Here's an exclusive sneak peek at the ground breaking original Binside TV documentary series everyone will be talking about. Proposition 8 Episode Part 1 shows the battle for and against gay marriage. Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor : Shani Harris.
EPISODE DOWNLOADS
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IPOD/IPHONE/PSP EDITION
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD WINDOWS ZUNE EDITION
Find out Barack Obama's position on the controversial California Proposition about gay marriage. The LA Times ran a useful Yes or No on Prop 8 Voter's guide.
BARACK OBAMA ON PROP 8
The basics
What it would do: amend the state Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Main arguments in favor: Eight years ago, California voters
passed Proposition 22, which defined marriage as between a man and a
woman, by more than 60%. Proponents say the will of the people was
overturned by the California Supreme Court, which allowed same-sex
marriage earlier this year. This undermines the value of marriage,
backers say.
Main arguments against: Foes argue that people should not be
treated differently under the law because of their sexual orientation.
Gays and lesbians should keep the right to marry like everyone else,
say opponents.
The money
Major donors to the "yes" side: Knights of Columbus, Focus on the Family, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Major donors to the "no" side: Pacific Gas & Electric;
Robert Haas, chairman emeritus of Levi Strauss & Co.; director
Steven Spielberg; Service Employees International Union's California
State Council; California Teachers Assn. source
Is this fighting really about legal and human rights, or just about the endless cultural fight between liberals and conservatives trying to force their values down everyone’s else’s throats?
Even if same sex marriages were not allowed, nobody’s forcing gays to get rid of their partners. You could also still legally protect the rights of gay couples by giving them basically the same rights as the married men and women have. Maybe not the same cultural status as marriages have - but that would be difficult even if gays have a right to marry.
If there already are married gay couples in California, those unions couldn’t be made illegal just like that because of this or that proposition. Probably those unions would be changed to registered partnerships that could guarantee practically all the same rights as marriages do. It is about legal details of laws, not about a name that is used for a certain kind of union between same or opposite sex partners.
As to culture and values related to marriage, and which ever way the Proposition 8 goes, you simply cannot change the values and long traditions of other people easily.
You have to realize that a majority of people, throughout the whole world, still believe and will believe that a marriage is primarily an institute meant for heterosexual couples, who can also make children if they so wish. It is not discriminating to think so, and people have every right to such values as much as gays have rights to their values - as long as they respect others and give them their freedom to live their lives as they wish.
Children are a rather natural part of traditional marriages, even if some married couples may not have kids. You have to remember the rights of children too when discussing marriage and related laws. Would it be ok, if all gay couples were allowed to adopt children? Or would a family where there would be both a mother and a father still be considered better than a gay couple? Can gay marriages really be equal to heterosexual marriages in that respect?
Many specialists see that ideally children should have both a mother and a father, a male and a female role model in the family. In a natural, biological family that is also always the case, but not in a homosexual family, how ever good those gays might be with children. In that sense a gay family that has children can never be considered a natural family, I’m afraid.
Gay couples and families are and will be considered different from heterosexual couples and families, what ever name people may use of them (marriage, registered partnership or what ever). Why should they be considered just the same legally? Since when has sexual freedom become the ultimate human right in our society that goes before anything else in a society, including children’s rights to have both a mother and a father?
Posted by: Albert | November 04, 2008 at 02:17 PM
Check out this anti-homophobia, pro-gay marriage song that won the Grand Prize in the John Lennon International Songwriting Contest.
www.myspace.com/bettinaschelker
The song is called "The Honeymoon is Over"
Posted by: Sue | November 14, 2008 at 08:53 AM