Why Proposition 8?

Let's face it -- the government regularly allots special privileges to certain people based on certain criteria, either to promote certain behaviors or to provide government assistance for someone disadvantaged or disabled. Others resent special privileges. As a result, the others often try to redefine the formula for special privileges so everyone qualifies.

For example, my oldest son has autism and receives some government support money (not to say that I endorse that policy). For the sake of the argument, suppose my neighbor, who has an overweight son, resented my son getting special treatment from the government, so he claimed that his son was disabled, too. Would the government be wrong to deny him the same special funding as they are giving to a boy with autism who can't speak or function on his own?

Why would the government allot special privileges for married couples in the traditional sense? Why single out husband/wife, man/woman traditional families? Why not be inclusive? Why stop at promoting gay couples, or threesomes, or adult/child relationships, or legal marriage for first graders and up? We have to draw the line somewhere.

Aside from the obvious basic physical perspective -- that man's and woman's bodies do appear to be designed to go together -- there must be more. After all, rather than rewarding rapists, we incarcerate them. We don't give special privileges to friends. Adding a sexual component to a friendship doesn't transform it into a marriage, either.

Marriage is both a commitment to each other as well as a commitment to parent any children resulting from the sacred union of husband and wife or through adoption. They transition into father and mother. And a traditional family, also referred to as a nuclear family, is the basic building block of society. We know from psychological research that the most well-adjusted and successful children come from homes where there is one father and one mother who raise their children to adulthood. This is a fact few would attempt to dispute.

We can attempt to go against the natural order, but our conscience and the chronicles of history tell us that is not only unwise, but it can be catastrophic. The breakdown of the family has caused tremendous problems.

The concept of "consenting adults" and the stratospheric rise of the divorce rate have all led to numerous social, psychological, and physiological ills. Barack Obama has pointed out the issue of single-parent families, especially among the black population. It has led to higher crime rates and higher incarceration levels -- especially for boys who grow up with an absent father.

That's because children need both parents. Women may excel at nurturing, while men may excel at lovingly disciplining and teaching responsibility. A single parent must try to take on both roles, but is swimming upstream and less likely to succeed. Why? Because there is a natural order. It was designed in. This issue has escalated tremendously over the past thirty years due to government programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children. So government policies can accomplish some level of "social engineering," whether good or bad.

Let's get back to homosexual or lesbian couples and their desire to be treated identically as heterosexual couples who enter into marriage. What behavior do we want to promote by conferring on them the same title, rights and privileges of a married heterosexual couple? Homosexual sex? Is that positively benefiting society? Should they earn special respect for publicly announcing their homosexuality and their intent to be "partners" for a while -- maybe the rest of their life?

Do we disrespect homosexuals or lesbians if we deny them marriage rights? Be honest. I may respect someone's right to exist, and I may not punch them in the nose or spit on them when I pass them on the street. I may respect them in that I would call emergency services should I notice them getting injured in an accident. I may respect their property rights and not egg their house, dump garbage on their lawn, or throw bricks through their windows. This level of respect and tolerance is different from what many protesters against Prop 8 are asking for.

If the guy living next door makes Girls Gone Wild videos for a living, I would not have nearly the same level of respect for him as I would for a garbageman who volunteers as a Big Brother on the weekends. Do you see what I mean? I am not intolerant if I don't appreciate Mr. Girls Gone Wild. If someone wants my deep and honest R-E-S-P-E-C-T, I expect them to earn it. I tolerate Mr. GGW. I don't truly respect him; in other words, I don't look up to him, elevate him, put him on a pedestal, or consider him the norm. I tolerate same-sex relationships, but I don't hold them up as role models for my children. And I would never want marriage to be watered down or redefined to be anything less than what it should be -- between a husband and wife for life. I hate divorce, too. Call me a bigot.