Cupertino Daily“8″ It’s No Longer Just A Number It’s Either A Blessing Or A Curse
Everyone seems to have an idea about how to solve the issue of Same Sex
Marriage. Even though some who belong to conservative religious
institutions feel 8 it’s a religious issue, how do we justify their opinion when our great country was built on a foundation of the separation of church and state? And when hundreds of folks in red shirts carrying yes on 8 signs blocked my street, it became a Cupertino issue as well.
And, if we go with the thesis that religion should over-ride the
law, will one religion trump another? Which doctrine of the many
versions of Judaism, Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism, Wicking and any I
don’t know about should we choose as a guide to follow the law? What
about agnostics and atheists? A slippery slope, indeed. Since so many folks are talking for God, if he/she had a strong opinion on 8 would we see it–like sky writing–splashed across the sky?
It was a surprise to learn that many of those who voted for 8
didn’t realize it was not simply a yes or no issue about are you for or
against same sex marriage. Many of those who listened to the rhetoric
without researching the issue did not know that same sex marriage was
already part of California’s Constitution and that voting yes on 8
meant reversing a Constitutional Amendment.
That really is a big deal. 8 aside, think about how you would feel if a
right given by a Constitutional Amendment that affected your life was
taken away from you. Marriage, in a simple legal sense is not unlike driving a car,
boating, hunting, fishing or having a dog. In order to have or do any
of the above–the state, county or city in which you live requires a
license to proceed with the ceremony, launch the boat, shoot a deer,
catch the fish or walk the dog.
While that is simplistic–and is not part of the actual marriage,
which may or may not be a sacrament depending upon the religion or lack
thereof of the couple involved. Perhaps the solution should lie in the
license rather than the ceremony. If we changed the name of marriage
license–to legal partner’s license for the that part of the joining of
a couple–and with it include social security, children, who makes the
medical decisions, banking, inheritance, etc., and left the religious
ceremonial marriage part to the discretion of the couples and the
religious institutions they may or may not want to involve we’d be
better off.
There is already choice in that area anyway. Some churches do
not allow for weddings outside their own religion. Many are welcoming
to all, many are not. I don’t think the law–or law suits should
interfere in this area at all.
Whatever happens, this will not go away quietly. Whenever a
constitutional amendment is involved it shouldn’t. If we as a nation
only went with the majority idea of the day, we could never have
achieved equality and tolerance for one another. And that, after all,
is why most people leave the country of their birth and strive to
become US citizens.
Let’s celebrate what unites and not what divides us. Diversity
should not just include what makes us different, it should also include
what makes us similar. No one group owns the word diversity. We all
want to be secure, we all want to be happy, we all want to be loved and
we all want to be included. In order to get there we all need to offer
security, happiness, love and inclusion. Diversity goes at least two
ways or it’s adversity. 8 is definitely part of the diversity pie.
Tags: constitution, marriage, Proposition 8
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