Posted on 10/30/2005 1:21:28 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
THE past year has not been very empowering for young adults. Just starting to earn a living and newly eligible to vote, they have witnessed a cavalcade of events beyond their control: disasters in Asia, terrorist bombs in Europe, interminable warfare in the Middle East. At home, officials are under investigation for endangering national security.
Yet even when younger voters have real clout, they tend not to use it. The vote on Proposition 2 on the Nov. 8 ballot, a proposal that would ban gay couples' right to legally protect their families, offers young people a chance to make their influence felt.
Eighteen- to 25-year-olds vote at about half the rate of 45- to 55-year-olds, notes Rice University political scientist Bob Stein. Without home ownership, school districts and careers to worry about, the younger age group doesn't feel driven to participate. What a waste. If 18- to 25-year-olds voted their stated beliefs next month, they could show the country that Texans will not stand for bigotry.
Proposition 2 would amend the Texas Constitution to deny same-sex couples not only the right to marry, but also the right to contract any agreements that offer similar protections. On its face, this is redundant: Same-sex marriage is already illegal in Texas.
Examined closely, the proposition becomes actually ludicrous: the drafters' desire to attack unconventional relationships resulted in a proposal so sloppily written that its wording outlaws "any" compact, including marriage between a woman and man.
This amendment would do serious harm. Suddenly it will be far more difficult for Texans to exercise their wishes if they decide same-sex rights merit further thought. More urgently, the referendum's language — banning anything even "similar" to marriage — in one dismissive sweep jeopardizes the safety of children in Texas' estimated 42,912 gay families.
Raised in a culture with a divorce rate greater than 50 percent, Texas' young adults have no delusion that gay couples threaten traditional marriage. In fact, national polls show that voters under the age of 25 support legal recognition of same-sex relationships by a 3-1 margin. About two out of three voters through their mid-30s support these rights.
This year, young voters can flex an extraordinary amount of muscle. In odd-year elections such as this one, voter turnout is only about 7 percent to 10 percent. Because Texas is a disproportionately youthful state, young voters could come out at twice or three times that proportion and drive Proposition 2 into the ground.
There's not much voters can do about natural calamities, stateless terrorists or dishonest, unelected public officials. But Texas' young voters can exert amazing leverage on the home front next month. They need to vote — and show that hateful legislation is an embarrassment in 21st century Texas.
This is really a test to see if Christian churches can turn out their voters in an off-year election with nothing else on the ballot. All Christians who believe that there is no marriage except between a man and a woman, because that is how God established marriage, need to turn out and vote Nov. 8, just to show the liberals in Texas that they don't have a prayer in attempting to hijack this state. Early voting ends on Nov. 3, this Thursday. Homosexual groups have been calling senior citizens and telling them to vote "no" because this is "against families". I suppose that lie hasn't worked too well, so now Satan's helpers have to recruit the younger voters.
After we pass this amendment maybe all those folks without special benefits will all move to some queer nation loving state up in the NE. Wish we had attached a provision to the amendment to help them with the cost of a one way bus ticket to "hep" them make that move...quickly.
hate to break it to you but just because a dog is born in a stable that does not make it a horse. marriage between two men or two women simply isn't possible by definition. it also isn't a right to attempt to redefine the institution of marriage to suit your fancy. in this country we have the rights that are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. I don't remember any guarantees regarding marriage, but i will read it again.
Houston we have a problem!
Apparently you DON'T know Texas.
That referendum was a prime reason I- and many others- bestirred ourselves to vote on it. We really get tired of being told by our alleged "betters" in the press and academia how we should think.
Capitalism2003, for what it's worth, I have no problem with gay people having the same rights as everyone else. No more, no less.
I have no further problem with gay people who
1- are only involved with consenting adults.
( Got it? Leave our kids out of it. )
2- and are reasonably discrete about it.
If you want a million links for background information, I have plenty here:
-A Gay ( or not! ) Old Time- GM/SSM links--
As many of you know, our closest neighbors are a couple of gay gals- who are very nice people, and good neighbors as well. But they are also as unlike the noisy, vainglorious characters you see on TV protrayed as "gay spokespersons" than I am.
The Houston Chronicle are a bunch of morons.
18 to 25 year olds don't read newspapers.
They're just wasting ink and space.
And 18 to 25 year olds aren't any more disposed to supporting the gay agenda than anyone else, either.
Probably less so than their hippie parents.
Of course, this being the product of modern "journalism", you can't tell from the article exactly what the amendment actually does, but in my experience the best counter to the same-sex marriage hysteria is that everything marriage accomplishes can be done with other legal arrangements: wills, powers of attorney, health-care directives, etc.
I think it makes sense not to disturb this because such arrangements benefit many unmarried people other than those who base their identity on what sex acts they enjoy.
There are lots of things free adults do that I don't agree with but freedom isn't always pretty.
Teenagers and college age children usually can sum up their "core beliefs" in one word: "WHATEVER". Generally that is not impetus enough to get them out of bed or from in front of the Xbox, particularly if they have to go outside to vote.
Until you can make voting more Pavlovian like voting for American Idol you're wasting your time trying to encourage teenagers to "vote their convictions."
What do you expect from the Houston Communist?
Not to worry.
Not many people under 25 read the Chronicle.
Bump!
Grr! Snarl!
You really don't appreciate modern convieniences until they are unavailable.
The only good thing in the Comical is the daily crossword...
I can proudly say that all but one Presidential election in which I've voted, I punched a ticket with the name George Bush on it....my first, 80 Reagan/Bush; 84 Reagan/Bush; 88 Bush/Quayle; 92 Bush/Quayle; 96 Dole/Kemp; 00 Bush/Cheney; 04 Bush/Cheney.
(Hint: it has to do with self-interest)
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