but this is about teaching our children what is appropriate behavior, not hating a certain type of people. Whether it is a born tendency or a learned trait, sexual preference is a choice, unlike skin color, which some No advocates are trying to compare this to. One of the greatest blessings of being human is the ability to control ourselves, unlike the rest of the creatures in this world. It really doesn't matter if people are born homosexual, because we are all born with an intense sexual appetite, but that doesn't make it right to express those desires whenever you want. I believe we must control our sexual desires. These intense emotions and the sacred creative power we have been blessed with is designed for our use in the holy bonds of matrimony between a man and a woman. You choose your sexual behavior regardless of gender. Behavior will always be a choice, and frowning upon a behavior isn't the same as treating someone differently based on the color of their skin. (This is in no way a rage against homosexuals, I realize it must be incredibly hard to control these desires and I am not trying to judge them and know I can't feel what they are going through and what has brought them to this point in their lives, but regardless of my sympathy they choose the behavior and I don't believe it should be taught as acceptable and appropriate behavior, which legalization of same gender marriage implies) I want to teach my daughter that it is important to wait to express those feelings with the man of her choosing until united by marriage, because I believe that is the path to happiness. Much in the same way, I want to teach her that a marriage between a Man and a Woman, and subsequently raising a family together is also an essential part of God's plan for happiness. This type of family is the fundamental unit of society, the unit which all good in this society stems from. The more corrupted the family becomes the darker and darker this world will become. We have to do all that is in our power to protect the integrity of the family in this society. To legalize marriage between same gender would be a step toward destroying the traditional family, making it easier for the world to teach to our children incorrect morals, making it more acceptable and easier for people in need of love who haven't yet chosen a sexual preference to turn to inappropriate behavior. This is about preserving families, not hatred for any people. I still love my friends who choose lifestyles that are against my moral standards, as does does God to an infinitesimally larger degree. (I have been accused that we believe that God doesn't love homosexual people, and to that I say: isn't there a way for God to entirely love an individual while frowning on that behavior? Any parent who has watched their child go down a path of drugs or crime or any behavior that brings misery upon themselves can answer that it is completely and entirely possible to love a child to no end, and be saddened by the path that they have chosen for themselves). I don't hate my friends who choose to have sexual relations before they are married, and I don't hate my homosexual friends either, but I will always stand for anything that makes either type of behavior a less inviting option for my child and the rest of this world.

Legalization of marriage between same gender makes it all that much easier for teachers and the entire world, for that matter, to present to our children that this is a normal and acceptable lifestyle. Children shouldn't have to wonder at such a young age what gender they should be attracted to (if they make that choice later, we can love them despite their choices and hope for a change of heart, but at least they would have made that choice once they are old enough to make a little more sense of this world).

Call us what you want. Protest us. Send hate mail to our leaders. Deface our churches. Try to destroy our holy temples. We will never back down from protecting our values and our families and for this reason I hold strong to my opinion and am constantly thankful to the 52% of California that voted the way they did. After the elections I thought this fight was over, but it appears to be only at the beginning of a long journey. I am prepared to see it through to the end.