(no subject)
"If you believe that children should be protected, that parents should have a right to talk with them on their own timetable, then you will vote yes on proposition 8."
-Frank Schubert, Yes on 8 campaign manager (quoted from this story at NPR; the quote isn't in the print version, just the audio version)
See, I do believe that. I may not believe it's a good idea, but I entirely respect parents' rights to raise their kids as they see fit.
And that has nothing to do with Prop 8. Prop 8 is simply allowing two people who love each other to get married. It's not about changing our education system. Whether or not gay marriage is legal, books about gay people are legal so they're fair game for teachers to read (though, guess what? most teachers won't read those books anyway because it almost certainly means putting their job on the line). There are books about gay people that don't involve an explicitly stated marriage. And Tango Makes Three (penguins), The Family Book (different types of families), or even just Everywhere Babies (which doesn't even include any gay references in the text, just shows a few gay couples cuddling their babies like everyone else). So keeping gay marriage legal really has no bearing on education.
And even if the education system were the point of this debate, it's a moot point. Whether or not gay marriage is legal, there will still be gay people. They will fall in love, and pledge themselves to each other (legally or no), and some of them will have families. Just like a "traditional" love story. Their children will go to school. And lots of small kids are proud of their families, they think they're awesome. So what happens when a kid mentions their two dads, or draws a picture of their two moms? And what if your kid comes home and asks about that? The issue doesn't have to be brought up in a book because it's real and you can't hide from it. You can't ban people.
As for "protecting marriage", my grandma, bless her, said it best: "How does that affect my marriage?" If you feel your marriage is threatened or cheapened or whatever by two people who love each other also getting married when they happen to be the same gender, well, perhaps that's not your biggest problem. Heterosexual marriages are no shining example of perfection either. There are people who get drunk and get married in Vegas, there are people who abuse their partners (verbally, sexually, physically), there are people who fall out of love and struggle on in bitterness, there are marriages that end in divorce (1 in 2!). If those marriages don't taint the sanctity of marriage, I don't see why same-sex marriages would. (This is not to say, of course, that gay marriages won't have the same problems. Rather, that's the point, no?) A marriage is between two people. The sanctity, the value of marriage comes from the two people who are married. What's between them is the only thing that matters.
I completely respect your right to believe that homosexuality is wrong. But you can believe that while still letting them live their lives. That's supposed to be the cool thing about the United States. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And that includes love.
[ No on 8. ] Please.
*hates self for switching state registration*