Hello I'm Rich Brown and this is my personal website and blog. I'm just your simple, average, down to earth, professional, out gay man and aspiring circuit boy, living in Phoenix, Arizona with a few things to say while trying to find my place among all the scary, conservative, religious nuts in this sick and twisted world.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Vote No On California's Proposition 8
I hate to get overly political on my blog because I assume that most people who read my blog are intelligent people who follow the news, however the recent political issues I have discussed have a directly correlation to my future quality of life, so I'm going to continue posting topics I feel relevant and of which people need to be aware.
It's funny because the same thing that's going on here in Arizona is going on as well in California. The religious nuts just aren't happy living their lives, they're trying to force everyone to follow their outdated and misguided beliefs. If you live in California and you aren't aware, the religious nuts are also trying again to pass a state marriage amendment which will eliminate fundamental rights for people in California. Please make yourself aware of this, get out and Vote No on Prop 8.
Proponents of Prop 8 are distorting the facts. Prop 8 seeks to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Prop 8 isn't about schools, religion, children, doctors or courts. Prop 8 is about eliminating a fundamental right to marry for gays and lesbian couples, some of whom have been together for years. They are our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers and our family members. State law should not single out anyone to be treated differently under the law. We should not vote to eliminate their fundamental rights.
Regardless of how you feel about marriage, we should not eliminate fundamental rights for ANY Californians.
An E-Mail I Received:
I don't normally send political messages, especially since they are off topic, but this is a very important issue that effects all of us.
Proposition 8 would amend the California constitution and permanently define marriage as between a man and a woman, thereby reversing the recent California Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage. If this prop passes, the door could be shut forever.
At one point, we were winning, with 53% of voters surveyed saying they would vote no. Unfortunately the churches all ran out and got money from millions of out of state donors, including the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City. The churches are all fighting hard, donating millions, and they are outspending on their ads. They are falsely spreading lies saying that kindergartners would be forced to be educated about same sex couples if the initiative passes.
Please do your part to help us defeat Proposition 8 today!! If you live in CA and are not yet registered to vote, you still have until October 20th to do so. REGISTER! And Vote NO! This could be very close. Even if you are disgusted with the presidential election and don't want to vote for president, please get out and VOTE NO ON 8!
Also, you can help by talking to EVERYONE you know. Make sure all your friends, family, coworkers, etc understand how personal and important this is to you, make sure they are registered to vote, and make sure they vote no.
Last but not lease, donate! NO ON 8 needs to fight back with TV ads clearing up the facts about Prop 8. Every dollar counts, go to the NO ON 8 web site now and donate as much as you can without breaking your piggy bank. :)
Another An E-Mail I Received:
[Regarding Prop 8] I've made more small donations than I could really afford, all summer. I'll donate more, by the time this is all over. I'm so annoyed with those [redacted] Mormons. The most amazing thing is, they're showing themselves to be complete hypocrites, even with regards to things they say they believe. The fact that Christians have been cherry-picking the only least ridiculous parts of the Bible to hold up as God's unassailable law, for generations, is old news. (Sure -- that passage in Deuteronomy that says something about gays should be engraved on an ivory tablet and hung in every courtroom behind every judge, but other scriptures mere verses away from that one, about stoning adulterers, sacrificing sheep when you sin, etc., get gleefully ignored...)
Mormons have always been proud of the fact that they follow their "revealed scripture" to the letter (they, too, disregard the embarrassing parts of the Bible, passing them off as "translation errors" or things which have already been "fulfilled" or some bullshit) but now, it appears, history is catching up with them. Tables have turned, and thoughts it once seemed necessary to canonize for all to remember, are now just as easily ignored as most of the Old Testament. In particular, in the church's Doctrine and Covenants, a book of "revelations" "received" by Joseph Smith, has a section on government, religion, and spells out some pretty clear rules about the mixing of the two. (Here: http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/134) Particularly apropos this year:
Thirty six little words which could not be more clear -- and yet, from active, believing, tithe-paying Mormons, church headquarters has managed to squeeze out no less than TEN MILLION DOLLARS for the express purpose of mingling their religious influence with my government, and are about to deny me, a citizen, my individual rights.
What part of this doesn't make sense to them?
Not to mention how I'd feel if I were one of those believing, tithe-paying Mormons -- and my bishop came asking me to open my checkbook, again, to engage in a little non-scriptural financial bullying, I'd probably tell them to suck it, and ask, WWJSTBDO? "What would Jesus spend two billion dollars on?" which, is, apparently, two solid city blocks of shopping mall, eight levels of parking and three mixed-use office, residential and hotel towers in downtown Salt Lake City. They've got money to spend on THAT, but the members, poor things, after already footing the bill for that little project get shaken down again for the anti-gay "cause." ... Of course, the fact that I would say things like that is a pretty good indicator of why I'm not *in* church anymore, but whatever.
So back in the good old days, when the Mormons were being driven from state to state (one time even under an "extermination order" from one Gov. Boggs of, I think, Illinois) for their "anti-american," society-destroying beliefs, they set down in writing what big fans they are in the separation of church and state, and how important it is to be left alone to live your life and worship and live the way you see fit, as long as it's not hurting anybody. (Not all that unlike the Summer-of-Love "do your thing, man, it's cool" attitude in San Francisco 1967 -- kind of groovy of them, in fact...) It is interesting they didn't stop at merely stating the state should not meddle in the affairs of the church, though -- no, in a gesture of fair-mindedness the modern Mormons would never consider, they even go on and state the importance of religious influence not being used to affect civil government to trample the rights of others.
So they build their $2,000,000,000 shopping mall and toss another $10,000,000 at the anti-gay bills in California and everywhere -- is any one among them wondering where that money could have been better spent? Coming from a church? A professed religious fellowship, a spiritual body supposedly following the teachings of Jesus Christ who most likely would *not* spend such largesse on a big temple full of money-changers and the enshrinement of inequality and hate in a society, but, here we are. Tell me again why churches are tax-exempt? Business is business and they should be treated like business.
[redacted] hypocrites!
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Ok ... well I guess enough said. Like I said before, I'm sure I'm not going to convince anyone to change their mind here, but if you have friends and family in California please talk to them and get out the message about this campaign of hate being pushed by the so called "love thy neighbour" religious nuts.
Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself' Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
For an interesting read from someone who has studied the Bible in depth and has an interesting view about what the bible does and doesn't say about homosesuality check out the Soulforce WebsiteRead it if you have the time, I did and it's quite enlightening.
Regardless of your faith or your beliefs, understand that all first and foremost we absolutely do not care about your acceptance. Live your life as you see fit, that's your business. All we desire is for people to stop trying to force their beliefs on others and to have the basic fundamental legal rights that are afforded to everyone else in this nation. Cheers.
*NOTE* One last note on this posting. Do not comment on this post unless you have something favorable, positive or uplifting to say. I am not posting this entry to prompt debate or argument, so please don't bother to post any comments regarding this entry in an attempt to push your hate agenda, argue with, anger or incite me. That may sound closed minded but trust me I've heard it all and frankly I've just grown completley tired of the lies, hate, religious rhetoric, and distortion of the truth. This is my blog, not an open forum, so I will delete any comments to the contrary of my beliefs.
