It's election time.  Tomorrow, November 4^th, I expect everyone will go out to vote. In fact, we might have the largest voter turnout in the last decade.  Now I hate writing and reading political blogs, but here I am.

Yesterday, a friend and I took a drive near the coast.  We drove up to Santa Barbara then cut across through the backroads, through Ojai and a small town called Santa Paula.  What I saw in Santa Paula was depressing.  And scary.  And has an impact on this nation.  A huge impact.

I saw row after row of little yellow signs that read "Vote YES on Prop 8!  Preserve Marriage!"

In other words, a town that, from what I saw, is determined to bring discrimination and hatred into the mainstream.  There are many towns in this country like that.  And many many self righteous people who are just as hateful as the people who lovingly placed those yellow signs in their yard.  "Preserving Marriage" indeed…

Saying that Prop 8 preserves marriage is like saying forcing blacks to ride at the rear of the bus preserved their right to public transportation.

Oh, did I mention I am against Prop 8?  Duh.  For those who are lost, Prop 8 is a proposition on the California ballot that would explicitly state that marriage is defined as between one man and one woman.  No, no, wait, that makes it sound too nice and cozy.  Let me rephrase without changing the meaning.  Prop 8 would define Marriage as something that only belongs to ONE group of people in defiance of the Constitution of the United States and everything that this country has stood for.  Need more?  It would define discrimination as a LAW and hatred as an accepted method of legal recourse.

It would implicitly acknowledge that Gays are less than human and, as a result, we can treat them as such.

Gay people understand this.  This whole Prop 8 thing is not new to them.  Straight people seem to think this is a recent development.  No, Gays have been living with that marginalized existence forever.  It's not new to them.  Straights… well, most just don't get it.  Even those who consider themselves pro-gay; they can't completely grasp it because we have been able to live alongside this discrimination for our lives; we're just used to it because it's not directed at straights.  We can logically understand how unfair it is, but we haven't had to feel it, to live it.  Which is why many straights will just casually pull the lever in favor of Prop 8 because, in their mind, it's no big deal.

It wasn't a big deal when women were denied the right to vote either, eh?  Or when blacks were defined as property to be returned to their masters by the Supreme Court.   No, not a big deal at all.  I'm sure there was no hatred, sexism or racism involved at all with the treatment of women or the enslavement of blacks.  And don't get me started on the Native Americans, I'm sure we had nothing against those redskinned bastards; they were asking for it by not moving off our rightful land.

No big deal.  Right.  Fighting hatred and discrimination has ALWAYS been a big deal.

But now they want to codifiy it into law.

Prop 8 is an obscenity.  And if you support it or are voting for it, you are a homophobe; a hateful person who feels you can discriminate against others because you disapprove of them.  I don't care how much you say you like Gays or how many Gay friends you say you have.  To repeat: you are a homophobe, a hateful person who feels you can discriminate against others.  There's not one argument you can make to change that.  And there's not one argument you can make to change my opinion of you.  That's how strongly I feel about this.

If you support or vote for Prop 8, you are no friend of mine.  Usually, with politics, I can agree to disagree.  One of my best friends is a hard core Bush supporter.  He's still one of my best friends.  But this… sorry, this goes right to the Constitutional core of this country; this goes to the reason men and women have fought and died to preserve a piece of paper that guarantees ALL rights for ALL people.

How DARE you try to make my friends, people I love and have known for years, lesser people.  How DARE you legally legislate inequality and discrimination toward people who have been important in my life.  How DARE you tell THEM how to love and live.  How DARE you treat them as animals.   You vote for Prop 8, and you are doing that.  You do that, you can leave my circle right now; de-friend yourself from my list and take my name out of your address book.  I'm serious.

Now, I want to make a distinction here.  If you disapprove of Gays or their lifestyle, well, that's your business.   There are things about my friends that I disapprove of.  No, it comes to when you try to legalize your disapproval and force your feelings on others.  That's when you cross the line.

As I have said many times, this isn't even about Gay Marriage. In fact, I hate that term. I don't call it "Gay Marriage".  It's marriage, plain and simple.  The Prop people would have you believe that Gays are trying to force their lifestyle onto everyone.  It's amazing the advertising that has been done on its behalf. Outright lies, designed to frighten straight parents into thinking that, suddenly, Gay curriculums will be taught in school and instructional manuals on same sex dating will be given out in kindergarten.  Are you kidding me?  Outright lies.  No, marriage (in any form) is NOT taught in schools.  But what they don't want to tell you is the defeating Prop 8 means you can't teach discrimination against same sex marriages in school.  In other words, teachers can no longer say "A man marrying a man is bad!"  Just like they can no longer say that "Blacks are closer to monkeys" (believe it or not, that was taught in SCIENCE classes a while back). 

See?  It's about preserving THEIR right to discriminate and hate.

For you on-the-fence-maybe-homophobe-but-might-not-be…. Hear this and understand it:  Gays are not asking for any special rights; just what is due all citizens of this great country.  They don't want more than you have, they want what you and they are due.  They want to be treated EQUALLY under the law.

But, no, you'll hear some say.  Marriage is a sacred and God-given affirmation of Biblical joining.  Well, it may be that to you, but to the State of California, it is a legal contract, subject to State Law and, therefore, something that has to be applied equally to all, not just to one group.

Now, if Prop 8 was to abolish marriage for everyone, you wouldn't hear from me.  Why?  Because that's EQUAL APPLICATION OF THE LAW.  If Prop 8 was about separating the word "Marriage" from a legal state contract, I'd absolutely be for it.  Then those of you who want to keep the sacred status of the word Marriage can still do so just by having a ceremony at your church. (Oh, wait… many churches are now recognizing same sex marriages… darn, there goes that idea). 

Better, let's make Prop 8 about eliminating the word "Marriage", how's that?  That's equal application of the law.  Everyone can just have a domestic partnership.

You know, I realized that one of my problems talking about this is that I get too wrapped up in it.  I really don't have the words to describe the feelings of anger I have toward those who would legislate my friends as inferior and subhuman. I'm serious, I'm a writer and I can't even express the depths of my passion on this subject.

Prop 8 is an obscenity that pisses on the Constitution and greatness of this country.

And even that isn't close to what I want to say.

Look, you don't have to be black to understand their struggle for equal rights. You don't have to be female to understand women's suffrage.  You don't have to be Jewish to understand the Holocaust.  But whether you agree with a group of people or not, you cannot force your prejudice upon them.

A friend of mine put it well once when she said "I can't condone their choices, but I have to believe they are a part of God's plan as well, no less than myself. And worthy of my respect."

Perfect.