This is why I should already be an Attorney
(In reference to a friend's Facebook note about how he supported Proposition 8 and disapproved of the protest of the Mormon Church)
There is a clear separation of Church and State put in the Constitution for this reason alone. The vote of this Proposition became more of a religious vote than a vote of the conscience, in which this is wrong. The fact that a religious backing funded grassroots campaigns means that a Church interfered with a political vote and that's a direct violation of the separation of Church and State.
I do agree with the fact that if the Mormon Church wants to fund a campaign and interfere in matters of the State, it should have its Tax Exempt status revoked. I feel this way about any Church, so I'm not just singling out the Mormons. As far as what you had said about the people protesting the celebrities, I don't see the logic in that. I think the protest of the Mormon Church is completely fair and warranted due to the reasons I gave earlier. This is a democratic nation, so any private citizen can pay money to campaigns and be perfectly within their rights, however, due to the reasons above, once again, the Church (in general) has no place in donating money to a political cause.
When presented with these facts, I feel that the vote against Proposition 8 is in fact Constitutionally null and void. In this, the Utah and California state constitutions have no bearing on this, since the US Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land and no state constitution can usurp, undermine or argue through interpretation. In this, the Constitution also declares the same rights for any person who is a citizen. Granted, this hasn't been shown in the actions of the people, except for in a big way a few days ago, but that should be the first step in truly equal rights. The US Constitution guarantees us equal rights, yet every state tries to undermine that and blatantly makes every gay and lesbian person in the US less of a citizen.
I'm going to stop this rant here, before I seriously get carried away.
There is a clear separation of Church and State put in the Constitution for this reason alone. The vote of this Proposition became more of a religious vote than a vote of the conscience, in which this is wrong. The fact that a religious backing funded grassroots campaigns means that a Church interfered with a political vote and that's a direct violation of the separation of Church and State.
I do agree with the fact that if the Mormon Church wants to fund a campaign and interfere in matters of the State, it should have its Tax Exempt status revoked. I feel this way about any Church, so I'm not just singling out the Mormons. As far as what you had said about the people protesting the celebrities, I don't see the logic in that. I think the protest of the Mormon Church is completely fair and warranted due to the reasons I gave earlier. This is a democratic nation, so any private citizen can pay money to campaigns and be perfectly within their rights, however, due to the reasons above, once again, the Church (in general) has no place in donating money to a political cause.
When presented with these facts, I feel that the vote against Proposition 8 is in fact Constitutionally null and void. In this, the Utah and California state constitutions have no bearing on this, since the US Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land and no state constitution can usurp, undermine or argue through interpretation. In this, the Constitution also declares the same rights for any person who is a citizen. Granted, this hasn't been shown in the actions of the people, except for in a big way a few days ago, but that should be the first step in truly equal rights. The US Constitution guarantees us equal rights, yet every state tries to undermine that and blatantly makes every gay and lesbian person in the US less of a citizen.
I'm going to stop this rant here, before I seriously get carried away.