Inside, Looking Out is very pleased to publish this special guest column by
Mark D’Elicio, a personal and long-time friend who, like many of us, is deeply affected by the passage of Proposition 8.

With the passage of Proposition 8 in California on November 4th, the state constitution will be amended to contain a definition of marriage in California as being the “union of a man and a woman,” and while there are many who now believe that the institution of marriage is now and evermore defined within a context is pleasing to God, I’d like to point out what the amendment will NOT state:

1. The constitution will not state that a marriage is between
a man and a woman who love each other.

2. The constitution will not state that a marriage is between
a man and a woman who respect each other.

3. The constitution will not state that a marriage is between
a man and a woman who take care of each other.

4. The constitution will not state that a marriage is between
a man and a woman who are faithful to one another.

5. The constitution will not state that a marriage is between
a man and a woman who are able to raise a family.

6. The constitution will not state that a marriage is between
a man and a woman who give back to the community-at-large.

7. The constitution will not state that a marriage is between
a man and a woman who want to make the world a better
and more caring place.

You see, by defining the paradigm of marriage as merely the union of a man and a woman, the constitution will not take into account that “normal” marriages are quite often marred by infidelity, abuse and disrespect.

What many often fail to remember is that constitutions are the laws of man and not the laws of God. As Christ said, “give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,” what he was really saying was that God cared not about man’s money, taxes or laws — these are conventions of mortals and not of God. As a dear friend (a born-again Christian in fact) once said to me: “God sees and respects love not laws.”

No law will ever take away my heart or my soul. No law will ever take away my aspirations and dreams. No law will ever diminish that which I cherish. No law will ever relegate me to being something that I am not.

I suspect that in the afterlife, I will be surrounded by those I loved and who loved me. God has no time for those who wish to deprive others of their rights. I trust there are about 52% of Californians I will NOT see in the afterlife. If it were up to them, no one would gain admittance to heaven except those of like-mind and that by definition is un-Christian.

Barack Obama wins, and is the 44th president of the United States.

Proposition 8 is winning, 53.7% to 46.3, with 22% reporting.

Are these tears of joy or are they tears of sadness?

They are both.

You’ll be glad you did. Off to campaign for No on Prop 8! More tonight!

Until then, watch this video:

It happened to me today. While I am registered to vote by mail, I chose to go in person to my polling place to cast my vote. I wanted to gauge the turnout, see if there were any problems and try out the new-fangled voting machines. I had done this without issue in 2004 and 2006.

When I went into the polling place they asked my why I had not voted by mail and I gave them those reasons. They then asked if I had the mail-in ballot with me and I said no. Then they offered me a provisional ballot, as if it carried the same weight as a traditional ballot. THEY DO NOT.

Depending on where you live, provisional ballots may be counted last, and then only if it’s a close race, or not at all.

I told the poll worker that was unacceptable. She said I would need to bring in my mail-in ballot to be torn up before I was allowed to vote using the new electronic voting machines. I promptly did just that. Thirty minutes later I was casting my vote, wondering if the machine would flip my votes or reject me entirely. Fortunately, it did not.

If you are offered a provisional ballot, reject it if at all possible. If you have to go home to get additional paperwork, do that, come back and cast a real ballot. If the poll worker is offering a provisional ballot as a viable alternative, ask them what you need to do in order to cast a real ballot. If they are unhelpful and you know you are in the right, ask to speak to that person’s supervisor or call 1-866-OUR-VOTE to report the issue.

Remember, only cast a provisional ballot as a last resort. It is better than not voting at all, but is a poor substitute to a real ballot and your vote may not be counted.