Prop 8

Before I start, here are some links to the things that have happened so far in this trial:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Okay, so this is how I see it right now. The plaintiffs (A.K.A. the good guys) are bringing in all these really smart people who have Ivy League educations and are experts on subjects related to this case. The experts' arguments are convincing and the couples' stories are heartbreaking, but the defendants have no hearts to break. They keep attacking the experts' credibility and claiming that same-sex marriage has a negative effect on children. I'm not even kidding. Let me share a quote with you, courtesy of William Tam, one of Prop 8's biggest supporters:

"He testified that children would opt to be gay if they know same-sex marriage is permitted. 'Since it's in the air, then they think, why not?' Tam said in his deposition."

Okay, what? Mr. Tam, here is what I have to say to you:

1. You don't choose your sexual orientation. No one will choose to be gay just because same-sex marriage is legal, just like gay people don't choose to become straight just because they could eventually get married. Overturning Prop 8 would help children who are struggling with their sexuality feel more comfortable in their own skin. This law makes them feel like they're wrong, or sinful, or dirty, or not good enough to marry someone they love. That is just sick. So yes, it is benefitial to people of all ages. At least if they're not bigoted douchebags, but it doesn't affect them anyway.
2. You imply that being gay is not okay. All love is beautiful, and you have no right to say that it's not. Again with the douchebaggery!
   
3. I don't like you.

I'm afraid of what will happen if Prop 8 wins and this case gets appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. Once the Supreme Court makes its decision, it's done. It's over. Well, except in cases like Dred Scott v. Sandford and Plessy v. Ferguson, and this case is similar to those in the sense that it denies people their fundamental human rights. If the Supreme Court were to uphold Prop 8, it could eventually hear another case that would take precedence over this one. However, that would take a lot of time and a lot of change in the court and in the values of society. The Justices are supposed to be objective, but their ideologies do tend to affect the ways in which they interpret the constitution. I don't see how anyone could find Prop 8 to be constitutional, but the Court is overwhelmingly conservative at the current time. If I'm not mistaken, six of the nine Justices have been appointed by Republican presidents.

I guess only time will tell at this point. I hope that the court in San Francisco can see that there is no reason to deny anyone the right to marry someone they love, and I hope that eventually every state government will realize that as well. For now, we have to take what we can get. I think that this battle will eventually be won.