Second to the presidency, Proposition 8 is arguably the most important vote in the nation this November. Authored by religious groups, Proposition 8 overturns the California Supreme Court’s decision granting same-sex couples marriage equality, and amends the state constitution so that marriage can only be defined as union between a man and a woman.

Recently married, my partner and I have donated time and money to the No On Prop 8 campaign. We’ve called upon our family and friends to do as much as they can. We’ve distributed fliers and signs around our neighborhood, and have tried to make an impact in our workplace. But we wanted to do something more.

I’ve made a No On Prop 8 video and have posted it on online. I’m not so naive as to think it will make a huge difference, or even a small one, but if I can get one more person to donate time or money, or get down off of that fence, then it will have been worth it.

I think many California voters don’t really know who Proposition 8’s biggest supporters are, or their core values. In the video I try to draw attention to that, in the hopes that making the decision to vote No on Prop 8 is an easier one.
Please help me spread the word by sharing this video.

Some of Proposition 8’s biggest supporters include
(I will not link to them as not to send them traffic):

• Concerned Women for America
• Focus on the Family
• American Family Association
• The Knights of Columbus
• Members of the Mormon Church
  (urged by their leaders, they have donated over $18 million)

For a complete list visit Californians Against Hate or the LA Times.

Please donate time or donate money if you have not already done so. Or volunteer for No On Prop 8’s Election Visibility program on Election Day November 4th.

And finally, I’d like to send my deepest thanks to Chuck Smith, who was so gracious with his time to provide the voiceover in this video. Please contact me if you have some work to send Chuck’s way.

Apple came out strong against Prop 8 today in the shape of $100,000 donation.

Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.

I’ve long been a member of the Apple faithful, having convinced many to switch to Mac over the years — Apple, where’s my cut!? But after today, all debts are forgiven. I’m really proud of them and the announcement is well timed. Evidently Apple couldn’t care less about Protect Marriage’s blackmail campaign against businesses supporting marriage equality.

Out of curiosity I’ve been following a lot of the forums on Apple friendly sites to gauge the reactions. It’s run generally positive, running the gammut from “I’m going to the Apple store tonight and spending a lot of money in thanks” to “I just bought a new Macbook and I’m returning it tonight. I can’t support a company that supports immorality.” Bigots, please feel free to return your Apple products, it’ll leave cheaper refurbished products for the rest of us.

I’m going home to kiss my Mac now. You do the same.

Oh this is just rich.

Certified letters have been sent to major businesses supporting No On 8, demanding that they make a matching donation to the Protect Marriage campaign or risk having their “opposition to traditional marriage” exposed.

ProtectMarriage.com, the umbrella group behind a ballot initiative that would overturn the California Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage, sent a certified letter this week asking companies to withdraw their support of Equality California, a nonprofit organization that is helping lead the campaign against Proposition 8.

“Make a donation of a like amount to ProtectMarriage.com which will help us correct this error,” reads the letter. “Were you to elect not to donate comparably, it would be a clear indication that you are in opposition to traditional marriage. … The names of any companies and organizations that choose not to donate in like manner to ProtectMarriage.com but have given to Equality California will be published.”

The letter was signed by four members of the group’s executive committee: campaign chairman Ron Prentice; Edward Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference; Mark Jansson, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and Andrew Pugno, the lawyer for ProtectMarriage.com. A donation form was attached. The letter did not say where the names would be published.

Some companies have already started receiving letters, and the people behind the Protect Marriage campaign have vouched for their authenticity.

Equality California executive director Geoffrey Kors responded to the letters, “It’s truly an outrageous attempt to extort people. They are going after our long-term funding and trying to intimidate Equality California donors from giving any more to the No on 8 campaign and from giving to Equality California ever again.”

Like I needed another reason to hate organized religion. That’s it. There go the gloves. Any concept of civil discourse is officially off the table. These people will not be truly happy until all of our rights are taken away and we are kept in cages.

I’m sorry to be a broken record here but please DONATE today! Anything you can. Please, talk to your friends and neighbors. Get them involved. We can and will win this thing. We have to.

Update (10/24/08): Here is a copy of the letter. (PDF reader required)

A note to my regular readers: It’s going to be a bumpy ride through Nov 4, so hold on tight!

Yesterday I posted a story about a family in San Jose who donated $30,000 — correction, over $60,000 total — to support Yes on Proposition 8. I hesitate to make this a daily Mormon rant, but here goes.

Fred Kager, who runs the Californians Against Hate website which provides a detailed (and publicly available) list of contributers who support Proposition 8, revealed today that Mormons have donated a staggering 18.6 million to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. That’s 77% of all total documented donations. Mormons also account for 88% of all individual money raised.

Mormons, instructed by their leaders in Salt Lake City Utah, are leading the charge to take away the rights of same-sex couples, both here in California and Arizona.

How do we fight this? How do we shed light on this, without looking religiously intolerant? At this point, do I really f*@cking care?

It also astounds me that the campaign to defeat Proposition 8 only has only amassed 30,000 donors out of an estimated 1 million LGBT Californians. And many of them are our straight allies.

Is marriage just not that important to our community? Don’t they realize that if we let them strip away this one right, it gives them license to strip away all the rights we’ve worked so hard for and now enjoy? (at least here in California)

I’m angry with the Mormon church for muscling their way into California politics in an attempt to steal away our rights and invalidate my marriage to my partner of 8 years. And I am angry with the members of my community, who won’t stand up to them.

Everyone needs to donate time, or donate money today. Put down the cosmopolitan. Skip the gym at least for a day. Reschedule that facial (lord knows I’ve done all of these things). And please make a difference.

Getting married may not matter to you now my LGBT friends, but trust me, it will.