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Loading ...Prop 8 repeal bid begins
03.23.2009 11:49am EDT
(San Francisco, California) A group seeking to repeal Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California, is expected to begin collecting signatures this week to have the measure overturned.
The Secretary of State on Friday gave the group Yes on Equality until Aug. 17 to collect the nearly 700,000 signatures needed to qualify its initiative for the 2010 ballot.It is one of two ballot measures to repeal Prop 8. Earlier this month, two college students were given the OK to start collecting signatures for a proposed ballot measure to strike the word “marriage” from all state laws.
The measure would repeal the ban, and define domestic partnerships as unions between all couples, regardless of sexual orientation.
Prop 8 grew out of last May’s state Supreme Court ruling that opened marriage to gay and lesbian couples. It was passed by voters in November by a slim 52 percent. By that time, some 18,000 same-sex couples had wed.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights immediately filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the vote.
Earlier this month, the California Supreme Court heard arguments in the case. The court has 90 days to issue a ruling.
A Field Poll released after the court hearing shows that prospective voters remain deeply divided over the issue of same-sex unions.
Forty-eight percent said they would vote to repeal the proposition. Forty-seven percent would vote to maintain the ban. Five percent are undecided.
When the 3.5 percent margin of error is factored in it is a dead heat.
Let’s back into this Prop 8 debate from an outside point of view. How about an experiment in perspective…
A (very) small segment of the population is born with both genitalia, true hermaphrodites. There is strong current medical opinion that it should be left to the child to figure out and assume their preferred gender role and sexual identity as they mature. See the website: http://www.isna.org.
a). Allowing for this, once a hermaphrodite reaches adulthood, should society be the decision makers for which gender that hermaphrodite assumes? If that hermaphrodite felt they were more male than female, should it matter to us? How about the reverse? They are still the same person, following their nature, they just happen to have both sex organs.
b). Now, let’s assume the surgery is never performed, that the hermaphrodite decides not to risk the dangers of surgery or simply hasn’t figured out their preference, meaning both sexes are intact. Should society impose it’s will and force the person to pick a gender? Or failing that, should the decision of who is appropriate for him/her to love and marry be up to society? Or would it be better that he/she make those decisions without restriction or without having to weigh positive and negative legal consequences? If he/she met someone (male or female) and fell in love, should society have any say in whom they can marry because they happen to have organs of both sexes? How much basic freedom and liberty should be curtailed for these people to “fit” into society? Should the will of the majority impact such a small minority? Or should that person have the freedom to be with whomever they fall in love with, male or female? If so, why would it NOT be called marriage? We have two loving, caring individuals in a committed, intimate and legally binding relationship. Is it relevant on any level that one partner can partly fit into either gender? On the other hand, Is it ONLY having the genitalia of both sexes that would permit a hermaphrodite to MARRY the person of their choosing?
c). This brings into focus the true nature of relationships. Gay marriage, intersex marriage, straight marriage….it’s all about two people sharing love and life together. We are after a loving, caring, intimate partnership sanctioned under civil law, so why should the law look at this differently because of the gender(s) involved? Whether religion and tradition see it differently, it’s not the government’s job to impose either component upon anyone, but it is government’s job to treat everyone equally. If honoring freedom and liberty means that a hermaphrodite can have a “choice” to follow their nature and have equal treatment under the law in following their nature, why should the gay community not be treated equally as well? Or IS it only a question of genitalia, in which case a hermaphrodite will always be half wrong AND half right in the Pro8ers eyes. And as such, who decides which gender hermaphrodites can or can’t marry?