JUST OFF SUNSET

By Ashley J. Lent
	Ashley J. Lent is an Ambassador for the Avenues of Art and Design in West Hollywood. She drinks vodka on the rocks, feels she has matured past self-help books, and would like to know if you have seen The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

The Cost of California's Prop 8

Is gay really the new black?

The roaring has continued to escalate in Los Angeles over the passing of Proposition Eight, an amendment to the California State Constitution restricting the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman, and eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry.

I’m perplexed by this legislation. I can’t understand how it’s being argued religion and Government aren’t connected in the amendment.

For those who are concerned how this decision might impact their children and threaten their moral beliefs, California laws protect parents in allowing them to remove their children from any school or any classroom at any time for any reason.

The State also says, “No religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples.”

I wonder at the basis for restricting same-sex couples from marrying. Is it because the family structure doesn’t mirror that of the heterosexual world? Is this not the same country made up of immigrants from all over the world? None of our families are the same —that’s what’s so very unique about living here. As Americans we learn from different cultures, thrive on it.

Indeed, as one of America’s most favorite foreign sons, Albert Einstein, once said, “Civil Rights are not won in the war zone of national elections or state referenda but, rather, in a series of small but important evolutionary steps.”

I spoke with friends — both foreign and national — in order to take their temperature on the subject.

A neighbor to the north first put it this way: “I’m the wrong person to ask. I’m Canadian. People should do whatever they want.”

It wasn’t exactly the heated or passionate discussion I was looking for, and I moved right along.

A friend from Des Moines, Iowa then told me, “Prop Eight is totally bogus... it’s a way for Mormons to pay enough money so gays can’t marry. On top of that, it infringes on constitutional rights, which no proposition can stand up against…

“It’s silly that people can even make a proposition like that happen.”

This proved a bit more interesting. As the temperature rose, I pressed on to find even stronger opinions.

A radical Christian from Newport Beach, California threw in her two cents’ worth. “I’m not trying to take away their rights,” she said. “I just want them to find another word.”

Find another word? 

I asked this God-fearing woman if she thought marriage was just a word. After a long sigh and a few grunts, I was told the conversation was “no longer amusing”.

I thought my friend from Paris, France might give me a more sophisticated response.

“I have no problem with gay people,” he started, “in fact, I work with quite a lot of gay people and they do great work — exceptionally strong in details.”

“What I don’t think is right is for two gay people to raise a child. I think it is too confusing for the children.”

I tried to wrap my mind around the hardships of raising a child, considering the many factors which might cause difficulties. Divorce, a step-family, drug addiction, poverty, below average schools, and violence all came to mind.

After speaking with my friends, I realized I might need to find some new ones. None of them seemed to shed any real light on the subject.

I turned to my computer, friend of many friends. I wanted to see what the celebrities and politicians made of this Proposition Eight.

My non-friend, Melissa Etheridge, said: “Everyone knows that California is filled with fruits and nuts and that if anyone could break down barriers, I thought it would be them.”

Well, apparently the closet bigots outweigh the fruits and nuts. Sorry, Melissa.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “I am deeply disappointed by the passage of Proposition Eight. This ballot measure takes away individual rights and freedoms, and is rooted in the politics of division.”

Other high-profile celebrities who spoke out in opposition to Proposition Eight included Bill Clinton, Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg, Drew Barrymore, and Madonna.

President-Elect Barack Obama’s campaign spokesperson Ben Labolt offered this: “While Senators Obama and Biden oppose same-sex marriage, they support civil unions,” he said.
Confusing and ambiguous, as can be expected from any politician.

The facts about Proposition Eight are it passed with a 52.3 to 47.7 per cent vote. There were 18,000 same-sex couples married in California between May and November 4, 2008, and all 18,000 same-sex couples’ marriages are now considered invalid. Campaigns for and against the proposition raised $35.8 million and $37.6 million, respectively, becoming the highest-funded campaign on any state ballot.

More than $73 million is a lot of money; and in this time of economic crisis, one might be able to find better ways of spending it. I’m actually beginning to agree with the simplicity of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This Proposition is “unnecessary and bad for business”.