no.72 - Prop 8

Proposition 8, and several others across these United States, seeks to protect "traditional" marriage by banning same sex couples from getting married.

Whose tradition is being protected? It isn't mine. As a straight man who has been happily married for twelve years, I find the ban on gay marriage offensive.

But if you want to protect "traditional" marriage — the idealized marriage as defined by the various churches, then you need to ban more than just the gays. You need to ban people who have been divorced. People who have cheated. People who do not have children. People who do not have enough children. If you want to be "traditional" you especially should ban interracial marriage (illegal in the U.S. until 1967) and marriage for love (a relatively modern concept).

If you want to take away people's civil rights, I suggest that we place a ban on the intolerant from marrying. As far as I am concerned, as a group, people with a narrow and selfish view of the world make lousy spouses and poor parents.