Proposition 8 and the election in general has brought out the worst side of us, as evidenced by overt racism at the McCain/Palin rallies and the growing tensions in California over marriage equality. Hate is finally out of the closet and on display for the whole world to see. In California, some Proposition 8 supporters compare gays and lesbians to Hitler, while others see us bringing about the end times. There seems to be no limit to what they will say or do.

I’ve put together a list of eight reasons why voting No on Prop 8 might not be such a terrible idea, particularly if you don’t want to be associated with the lot below. Here they are, in no particular order

1. People who want marriage equality are well, like, Hitler

Brad Dacus ([email protected], (916) 857-6900) a spokesman for Proposition 8, spoke passionately in Sacramento equating their struggle against gay marriage and saving the soul of America, to the people of faith in Germany who left the soul of their country to Hitler.  Really?

2. The Mormons

By far the largest financial contributors to Proposition 8, Mormons have a long history of veiled hate and intolerance. Their church mobilized against the Equal Rights Amendment in the 70s. Blacks were not allowed into the temple until 1978, frowned on interracial marriage, and expelled gays and lesbians from their church who are unable to go straight. Sounds like an inclusive group to me.

3. 2012 Letter from Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family, one of Prop 8’s largest contributors, have released a fictional letter written by a Christian circa 2012, telling the story of what’s gone wrong with America in the first 4 years of an Obama presidency. Notable highlights include gay scoutmasters will be able to sleep in tents with young boys, schools can teach homosexuality as a personal choice, counselors and social workers can nolonger discriminate against homosexuals, and gays will target Christian book publishers, through defacement and censorship,  including cyber attacks against those booksellers carrrying their books. Are you kidding me?

4. The Call

Organized by religious leaders across the country, the Call brings together people to pray for the passage of Proposition 8 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego this weekend. James Dobson of Focus on the Family has decided at the last minute to join event, at the urging of Rev. Jim Garlow, who later goes on to say that he fears the end of western civilization if Prop 8 doesn’t pass.

Don’t these folks have something better to pray for? Like world peace? Or food for the millions starving across the globe. Or cures for the sick? This is how they choose to spend there time?

5. Yes on Proposition 8 Sends out Blackmail Letters

Last week the fine folks behind Proposition 8 sent out blackmail letters to many businesses that had made No on 8 donations, threatening to “out” them if they didn’t make a matching donation to Yes on 8. Truly tasteless.

6. Cyber attack of No on Prop 8 Website

After sending out an urgent call for donations to match Yes on 8’s recent funding surge, the No on Prop 8 site was attacked by hackers, denying contributors from making donations for several hours. Hackers can be bigots too I guess.

7. Tom McClintock

Tom McClintock who is running for Congress in Southern California is quoted as saying:

“Lincoln asked, ‘If you call a tail a leg, how many legs has a dog? The answer is four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it one,'” McClintock said in a statement. “And calling a homosexual partnership a marriage doesn’t make it one.”

McClintock is no friend of the gay community.
 
8. Orange County, California

Yes,  the whole county. There’s nothing orange about it, it’s red, through and through. A bastion of support for Proposition 8, Yes on 8 signs are everywhere, from neighborhood lawns to billboards. Some of Proposition 8’s biggest contributors are from Orange County. Donors skew heavily conservative, religious, and Mormon. I suspect gays and lesbians are, well, unwelcome.

So, if you are planning to vote Yes on Prop 8, then you are associating yourself with the fine class of people mentioned in the examples above.  Is that what you really want?