Friday, November 14, 2008

Nationwide protest against Prop 8

There will be a minute of silence at 2PM Saturday as part of an anti-Proposition 8 protest at locations across the nation.

Proposition 8 is the California voter initiative that legitimizes bigotry in their state's constitution. A small, well-funded special interest group (the Mormons spent $20 million to outlaw same-sex marriage) successfully hoodwinked a slight majority of voters into passing the abominable law, while most people surveyed prior to the election indicated they were against it.

This is one of the main reasons why it was so important to defeat the Constitutional Convention here in Connecticut, which would have been used by the special interests to enact similar ballot initiatives. Obviously our efforts to educate the voters and defeat the question were more effective than those used in California. And the fact that Question 2 about letting 17-year olds vote in primaries if they attain the age of 18 by the November election DID pass shows that our voter education efforts were successful, since voters had to make the conscious decision to vote NO on 1 and YES on 2.



Here's the info on the local events scheduled for tomorrow:
Protests will take place in Hartford and New Haven this Saturday against Proposition 8, which repeals marriage for same-sex couples in California.

Part of the "Fight the H8 Campaign", simultaneous, coordinated protests will take place at Hartford and New Haven City Halls and at city halls nationwide on November 15 at 1:30PM Eastern time.

At 2:00PM EST, the nation will observe one minute of silence to acknowledge the extinguishment of the freedom to marry in California.

"We applaud the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling banning discrimination in marriage, but we are outraged that the basic human right to marry was up for popular vote in California," said Frank O'Gorman, director of People of Faith CT. "On November 15, national silence in the face of legalized bigotry will be history," he continued.
The passage of Prop 8 in California is indeed one of the few low points on a day that was filled with victory and hope for our nation. The United States took a giant step forward towards a better tomorrow, while California slipped backwards into the days of bigotry and religious discrimination.

Really, this IS the 21st century after all. Shouldn't we, as a nation, finally get over the idea of discrimination being written into the laws of our land? Isn't it time that we grow up as a society and embrace the ideas of freedom that our nation truly represents?

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