Vote Yes on Proposition 8

This picture was sent to me by my friend, Marti, and it really fits what we are facing here in California. There is a proposition being placed on the ballot that changes our state constitution to say that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Well, this would make same sex marriages not valid and gays would not be able to be married in this state.

At the prompting of our church leaders, we have knocked on doors, made phone calls, and placed many signs promoting Yes on 8 so that we can get the word out about how important this issue is. We even went to the Yes on 8 rally here in Fullerton on Sunday, but ended up on the side of the street that the No's were standing on. See Samuel in the picture above, well that is pretty accurate as to the reaction to us being on that side of the street. It really was quite hostile.

But what I want to say is that for me it is not about hate or intolerance or not liking homosexuals. I have some friends and family that are gay and I love them very much and enjoy their company. To me this proposition is about preserving a fundamental unit in society and accepting that a man and a woman united together in marriage is the start of a family. Ideally, children are best raised in a family where they have a good male AND female influence. Of course there are many circumstances where this is not possible because of death or divorce or some other issue, but it is a great pattern to follow. A mom and a dad, striving to teach their children to be upstanding citizens.

One of the arguments against 8 are that gay couples are not treated equally. They feel discriminated against because their relationship is not recognized as a marriage and that if they were able to be married, it would make things different. One man told me that his domestic partner would not be able to ride in an ambulance with him because only family can ride with you when you are sick. Well, to me, the solution is simple. Change that law! Let them ride together in the ambulance. Done, fixed. There is no need to change the definition of marriage. It is ok to call a homosexual union a domestic partnership. Or if they don't like that name, call it whatever they want, but not marriage.

I am all for live and let live. I guess it's just that I don't want the gay lifestyle taught to my boys in our society as an option. In the same way I don't believe that condoms should be handed out in High Schools to prevent teen sex or pregnancies, if that makes any kind of sense. If they turn out gay because of something inside of them, then of course we will love them and deal with that issue.

So if you live in California, please VOTE YES ON 8!

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'
"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.
"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.... Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."
--- Elder Neal A. Maxwell