You want to know why so many of us baby-boomers are totally fucked up in the head? Why ours is the generation of Bush, Enron, Obama and Prop. 8? Why we have managed in our time in charge to create a world to hand to the next generation that is so massively corrupt, so doomed to ultimate failure, so messed up in a hundred ways we don’t even understand yet?

Because as impressionable little children we were exposed to this sort of television show. This is what shaped our moral certitude, our innocence in the face of foreign hostility, our irrational belief that we were the model for the rest of the world.

Can any hell be worse than a world populated with nothing but people like these?

Those who believe that this definition was established by or created in accordance with the wishes of some deity will also assume their position to be unassailable. Who can argue with god?

I don’t grant divinity to that concept of marriage when it limits instead of frees, when it excludes instead of includes. To me it’s as outdated, as an accepted definition, as the word “citizen” referring only to white male property owners. In this country, the men who were writing the Constitution were the same guys who got to decide on the definition of citizen. Societies have redefined the concept of citizen many times. Marriage, citizen; they’re not static terms, not divinely inspired terms. They are words that mean different things in different times. Definitions “evolve” along with our society.

Within my lifetime the concept of equal human being has undergone two major revisions. White men have long held a superior position in our society. It was traditional, it was the way the Christian god supposedly preferred it. Then rather suddenly women and Blacks became social equals with the white man. This had never happened with the Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans or native Indians. The white men gave them limited rights but never granted them equality. The white men didn’t hesitate to exploit minorities since they considered them less than equal. They were property like the wife and the maid. Thus far only Blacks and women have nearly completely escaped that limitation.

I have no reason to suppose that a redefinition of the word marriage will threaten society, devalue the already devalued straight Christian definition of marriage or bring on the apocalypse. They can keep right on believing that it means what they think it does and the rest of us can live according to our own beliefs.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Voters in 54 of San Francisco’s 580 precincts supported the ban, with a high of 65 percent of voters favoring it in parts of Chinatown and downtown. More than half of voters in large swaths of Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, the Excelsior and areas around Lake Merced also voted to ban same-sex marriage.

Neighborhoods including the Marina, Laurel Heights and Mission Bay – which almost always vote more conservatively than neighborhoods such as Bayview and Chinatown – voted overwhelmingly against Prop. 8.

“With the racial and religious overprint that we’re seeing, the standard San Francisco politics get thrown out the window on this one,” said political consultant David Latterman, who further crunched the precinct-by-precinct voting results that The Chronicle obtained this week from the Department of Elections.

“This issue is very separate from what we usually think of as liberal and conservative,” he said.

Latterman said the issue played out in San Francisco the same way it plays out everywhere else: Race, age and education were big influences in one’s vote on Prop. 8. Latterman did not factor in religion, but exit polls throughout California showed a strong church affiliation correlated with a vote in favor of the ban among all racial groups.

Voters ages 18 to 29 were overwhelmingly against the measure, while those older 60 were overwhelmingly for it. And those with only a high school education mostly voted for the measure, while those who graduated from college were largely against it.

In Visitacion Valley, where more than half of voters supported Prop. 8, many residents told The Chronicle they voted that way for one of two reasons: their religious beliefs or fear that children would learn about gay marriage in school, which was played up in Yes on 8 television commercials. Some in the neighborhood wrongly believed it was written into the measure.

Note that last paragraph. Most voters made up their minds on Prop. 8 based on misinformation spread by the proponents of the proposition.

This is the challenge to the gay community and those who support equal rights for all citizens. We have to educate those who relied on untruths as their reason for voting in favor of Prop. 8. Decisions based on lies should not be used to deny rights to lawful citizens.

It’s the height of irony that so many Blacks allied themselves with an institution (the Mormon church) that as recently as the 60s didn’t even consider them to be true human beings. Other minority members need to be shown that their ability to vote on this issue wouldn’t have been possible had not America ignored the bigots and religious leaders and given voting rights to them.

Californians and Americans will eventually realize this isn’t an issue of redefining a word, we do that all the time. Nor is it a demand that everyone accept homosexuality as “normal”. It’s a purely civil rights issue, and limiting the rights of any minority in this country is unacceptable.

I keep running across news stories and commentaries (like this one) that mention the outpouring of hatred from gays and their friends over the passage of Prop. 8 in California.

I hear about those opposed to 8 vandalizing churches and assaulting proponents of the proposition, though I have yet to see any corroboration of these claims. Since these stories originate from the Christians, who perpetually perceive the slightest disagreement as persecution, I’m skeptical. But a lie repeated frequently enough will become indistinguishable from truth. I’ve also read about gays making racist remarks to Blacks over their support for 8, again unsupported with cited cases or specifics.

Whether or not these activities are actually happening, we need to take a firm and consistent stand against expressions of hate no matter their source or motivation. Hatred is not a healthy emotion nor is it an effective way to impress others with the validity of your beliefs. It’s letting the emotions overrule common sense and human decency.

If we want to counter the hatred and intolerance shown by those who chose to vote yes on 8, the least effective and most unconvincing way to do that is to threaten to or condone threats to vandalize their property, assault believers or commit any other act that’s out of proportion and contrary to the intent of those of us who support equal rights.

We are disappointed that so many Blacks decided to vote their religious beliefs rather than their social conscience. I have met very few in the gay community who dismiss the concerns of other minorities. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the women and Blacks who fought for their rights against huge odds and prevailed. Both groups are minorities to this day, yet look how far they’ve come in taking advantage of equality.

Now gays are asking for the same legal recognition other minority groups enjoy and the request is denied. Not just denied but effectively made illegal. Society has decided being a homosexual is not a crime, only another expression of humanity, like being female, Black or handicapped. Society has made illegal discriminating against people in those groups based solely on their minority status. Yet society isn’t ready to yet grant the same protection to members of the homosexual minority. They are willing to tell a group of people that a particular expression of their humanity, though legal for any other pair of consenting adults, is illegal for them. If anyone ever asks me for evidence that religion is an oppressive mindset, this debate would qualify.

Anti-social behavior on the part of gays will only prove to be self-defeating and a disservice to the gay community. We needn’t reinforce the religious bias against gays. If we’re demanding equal rights, we ought be determined to argue and reason our way to success. We are civil people. Let’s not forget our civility in the face of incivility.

We want to change their minds. Being physically offensive only closes their minds to any further input, reasonable or not. Let’s commit ourselves to only offending them philosophically and legally by continuing to peacefully protest, speak out, blog and join together in solidarity. We need to educate and enlighten, not threaten and assault. Leave that shit to the KKK and White Supremists, both fine Christian organizations.

This list seems to be getting deleted from a number of sites, perhaps because bigots hate the light of exposure. Whatever the reason, Mojoey managed to resurrect it and I’m going to post it here so there will be several sources for this information.

If you were against prop. 8 but belong to one of these churches you may want to ask your pastor why your congregation has chosen to support the denial of equal rights. Ask why Christians should be able to make everyone in the state, regardless of their own beliefs, follow your beliefs. Ask if they understand the separation of church and state as written in the Constitution of the U.S. Ask if they grasp the fact that by allowing the Christian church to legislate their beliefs they’ve opened a door for every religion to demand that state law, even national law, represent their beliefs. Will these churches stand up in support of including Muslim beliefs into our law, Scientology’s beliefs? Ask your pastor if they understand the difference between populism and democracy. Ask them if they support the notion of America becoming a theocracy like Iran.

A. V. Alpha & Omega Ministries, Palmdale
Abundant Life Assembly of God, Copeland
Abundant Life Christian Fellowship
All Seasons Ministries, El Cajon
Alpha and Omega Arlington Apostolic Church, Riverside
Alpine Anglican Church, Alpine
Amador Family Fellowship
Baldwin Park Church of Christ
Bethel Christian Fellowship
Bible Fellowship Church, Ventura
Biggs Community Assembly of God
Bright Mission Chapel
Bundy Canyon Christian Church and School, Wildomar
Calvary Assembly of God
Calvary Assembly, Milpitas
Calvary Baptist Church
Calvary Baptist Church, Modesto
Calvary Chapel of the Harbour
Calvary Chapel Chino Hills
Calvary Chapel Rancho Santa Margarita
Calvary Christian Center
Calvary Church
Calvary Temple
Camarillo Community Church
Canopy of Prayer Ministries
Canyon View Church of Christ, San Diego
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament
Centerpoint Church
Central Baptist Church of Indio
Centro Cristiano Pan De Vida
Chapel in the Pines, Arnold
Chinese Evangelical Free Church, Monterey Park
Chinese Grace Bible Church, Sacramento
Christ Driven Church of Fowler Ca.
Christian Life Assembly
Christian Life Center
Christian Life Tools
Christian Outreach for Armenians, Glendale
Church of Christ, Upland
Church of the Living Christ
Church of the Living God of Perris
Church of the Nazarene
Church of the Rock
Church of Scientology of San Diego
Community Counseling Services, Inc.
Community Christian Alliance Church
Core Christian Fellowship, Murrieta
Cornerstone Baptist Church
Cornerstone Baptist Church, Nicholasville KY
Cornerstone Christian Church, El Dorado Hills
Cornerstone Community Church of San Clemente
Cornerstone Fellowship, Livermore
CrossPoint Community Church of the Nazarene
Dan Kricorian Ministries Int’l
Dayspring Christian Fellowship
Desert Stream Ministries
Destiny Faith Center
Divine Mercy Knights of Columbus (14158), Natomas
Door of Faith Ministries International
East Clairemont Baptist Church, San Diego
Eastside Christian Church
El Cajon Wesleyan Church, El Cajon
Elsinore Christian Center, Lake Elsinore
Evangelical Free Church of Walnut
Faith Chapel Church of God in Christ, San Diego
Faith Community Church by the Sea, Encinitas
Faith Tabernacle
Faith to Faith Fellowship, Temecula
F.C.F. Int’l Ministries
Filipino American Community Church
First Baptist Church Anaheim
First Baptist Church of Fillmore
First Baptist Church of Hesperia
First Baptist Church of Menlo Park
First Baptist Church of Taft
First Baptist Church, Lomita
First Evangelical Church of Cerritos
First Fil-Am Christian Church
First Foursquare Gospel Church of San Jose, San Jose
First Fundamental Bible Church of Monterey Park
First Presbyterian Church, Amarillo TX
First Southern Baptist, Yucca Valley
Fontana Foursquare Church
Foxworthy Baptist Church
Free Indeed Christian Fellowship, Perris
Freedom Community Christian Church, Perris
Freewill Missionary Baptist Church, San Diego
Freewill Missionary Baptist Church, San Diego
Friends Church, Yorba Linda
Friendship Christian Fellowship Church, Moreno Valley
Gem of the Valley Church, Murrieta
God’s Word Church, Apple Valley
Golden Altar Ministries, San Jose
Golden Gate Christian Church
Hamilton Square Baptist Church
Harvest Christian Fellowship
Heart of the Canyons Church
High Desert Church, Victorville
Highland Springs Fellowship, Banning
Hillsdale Baptist Church, North Highlands
Hope Vineyard Church, Santa Clarita
House of Luke, Hemet
Independent Church of Lake Elsinore
Irvine First Chinese Baptist Church
Joy Ministry for Christ, Los Angeles
Jubilee Family Church, Oskaloosa IA
Kingdom Conditioning Ministries, INC.
Koinonia Evangelistic Center, Moreno Valley
Lake Murray Church, Assemblies of God
Life Center Church, Lakewood
Light by the Bay Church, San Lorenzo
Lighthouse Assembly of God, Murrieta
Lighthouse Community Church, Lathrop
Live Ride Christian Church
Living Faith Christian Fellowship, Garden Grove
Living Stones Ministries
Living Word Christian Church, San Diego
Love and Unity Church of God in Christ, Compton
Luke Four Eighteen Ministries International, Temecula
Maranatha Chapel
Maranatha Chapel, Rancho Bernardo
Menlo Park Community Church of God in Christ, Menlo Park
Meridian Southern Baptist, El Cajon
Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, San Diego
Mountain View Community Church, Temecula
Mount Zion Assemblies
Napoleon Washington, Jr. Evangelistic Assn.
Nations Harvest Church, Sunnyvale
New Birth Kingdom Covenant
New Covenant Ministries Christian Fellowship
New Day Church
New Destiny Christian Church, Inc.
New Life Presbyterian Church
New Light Church of God, Riverside
New Seasons Church
Newhall Church of the Nazarene
New Venture Christian Fellowship
Northside Christian Church
Oasis of Faith Christian Center
Oroville Nazarene Church
Our Lady of the Redwoods Catholic Church
Our Redeemer Lives Church, Lake Elsinore
Paradise Hills Southern Baptist Church
Progressive M.B.C. of Berkeley
Rancho Baptist Church, Temecula
Ray of Hope Church, Pomona
Redemption Christian Fellowship
Refuge Ministries
Resurrection Power Ministries
Revival Christian Fellowship, Menifee
Ripon Grace Brethren Church
Rose Drive Friends Church, Yorba Linda
Rubidoux First Assembly of God
San Antonio Heights Community Church, San Bernardino
San Diego Christian Worship Center, San Diego
San Jose Church of Christ, San Jose
San Jose Foursquare Church, San Jose
San Jose Open Bible Church, San Jose
San Jose Word of Faith Christian Center, San Jose
San Mateo Pro Life
Santa Rosa Diocesan Council of Catholic Women
Set Free Ministries of San Diego, San Diego
Seventh Day Sabbath Second Advent Church
Sierra Madre Congregational Church
Shepherd of the Hills
Skyline Wesleyan Church, El Cajon
Solid Ground Brethren in Christ Church, Alta Loma
Sonoma Valley Community Church
South Coast Christian Assembly
South Valley Christian Church, San Jose
Southwest Christian Church, Temecula
Southwest Community Church, Indian Wells
Spirit Life Worship Center
St. Andrew Orthodox Church
St. Joseph Church
St Timothy Orthodox Church
St. Mary Catholic Church
St. Patrick’s Church
State College Blvd. Church of Christ, Anaheim
Survivors of Assault Recovery/Living Word Christian Church, San Diego
TEN27 Church
The Bridge Church
The Calvary Chapel Churches
The Church of God of Prophecy, National City
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
The Home Church, Campbell
The Oasis Foursquare Church
The Rock Church, San Diego
Trinity Baptist Church
Tyler Baptist Church, Riverside
Valley Christian Church, Chino
Victory International Church, San Mateo
Victory Outreach of Eagle Rock
Vineyard Family Christian Fellowship, Downey
Vista Hope Church of the Nazarene
Voices of Hope Ministries
Whittier Church of Christ, Whittier
Wildwood Calvary Chapel
Windsor Hills Baptist Church, La Mesa
Word of Life Ministries Int’l, Riverside
Word of Truth Ministries
World Overcomers Church International
Zion Christian Fellowship, Spring Valley
Zion Lutheran Church, North Highlands, CA

Church Issues Statement on Proposition 8 Protest

It is disturbing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a free election.

Members of the Church in California and millions of others from every faith, ethnicity and political affiliation who voted for Proposition 8 exercised the most sacrosanct and individual rights in the United States — that of free expression and voting.

While those who disagree with our position on Proposition 8 have the right to make their feelings known, it is wrong to target the Church and its sacred places of worship for being part of the democratic process.

Once again, we call on those involved in the debate over same-sex marriage to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility towards each other. No one on either side of the question should be vilified, harassed or subject to erroneous information.(LDS Newsroom)

They have to be kidding.

Where was their “mutual respect and civility” when they were sending their money to California for ads that portrayed equal rights for gay couples as a threat to Western civilization? Where is their respect for the Constitution of the United States and its Establishment Clause? Where is the church’s respect for those who are not members of their organization to live according to their non-Mormon beliefs?

Not to be ignored in this hypocrisy-on-parade, the Catholic church protests the protesting:

“Proposition 8 is not against any group in our society. Its sole focus is on preserving God’s plan for people living upon this earth throughout time,” Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles, said in a statement Thursday. (Source)

Could it be any more clear that this is a test case for theocracy in the U.S.? If the religious bigots are allowed to impose their beliefs on our secular society, we are one step closer to accepting religious law in America.

One thing these theists haven’t considered: if we turn a blind eye to this creeping theocracy, who will be able to protest when Muslims start to demand their theology be accommodated in state law? What’s to stop Scientology from demanding laws that reflect their beliefs?

Let us take a moment to reflect on a paraphrase of Martin Niemöller’s well-known poem by the American punk rock band NOFX.

First they put away the dealers,

keep our kids safe and off the street.

Then they put away the prostitutes,

keep married men cloistered at home.

Then they shooed away the bums,

then they beat and bashed the queers,

turned away asylum-seekers,

fed us suspicions and fears.

We didn’t raise our voice,

we didn’t make a fuss.

It’s funny there was no one left to notice

when they came for us.

The “Yes on 8″ crowd must be getting disparate. Their baseless commercials aren’t fooling the educated, so now they’re going to resort to petty extortion.

It’s pathetic that they seem to believe that companies who have supported the “No on 8″ side of the initiative would be terrified to be revealed as such. Most of them have publicized their support. I guess those who are against civil rights have their heads too far up their backsides to notice that.

Leaders of the campaign to outlaw same-sex marriage in California made an offer to businesses that have given money to the state’s largest gay-rights group: Give us money or we’ll publicly identify you as opponents of traditional unions.

Supporters of same-sex marriage called the tactic “an attempt to extort people” and “a bit Mafioso.”

ProtectMarriage.com, the umbrella group behind a ballot initiative that would overturn this year’s California Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage, targeted about 35 companies in the appeal, spokeswoman Sonya Eddings Brown said.

She called the letter “a frustrated response” to the intimidation felt by Proposition 8 supporters, who have had their lawn signs stolen and property vandalized in the closing days of the increasingly heated campaign.

Certified letters from the group this week asked companies to withdraw their support of Equality California, a nonprofit organization that is helping lead the campaign against Proposition 8.

“Make a donation of a like amount to ProtectMarriage.com which will help us correct this error,” reads the letter. “Were you to elect not to donate comparably, it would be a clear indication that you are in opposition to traditional marriage. … The names of any companies and organizations that choose not to donate in like manner to ProtectMarriage.com but have given to Equality California will be published.”

The letter was signed by four members of the group’s executive committee: campaign chairman Ron Prentice; Edward Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference; Mark Jansson, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and Andrew Pugno, a lawyer for ProtectMarriage.com.

A donation form was attached. The letter did not say where the names would be published.

…the letter was intended for large corporations such as cable operators Time Warner and Comcast instead of small business owners like Abbott. Time Warner and Comcast are listed on Equality California’s Web site as corporate sponsors that gave $50,000 each to the group.

Companies that have contributed directly to one of the campaign committees collecting cash to fight Proposition 8, including one set up by Equality California, also were recipients of the letter, Prentice said. That list includes companies such as Pacific Gas & Electric, Levi Strauss and AT&T.

Equality California executive director Geoffrey Kors said Thursday he has heard from two other business owners besides Abbott.

“It’s truly an outrageous attempt to extort people,” Kors said.

While an anti-Proposition 8 group called Californians Against Hate has posted lists of gay marriage ban donors on the Internet and even launched boycotts of selected businesses, Kors said that work has been independent of the official No on 8 campaign. (365Gay)

Now that their underhanded tactic has been exposed, let’s see how they feel about transparency.

This news is, of course, insane, but a new poll indicates that Prop 8 is pulling ahead. If it wins, then a group of Utah Mormons will have seized control of the California Constitution, giving themselves the power to veto any California marriage they want. Like we said: it’s insane.

So, what can you do? Plenty. Start by calling everyone you know RIGHT NOW to tell them that this is the big one. This is the election in which anyone who cares about civil rights absolutely MUST vote. You have until October 20 to register — do it now. And make sure every person you know is registered, too.

And when you tell them about Prop 8, here’s some talking points: Namely, that Prop 8 is a bunch of lies.

- They say it’ll protect kids from learning about gay marriage in schools, but it won’t.

- They say it’ll protect churches from lawsuits, but it won’t. (Marriage bans actually restrict free exercise; California clergy call them “excessive government entanglement.”)

- They say it’ll strengthen marriage, but it won’t — you can’t “save” marriage by giving control to one religious group so they can arbitrarily withhold it. Prop 8 means more unmarried couples, and less protection for the 52,000 California families with kids.

- They say that Californians supported a marriage ban in 2000 — but this is different. Unlike last time, Prop 8 introduces a brand new limit on marriage. And this time, the marriage ban had to come from out-of-state because Californians don’t want it.

(Source – SFist.com)

We cannot let misinformation and lies from out of state dictate California law. Read the proposition for yourself, then ask yourself if there’s any sensible reason to deny California’s gay citizens the right to formalize their love for one another. Ask yourself what good has ever been done by denying rights to our fellow citizens. Ask yourself how allowing others to marry will have any effect whatsoever on your own marriage.

Unless you’re a right-wing religious zealot (in which case, what are you doing reading my blog? You could go to hell for that), you must admit that gay marriage isn’t a threat to anyone. It’s all about equal rights and the American ideal. Vote NO on prop. 8.

Redd Braden posted the following movie preview on his excellent Homosecular Gaytheist blog. It’s another reminder to those of us in the minority here in the U.S. that religously inspired hate can kill.

The assassination of Harvey Milk was no less an act of terrorism and political murder than the killings of Martin Luther King or Bobby Kennedy. A mentally unstable individual motivated by inner demons and the warped attitudes instilled by religious belief took the life of an man who committed no crime, who was guilty only of being different.

I plan on watching this movie. I hope a lot of people see this movie. Americans need to be reminded that religious ignorance isn’t just sad, it’s a threat to those who dare to think for themselves and live openly as who they are.

Ten years and a day ago Matthew Shepard was murdered by young men filled with religiously inspired hatred for homosexuals.

Matthew Shepard

I’ve participated in a number of debates concerning the damage done to society by religious belief. Frequently mentioned is the inability of an atheist to be considered a qualified candidate for public office, the desire of the ID/Creationist crowd to shoehorn their theistic philosophies into science classes in schools, the nearly constant mischaracterization of the atheistic stance on reality by the religious.

But we should never forget that religion kills. Religious texts endorse the killing of those who disagree with the faithful. From stoning disobedient children to hanging gay youths, horrendous murders are taking place throughout the world in the name of one god or another.

Religion is far more than a simple delusion, it’s a dangerous philosophy that allows its followers to distance themselves from the rest of humanity and think that their intolerance and bigotry are sensible. It is a mindset that prohibits critical thinking and encourages belief without question. It promotes hate, divisiveness and prejudice.

Not much has changed in the last ten years. For humanity’s sake, we need to speak out against religiously inspired violence. We need to not be afraid to hold religion accountable for its failure to promote peace, acceptance and inclusion.

Let us never forget Matthew Shepard and the reason he died. Let’s do all we can to assure that never happens again.

(A tip of the hat to vjack for his compassionate post and the Matthew Shepard Foundation link)