Winning Proposition (What The Victory Of Proposition 8 Means For Marriage In America Alert)

National Review ^ | 11/6/2008 | Jennifer Roback Morse

[goldstategop]

Winning Proposition Marriage Success.

By Jennifer Roback Morse

I can hardly believe the campaign for Proposition 8, the California Marriage Amendment, is over and that we won. I will miss the cheerful yellow signs with their happy blue family people on them. Now that it is over, it is worthwhile to reflect on the significance of what the Protect Marriage coalition achieved. The people of California did not do anything rash or drastic here. They simply voted to enshrine the definition of natural marriage as one man and one woman in the state constitution.

What does this victory mean?

The people of California want to wrest control of the legal definition of marriage from the judiciary.

The people of California are deeply troubled by the idea of small children being taught about homosexuality in the schools without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

The people of California do not want dissenters from the gay-marriage ideology to be treated as if they were racists.

The people of California want religious groups to be free to operate within their own value systems. People don’t want to unleash discrimination suits and other forms of legal harassment against religious bodies which hold that marriage is between a man and a woman.

It doesn’t mean:

Over five million Californians are bigots.

Gay couples will have their homes raided, (contra the outrageous anti-Mormon advertisement.)

Gay couples will lose their domestic partnership benefits.

Gays are second-class citizens.

Why does the victory of Proposition 8 matter?

A coalition of ordinary people pushed back against the gay lobby and its allies. Those allies include all the major newspapers, Hollywood, the judiciary, the governor, the attorney general, and academia. These allies did not hesitate to abuse their power. For instance, Attorney General Jerry Brown rewrote the title of the proposition in a way that cost us 5 to 10 percentage points in the polls.

But Proposition 8 proponents got more than it bargained for: ordinary citizens are sick of being pushed around. They aren’t going to take it any more.

The coalition of religious groups who worked for Prop 8 will not dissolve the day after tomorrow. Passing Proposition 8 required an unprecedented level of interfaith cooperation. Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons, and Jews all worked together. I could feel mistrust melting away as we worked together to protect natural marriage. The solidarity we created will continue long after this particular election.

Interracial solidarity was strong on the marriage issue. Blacks and Hispanics voted overwhelmingly for Prop 8. Los Angeles County voted for Prop 8. That wasn’t Hollywood and Beverly Hills talking: it was the urban minority communities. They don’t seem to feel the need to be politically correct. Pro-marriage advocates of all races met and worked together, and will continue to do so.

The public is much more aware of the promotion of homosexuality in the schools. People will be monitoring the content of school curriculum in a way they had not done before. And since they now have the experience of being successful cooperating with others and promoting their views in the public square, they are much less likely to back down. If the gay lobby could have contained itself and lain low for a little longer, they might have been able to slip a lot of things past the public. Those days are over.

The public was disgusted by the grotesque bullying tactics of the No on 8 coalition. Although the anti-Mormon ad was produced by an “independent” group, no one from the official campaign condemned the ad. The media gave very little attention to the vandalism against Yes, but publicized the few isolated incidents of vandalism against No. But this media spin can’t work when the incidents are happening in your own neighborhood, under your own noses, to people you know. The No campaign should have distanced itself from people who were keying cars, egging houses and spray painting graffiti on churches. But it didn’t.

In short, the success of Proposition 8 is the success of a broad-based coalition of citizen activists who cared passionately about the meaning and future of marriage. The Protect Marriage campaign had literally a hundred thousand volunteers and over 70,000 donors. What Proposition 13 meant to the cause of citizen-generated tax reduction measures, Proposition 8 may mean to the cause of defending and defining marriage.

The judges who created same-sex marriage awakened a sleeping giant. And we won’t be going back to sleep any time soon.

[goldstategop]

Marriage is both an institution and a symbol. Its a precursor to the family and a statement of society's deepest understanding about itself. The people of California, in voting to enshrine traditional marriage in their state constitution, revealed the way they see marriage. Its a meaning around which most Americans have a consensus, reflected in the passage of similar constitutional amendments in 29 other states. To preserve it, vigilance is required and those who are attached to traditional marriage will be there to ensure it remains unmolested and vibrant in America.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[PGR88]

I am sorry to say, but it is not over. Secularists will not rest at that - they still have the courts, a large part of the schools, academia, plenty of money, etc...

Do not doubt they will find an unelected judge somewhere, maybe even the Supreme Court, to give them a favorable ruling.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

So blacks and hispanics overwhelmingly vote not to allow gays to marry, but they will support a man who says you can kill your baby after it is born.

[ROTB]

At least they can’t rule it “unconstitutional”, since it is now written into the constitution.

One less loophole ... don’t know the rest!

[Sparticus]

Do not doubt they will find an unelected judge somewhere, maybe even the Supreme Court, to give them a favorable ruling.

If not this year then next. Pray that the Lord gives all the Justices in the Supreme Court youth and health and that OHB does not get to nominate any new members without a Republican majority in the Senate.

[antceecee]

They have used the schools to teach tolerance (and yes even acceptance)for their life style, in direct opposition from the parents of the students. Public education is the problem, it is truly public indoctrination. Even in private Catholic or Christian schools, parents must be vigilant as to what the teachers are telling their child.
I was a working Mom, but I was pretty controlling when it came to the ‘message’ my child was given... every single day... talk to your children, question them about what they are being told in school and correct the message.... or pull them out of the school.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

The other side's response (They're not giving up):

From article at: http://www.hrc.org/11522.htm

Op-Ed from Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese on Approval of Proposition 8

On Tuesday night, our community felt the emotions of electing a pro-equality President and expanding our numbers in Congress and state houses across the country, but the next morning our hearts were broken as the dust settled and it was clear we lost the marriage ballot measures in California, Florida and Arizona...

And for those of you who gave your time and resources, your sacrifices were not in vain. You've helped lay the foundation for the victory that will one day be ours...

You can't take this away from me: Proposition 8 broke our hearts, but it did not end our fight.

...Every "Yes on 8" sign was a slap. For ...to LGBT people and the people who love us, its passage was worse than a slap in the face. It was nothing short of heartbreaking...

...But it is not the end...

...But make no mistake: I do not think we have to audition for equality. Rather, I believe that each and every one of us who has been hurt by this hateful ballot measure, and each and every one of us who is still fighting to be equal, has to confront the neighbors who hurt us. We have to say to the man with the Yes on 8 sign—you disrespected my humanity, and I am not giving you a pass. I am not giving you a pass for explaining that you tolerate me, while at the same time denying that my family has a right to exist. I do not give you permission to say you have me as a "gay friend" when you cast a vote against my family, and my rights...

...This is not over. In California, our legal rights have been lost, but our human rights endure, and we will continue to fight for them.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

That’s a lot of slaps in their faces...

You would think they would take the hint and back off quietly. I don’t think any kind of in your face activism is going to win them any friends.

[dbz77]

The cause of defending real marriage crossed racial, religious, class, party, and state lines.

[dbz77]

I don’t think any kind of in your face activism is going to win them any friends.

Especially with attention spans being short as they are.

[ssaftler]

Interracial solidarity was strong on the marriage issue. Blacks and Hispanics voted overwhelmingly for Prop 8. Los Angeles County voted for Prop 8. That wasn’t Hollywood and Beverly Hills talking: it was the urban minority communities.

The law of unintended circumstances strikes again! If it hadn't been for the Obama-messiah, the minority vote would have, as usual, spent the day on their best intentions, and Prop. 8 probably would have failed.