On Prop 8

Being from California, I vividly remember when people were debating Prop 8 in our state. I remember how we all felt so forward-thinking for having a discussion on this issue. Now it's moved on to the Supreme Court. Honestly, this is probably going to be a landmark case regardless of the decision, but I do have to say that if they sustain Prop 8, I won't be able to stop myself from thinking it was a faulty decision.

I don't believe that being gay is a choice. I don't believe that it's just something you can change if you want, or if you try hard enough. I do believe that sexual orientation should not preclude individuals from what I see are their constitutional rights. I'm not religious, so I don't feel comfortable providing an opinion from that standpoint. I will say, however, that if God loves us with all our sin, and since homosexuality is not a conscious decision and therefore not within an individual's power to change, why is it that homosexuals should be punished? Also, given a government based upon separation of church and state, I feel like the religious interpretations of homosexuality shouldn't carry so much weight when determining the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to actually provide a comprehensive argument for my opinion, but my opinion is that Prop 8 is unconstitutional. It might be an overgeneralization just to say that I believe in equality for all, but that truly is my view.

Edit: I think a major factor that irks me is that the major arguments of the proponents of Prop 8 are religious. While I don't deny that religion is a part of our culture and shouldn't be ignored completely, I also support Leggett's contention that "We cannot be too artful to keep separate the things which belong to government from those which belong to religion." I believe it's a problem when the main arguments supporting (or opposing) something are based upon something which arguably should not have a major presence in the political sector.