It’s not surprising that nearly three weeks after the California Supreme Court overturned the voter-approved ban on gay marriage, people are already working to revoke the ruling. A coalition of religious and conservative activists have collected 1.1 million signatures to get an initiative barring gay marriage on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The initiative would overturn last month’s court ruling which found that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was unconstitutional. The proposal would amend California’s state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Same-sex marriages are expected to be performed in California beginning June 17. If the ballot passes in November, it is unknown how it will affect marriages performed before the election.
It’s hard to comprehend why some people insist on getting involved in the lives of others.
There are so many more important issues to focus on, yet the only thing some people can do is focus on denying a person his or her right to happiness. Last we checked, the Bill of Rights guaranteed all people the right to the “pursuit of happiness.”
The chances of this measure passing in November are not as high as they were eight years ago when Californians first voted on the issue. It’s a whole new ball game since a fresh and possibly more open-minded generation of voters have emerged.
If the proposal is approved, it wouldn’t be fair for the state to ignore the marriages finalized before the election. People shouldn’t be punished because the law was changed.
Besides, legalizing gay marriage is said to be good for the economy. According to the Wall Street Journal, gay marriages are expected to generate about $684 million for California in the next three years, with retail and hospitality industries getting the biggest boost.
One-third of that revenue would come from out-of-state couples traveling to California, the only state where gay couples don’t have to be residents to get married.
People shouldn’t be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.
Just because some people can’t handle the idea of gay couples saying “I do,” they are being denied the benefits married heterosexual couples enjoy when gay couples are essentially in the same type of relationship – maybe even better.
What will it take for people to realize that the fight for gay marriage isn’t going anywhere anytime soon?
The struggle to legalize it is like the civil rights movement of our generation. The great thing about this battle is that it involves people from all races and religions fighting for their rights.
People need to be more open-minded about same-sex marriage. It’s time to recognize allowing gay couples to marry won’t decrease the value of anyone’s marriage.
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