Here in California on the November ballot there was Proposition  8. In it was the constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Thus the entire motivation for this amendment was to exclude homosexuals from the legal and emotional ceremony.  I had high hopes that people of California had finally arrived at a reasonalble and mature level. I was wrong.

As it turns out by looking at the LA Times’ nice election app (link) only folks on the coast think homosexuals should be able to get married. The exception to this broad statement is Los Angeles County and south, including Orange County.  I’ve been to Orange County. I can say without any justification that is feels quite conservative down there.  And I have to say out of frustration and a lack of willingness to give any sort of ‘benefit of the doubt’ that conservatives and ignorant people seem to have a lot in common. I have to assume that the large Catholic population (read: Mexican; largely catholic) lead to to LA County’s vote for passage. But the app has a nice filter function and I found most interesting were the filters based on percentage of population with educations.

If you recall my post earlier this summer, I am fiercely heterosexual.  Lord almighty, I love girls.  Dude! I mean, it effing rules my daily behavior. And being atheist (if you haven’t read many of my older posts) implies the general assumption that Biblical ideas have no weight in having been written in an old book followed by maniacs. Yes, anyone who follows the Good Book as fact is manic. In light of that idea, I have no real reason to get married except for the ceremonial aspects. One, I see no other way ATM to prove my selfless loyalty to the woman I (absolutely) love. Two, this is a government  honored contract with different rights and obligations than being single.  In many cases both aspects are related. First, I ask my girlfriend to marry me to prove and show my genuine commitment and affection. Second, it comes with legally binding commitments that enforce such a sacrifice. And it is a sacrifice. I could be having so much more sex. Well, not necessarily more sex but definitely more sexual partners. Trust me, that is what being a man is ENTIRELY about.

So why shouldn’t homosexuals be allowed to participate? In my mind the answer is, “There is no reason whatsoever at all.” But I’m not illogically obliged to moderate my behavior based on dogmatic, biblical beliefs (read: do first and ask for forgiveness later). In my mind I have to think that the 52.4% of Californians (including my home county of Los Angeles) are controlled by their internal fears.  I have to assume that there is a certain percentage of folks that see marriage through their church’s perspective and thus end up in the second percentage of folks that feel the abject emotions of they, themselves being intimate with someone of the same sex and respond strictly, emotionally with rejection. That is, like so many intolerant perspectives, it is based on fear.  Too many people don’t know how to handle rationally the things they feel.

My perspective is that while seeing two guys outwardly displaying intimacy as two heterosexual people  do causes my kneejerk reaction of repulsion, forcing me to look away, I see absolutely zero reason to discriminate what they are allowed to do versus what any other couple is. Thus, there are two parts to this. One, how people feel about the topic. Two, what is right and wrong  in a constitutional and legal sense.

The whole of this thing is in the fact that people are straight or gay because they are biologically built this way (I think it is irrelevant to argue whether or not they ‘chose’ to be gay). Hey, I’m built this way and all I want is vagina and boobies. When I see two dudes kissing or more explicit (the web is a vast and uncensored place if you want it to be) it causes a visceral reaction that I cannot help.  It comes down to the automatic response that most people have which is to put one’s self into the observed position. But because I woudn’t do it (without sufficient amount of alcohol and peculiar circumstances—I’ll be quite honest) does not mean it is wrong.  Where is the tolerance that most red-white-and-blue-bleeding Americans are so readily willing to exalt?   It’s not there because they are phonies. They don’t understand their beliefs. All they understand is groupthink and the things that make them feel as if they are right in the grandest sense. It is the same feeling that feeds any persons’ nationalism.  It is the reinforcement that politicians utilize.  It is that thing that unites us as tribesmen.  And at the same time, it is the thing that no one really second guesses.  Life is much more complex now that we are commuting, working stiffs, totally disconnected with existence.

There is a level of separation now between our own mortality and daily lives. We live in virtual worlds. Religion has traditionally provided the lubrication between the two. Life on the fundamental scale is about growing old while eating and copulating. Everything else is just a matter of getting this on in the most equitable and successful manner. Even then, some of the equity is just a matter of our big brains. Whatever the real case might be, why should those who want to get married to their same-sex lovers be excluded?

If it scares you, then you say, “Hell no. It just ain’t right, pal.”  And to you I say, “Grow up.” This isn’t a matter of how it makes you feel.

If you feel it is an attack on the sanctity of marriage, bringing down the meaning and value of the ceremonial ‘soul’, as it were, of the institution, then you are right. I don’t want to give this to the bigots but if they define marriage as such, then homosexual involvement breaks this. What I disagree with is that this is true and that it even matters. What most people, including the bigots, want is the value of marriage toward their partners. Everyone who gets married wants to say to their other, “I give to you my entire being.  I give to you my legal life and together we shall live life as a team.” Nowhere in this ceremonial agreement is the notion that one partner shall have a penis and the other shall have a vagina. Nowhere in this agreement is the notion that biology dictates the ability and validity of marital sacrifice. And it is sacrifice—if you are a man. As a man, there is more sex to be had. The point is that the exclusion of same-sex marriage is based on the abject emotions felt by the bigot regarding the matter; not the virtue of the act. Moreso to the point, the state is only concerned with taxation and property rights. So from that perspective, what the hell does it matter? I keep reitterating the word “ceremony” to make the point that marriage is mearly a show; a social display for a verbal commitment.

All I have to say is, “Fuck all of you bigots. You don’t give a damn about how homosexuals feel about their girlfriends and boyfriends. You seem to miss the humanity of love in favor of your own conceptions of sexual perversion.” All I have to say to the slight majority and more than half of the voting populous who thought we should change the constitution of California to discriminate against sexual preference is, “FUCK YOU!”

Could you imagine loving someone and wanting to give yourself to them unconditionally but being forbidden because a bunch of assholes look at you as if your feelings and desires aren’t valid? And that is only part of the issue. Like retirement and health insurance, we know the future is unpredictable and inevitable so it must be planned for. Included in marriage are rights to visitation, financial and property assets and denying marriage to same-sex partners/homosexuals (the word “homosexual” seems to have been demonized by this movement) denies them of fundamental rights in the worst of times. But for retarded reasons the majority of assholes in the state of California decided to change the constitution to discriminate against sexual preference because of how they react to it. These are the same people that might answer ‘no’ to the question, “Should the government be allowed to stop a person from protesting against something they feel is wrong?”

All I have to say is, “Fuck you, assholes. Grow up.”