Agreed with James. Proposition 8 is not about civil rights. It doesn't grant or take away any rights that the gays already have. If they're not receiving those domestic partnership rights, then they need to approach that individual entity legally and lawfully. Prop 8 supporters are not promoting discrimination or segregation. We're promoting the rights of parents and the protection of marriage. If the gays want a word that defines their commitment, then so be it; how about "gayrraige." VOTE YES ON 8 TO PROTECT WHAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN RIGHT!

The opponents of Prop 8 cite religious fanatics and other extremists as the real culprit for people supporting this proposition. The reality is that Prop 8 is consistent with the fundamental laws of nature. People can argue as much as they wish for rights and fairness; however, married heterosexuals are nature's way, and hence it is irrefutable that they have a fundamental right which homosexuals cannot claim.

I do support legal rights and freedoms for everyone, including homosexuals. However, a homosexual relationship cannot be exactly the same as a heterosexual one and hence it is not entitled to the standing of marriage.

We all want to be kind, and let people be whomever they want; however, bequeathing marriage as a right to homosexuals can only be done by diluting the value and significance of marriage to a mere legal standing. It is for this reason that I think we should vote FOR Prop 8 - and maintain this special privilege for a heterosexual relationship.

How can homosexuality be an abomination in the eyes of God, when homosexuality is genetically determined in the womb? How can God's children be considered an abomination for something that was predetermined for them by God?

Thank you God for the beautiful souls of this world from all walks of humanity. Clay Aiken is as God made him--a beautiful soul, generous of spirit and full of love.

Vote No on Proposition 8.

How about we throw out what Hitler thought about things and go by what God says about it?

Homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of God. Regardless of whether or not a person is ok with homosexuality doesn't mean God accepts it.
In fact, God does NOT accept homosexuality.

Clay Aiken can claim to be anything he wants. If God doesn't accept it, Clay can't make it ok in the eyes of God nor in the eyes of Christians who actually believe the words of the God they serve instead of some gay celebrity wannabe like Clay Aiken who wants to get rich on the dollars their fans so much that he lies for years to them.
One can know that homosexuality is wrong without hating the homosexual.

Clay Aiken fan here and I do not support Prop 8.

The media has such a skewed view a Clay Aiken fan, not to mention the marginazation of women over 30. Applauds Deb.

I was at Woodstock, marched against the Vietnam War, and a life long Democrat. I enjoy all sorts of music and that includes Mr Aiken.

I'm not religious at all.

Is is funny that a middle age man can oogle cute young women and attend concerts and nothing is said, but if a women does it it is suddenly all sorts of wrong.

What is ever more disgusting is the number of times people have said to me upon hearing that I am a fan is "don't you know he is gay?" Why would that make a difference? It's not like he sings with his penis.

Homophobia is alive and well in this country. Gay or Straight any person should be given the same freedoms, and that includes marriage.

Oh by the way, I am a middle age, middle class, straight female. I just hate sterotyping in whatever form it takes.

Regarding Lindsay Ham (posted above)
Here is a link proving the limitation of parental rights already taking place in Massachusetts. VOTE YES ON PROP 8. This father had no say on what his child was taught at school.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815820715?bctid=1822459319

I believe that as citizens of the United States we all have the right to vote in order to express our beliefs and views. I am voting YES on prop 8 because I believe that children are better off when raised in a home with both a mother and father.

Yes on 8!!

protectmarriage.com

whatisprop8.com

I was and still am both a Clay Aiken fan and a prop 8 supporter. He's a great singer and prop 8 is great for society.

YES ON 8!!!

Same Sex Marriage---If 'yes on 8' passes to SAVE marriage, what's next?

Eliminate divorce...then re-criminalize adultery?

Robert in Palm Springs, CA

To My Fellow Christians Regarding Gay Marriage
Vote NO on Proposition 8
Will they want to hear about
our Lord of Love if we don’t show it ourselves?

If marriage is such a beautiful commitment how can we as Christians, loving our neighbors, deny it to others? ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Mark 12:31. NIV ”Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Matthew 7: 1 NIV These are such well known, welcoming, loving quotes to us Christians. Why do those who wish to deny Gay Marriage seem to forget them?
In Matthew 5: 31-32 Jesus said that to divorce, except in cases of unfaithfulness, is causing one to commit adultery; yet the divorce rate among Christians is higher than that among non-Christians. If marriage is so sacred why is that? Wouldn’t it be better to worry about committing adultery than whether two women or two men wish to be committed to each other in a loving covenant? Shouldn’t we as Christians work on keeping Christian marriages together rather than keeping gay ones apart? “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Jesus, Matt. 7: 3 NIV
Show me in the Bible where Jesus himself condemns homosexuality specifically. He doesn’t. He doesn’t condemn, he doesn’t deny, he doesn’t vote against. He loves. As Christians we should follow Christ. That might sound obvious but are we Christians obviously doing it? Do we love our neighbors as ourselves? Are we being kind? Are we hating our “enemies” and judging those whom we don’t understand? Ignorance can lead to fear which can be acted upon by excluding those we don’t understand with fences, or new laws. “If you love me you will obey what I command.” Jesus, John 14: 15 NIV In the Bible, Jesus Christ said an awful lot about loving others, not judging them. What specifically did he say about homosexuality? Nothing.
Remember the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees, the religious leaders of their day, wanted to trip Jesus up, force Him to hate, persecute and judge. They wanted Him to deny and exclude and punish the woman by voting with them to stone her. Jesus wouldn’t vote against her; He showed her love. He told the Pharisees that any of them that were without sin of their own could cast the first vote by throwing the first stone. None of them could. Open your heart again to the message of Love that Jesus taught.
In the days Jesus lived, lepers were not allowed to live the same as non-lepers. Did Jesus judge them, or stay away from them, or call for a vote against their celebrating Love, Faithfulness, and Family? No he didn’t. He loved them. He spent time with them. He ate with them as he did in Mark 14:3. My brothers and sisters don’t get caught up in exclusionary, hateful rules and votes to deny love. Don’t become one of the Pharisees, as Jesus said to them: “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” Mark 7: 6-8 NIV Reread chapter 23 of Matthew. It is full of the woes that will come to the Pharisees. Jesus tells them in verse 23: “you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice mercy and faithfulness.” NIV
James is one of my favorite books on the bible because it challenges me to act as a Christian not just to talk like one. James was the brother of Jesus and this was one of the first, if not the first, New Testament letters written. The introduction to the book of James in the NIV says that “James wrote this letter to teach Christians the practice of Christianity.” James has words for us in Chapter 2 verses 8-13: “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers… because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” Later in chapter 4:12 NIV, James says: “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?”
For those of my brothers and sisters who are thinking of voting against letting gay marriage let me ask you, do you know any gays or lesbians? Do you work with any? Did you go to school with any? Did you know them as kids, when even then, they knew they were gay? Are there any in your family? Is your daughter a lesbian? Could you tell her she doesn’t have the right to get married? Is the daughter of your vice president a lesbian? Is the son of your favorite President gay? Is your favorite talk show host a lesbian? What if your best friend told you he was gay?
Being gay or lesbian is simply a part of who they are. They were born that way, just like those who are born straight. Let me ask you this my brothers and sisters in Christ: Could you, you yourself, choose to be gay? Could you just switch? One day wake up and just decide to go out and be gay? I couldn’t. I’m straight. It’s how God made me. Just as He made you. Why would someone choose to live a life that for centuries has been so persecuted, hated, judged, and discriminated against? Why would they choose this? Gay men and women are God’s children and are made that way by God. They are our neighbors and should be loved that way just as Jesus said and did. We should not discriminate, persecute, or vote against them. They should be allowed to marry and honor the covenant of Love, Faithfulness, and a Family commitment.
Now I’m not for gays and lesbians running wild out in the clubs and parties sleeping with anyone they can find, I’m also against heterosexuals doing that. And that is exactly the point. Gays and lesbians, who want to get married, want to honor and cherish each other in committed faithfulness just as Jesus wanted.
In John 3:16 Jesus says that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” NIV Whoever. Many gays and lesbians are fantastic Christians. They love, honor and follow Jesus with all their heart. They go to church. They read the Bible and they Praise our Lord with all their spirit. Many become ministers doing all they can to spread the good news of our kind and loving and forgiving savior. They bring in lost souls, and spread the good news as Jesus taught us to.
Gays and lesbians can make fantastic parents. They come together in love and raise their children in a house of love. If the child is straight great! If the child is gay great! They don’t judge the child for his or her sexuality they just raise him or her lovingly. They don’t try to “convert” the kid to make him or her gay; they just try to raise that child to be the best person he or she can be. Many gay and lesbian parents adopt children. They save these children for the often unloving foster system. They are following Jesus’ example: “I will not leave you as orphans.” John 14:18 NIV Again we are talking about those gays and lesbians who want to get married, who want to start a family. Many gay and lesbian couples have been faithfully together for 20 or 30 years already. Marriage is God’s covenant not ours. It’s not a religious question, or a question of morals, it’s a question of love.
“The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.” Luke 20: 34 NIV Jesus said this to the Pharisees who were asking him who shall be married to whom at the resurrection. Jesus warned them that it was more important to work on your own life and righteousness and whether you were worthy to take part in the life hereafter than to argue over titles and old laws; worrying about who will marry who.
As Christians, as ambassadors for Christ here on this Earth, as the light of this world, can we deny Love to others? Can we, in Jesus name, discriminate against two people who want to come together in commitment to honor and cherish each other? By trying to vote gays and lesbians out of the opportunity to make their partnerships holy, how are they going to be open to hearing about the love of Jesus Christ? Will they want to hear about our Lord of Love if we don’t show it ourselves?
When our words and actions are to deny and exclude, how can we preach these words: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV Jesus counseled us, as his followers, not to vote with the Pharisees: “But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” Matthew 23:3-4 NIV
There was a time in this country’s history when people were denied the same rights as others because of the color of their skin, this was wrong and it was changed. There was a time in this country’s history when women did not have the same rights as a man, it was wrong and it was changed. On July 4th 1776, our country’s Independence Day, the Declaration of Independence stated:”We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” God Bless America. God Bless our American right to have the freedom to live as we choose.
My brothers and sisters, pray on this. Open your hearts to God, and the words and actions of Jesus Christ, not some politician, religious leader, or committee. What does God tell you? What do you feel?
“‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Jesus, Mark 12: 31. NIV
Vote NO on Proposition 8.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

I love the Hitler comparison---thank you for comparing the killing of innocent Jews(which Jesus & Paul were--he came to fulfill the law) to not supporting gay marriage in California I do not hate homosexuals---but I don't wish for it be mandated as okay. That is my personal right, just as flogging me for my beliefs are. I don't want homosexuality taught in schools the SAME way you don't want creationism, church history, or the role of Christianity with 45 of the signers of the Declaration of Independance--and made clear with the Resolution of the adoption official bible of the U.S on September 10th, 1782 by congress--"THAT the United States in Congress assembled highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion".

I prefer to keep the sanctity of marriage intact and FIX what is broken, not change how its interpreted. AND YES--there is a natural progression there. I do not wish for society to outlaw PERSONAL behavior, but I'm tired of placating the masses to appease the minority. This IS a moral issue--whether you can bring your personal bedroom behavior into the public forum for a stamp of approval. I do not wish to make homosexuality a social norm, and allow it to be taught as normal--as it IS in massachusetts currently. I have an innate rationale that I should not support gay marriage---whether Christian or not. The bible is clear in Romans 1:24-28 (NIV)

24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

As a Christian, how could I take that any other way. Should I assume that Paul got it wrong. The Bible is consistent throughout on moral law, which includes homosexual behavior.

KJoe
"I can't believe people actually make political decisions based on religious faith in this day and age"

I know you think you are progressive, but, seriously...history says you're point of view has been around since, well, the beginning of recorded history. So much for progressive, new, etc.

I seriously cannot believe people actually make political decisions in a moral vacuum in this day and age.

I can't believe people actually make political decisions based on religious faith in this day and age. Hasn't everyone figured out that Wotan, Zeus, Baal, Mithras, Aman-Ra, Quetzelcoatl, Ahura-Mazda, Allah, Yahweh, the invisible pink unicorn, celestial teapot, flying spaghetti monster, and great juju under the sea don't exist?