Ellen DeGeneres urges you to vote no on Prop 8

Some may argue, "Voting for Proposition 8 shows a lack of tolerance and love." But such an argument misuses the terms tolerance and love. Tolerance and love are applicable to the person, but not necessarily to the acts of the person. To tolerate or to love does not mean to condone an act that one believes to be immoral. For example, one can tolerate and love an adulterer without condoning adultery. Yet, even tolerance and love do not change the consequences of the immoral act.

JVS113 - How is it that two people who love each other and want to commit the rest of their lives to each other is, as you state in your comment, an "immoral act"? Commitment and the ability to love, be loved and be in love are not unique to heterosexual couples.

Proposition 8 does not remove the right of homosexual couples to commit to one another or to love one another. The state of California has Domestic Partnership laws that protect the rights of homosexual couples and proposition 8 does not do anything to those rights. There is no reason in my mind why two men or two women cannot have a large party celebrating their commitment to one another and entering a domestic partnership.

At the root of proposition 8 is the definition of marriage. Why is it evil for me to not "tolerate" a definition of marriage as being between two parties and perfectly OK for those opposed to proposition 8 to not "tolerate" my definition of marriage.

Again, the rights are the same so why is one definition less tolerant than the other?

Consequences of Prop. 8 passing:

* A state constitution will now have language in it that says that everyone is equal except one group of people.

* Fundies will be emboldened to try to change the constitution to remove more civil rights from gay people.

* Other hate groups will get the idea that discrimination can be written into the constitution, including against women and minorities

* Children of existing gay families will lose the right to health care

* Existing gay families will lose the legal protections afforded married couples, including the right to visit your spouse in the hospital, the right to take over the legal affairs of your spouse if they become incapacitated, etc.

* Long legal battles that will waste the state's money will ensue as civil rights groups move to reverse Prop. 8 and have it declared illegal.

* The State of California will lose millions in revenue from hosting gay weddings (read the legislative analyst report)

* Churches and religious institutions will not have any protection from legal restrictions or requirements, unless they are state-funded.

* Schools will not be stopped from "teaching" homosexuality since educational curriculums are decided by local authorities and have nothing to do with the state constitution

* California will have made a strong statement saying that Hate is OK - this may be the worst effect of all. We will reap the rewards of encouraging hate, which are societal dischord and unrest, and breaking the contract people expect with our country which is that we are all treated equally with respect under the law.

VOTE NO ON PROP 8. Hate is not a family value.

I support Prop 8, not out of animus to any person or any group of people, but out of a concern for the impact which changing the definition of marriage will have on children, on religious freedom, on the freedom of speech, and on society as a whole. We need only look at other states and countries that have allowed same-sex marriages to get a small understanding of some of the far-reaching effects that a redefinition of marriage will have. In Massachusetts, teachers were allowed to require grade-schoolers to read books about gay marriage without informing parents nor requiring the parent's consent; and a Catholic adoption agency was required to place adoptions with gay couples even though it was contrary to their religious beliefs, forcing the adoption agency to close its doors instead. In the Netherlands, following the legalization of same-sex marriage, there was a general decline in marriage across the whole society. Similar impacts can be expected for California, and many other unknown effects, if Proposition 8 is unsuccessful. Marriage is something more than just a civil right - marriages have existed long before governments chose to recognize them, and it should not be the place of government to go and redefine marriage now. Vote Yes on Prop 8.

Vonn (above) is being paid to write on this blog by the Evengelical and Mormon church. Trust me I know. The Evengelical and Mormon church have pumped in so much money into this campaign to scare Californians it's crazy. I don't understand how they get to keep their tax exempt status. The lies they are putting forth about indoctrination of children and churches lossing their tax exempt status are pure lies. If you buy this crap then you are voting for the theocracy that has taken over this country for the last 8 years. I'm not buying it, I'm Voting NO on 8.

Vonn, I'm still waiting to hear about the 'far-reaching effects that a redefinition of marriage will have' that you have evidenced from other states and countries that have allowed same sex marriage!!

Please, enlighten us. Did the sky fall on everyone's head in Spain, when they made same sex marriage legal? Did the UK disappear in a big poof (pardon the pun) after they made it legal?! No!! Life has continued on as normal! It hasn't effected heterosexual marriages. Children's lives remain uneffected. All is good.

As a parent and a human being I am against Prop 8. My daughter is 8 months old and I don't know if she is gay but I will not deny my child or anyone else the right to live their life the way that they want to.

This is a legal issue not a religious issue. We should not amend a Constitution to take away rights. Constitutions are written to guarantee individual "inalienable rights." People are guaranteed "equal protection of law" which includes the freedom from unjustifiable discrimination.

People who say that they do not want big government should not be giving the state government this much power over individuals lives. I voted early and I voted against prop 8.

I thought Vonn gave some pretty good examples of what can happen if Prop 8 is not passed. Who knows, people may even start marrying animals if the definition of marriage is not made clear. The proposition won't take away any rights, I don't know why the opposers keep saying it will. If you really want to know the impact prop 8 will have check out www.whatisprop8.com.

Vote Yes on Prop 8!