Proposition 8

This afternoon the Auberry group of the Central Valley Tea Party set up an informational table in front of the local market in Prather. During our time there, we had contact with dozens of local residents and others that were on their way up to the mountains to beat the flat land heat.

One of the most contentious and interesting discussions was with a group of young homosexual men. Their knowledge of the Tea Party movement was limited to left wing propaganda spewed out by the mainstream media. I guess, as far as they knew, we were all on closet Klansmen peddling hate.

They were smart young men and actually wanted to hear what we had to say, while making the point that their perception of us was based on our collective support of Proposition 8, which limited marriage to a man & a woman.

As a Born Again Christian, I jumped head first into the discussion, I explained that Marriage is, and always will be a religious institution, and for that reason it will never be anything other than between one man & one woman.

They understood our position but their primary concerns were much more pragmatic than ours were. The injustices they voiced were their concerns with legal recognition that translates into respect & benefits denied them by employers and everyday institutions such as hospitals.

They made a very good case that if they were given a path to obtain legal recognition other than Marriage, they would be happy.

While making my case and listening to their points of view, I suggested that “Marriage” is an institution that is mandated in every religion. The further we went in this discussion; it became very clear that the problem could be easily solved for most people by changing one simple thing.

Our local Government stops selling ‘Marriage Licenses’ to tomorrow, and start selling ‘Civil Union Contracts’ to everyone.

With that, the couple of whatever description can take that license to their local Church for the Marriage Ceremony or not.

The Government gets OUT of the Marriage business, which they never should have been in the first place, while still getting their fees.

The simplest solutions seem to always be the best solutions; the cost for this change will be limited to printing fees.