I take serious issue with a Californian who, in an attempt to express concern over the earnestness of many in supporting this propositing, suggests that we are depriving others of rights if we vote "Yes on 8." I strongly disagree with his comment as follows:
Through our Mormon doctrinal lenses, we may not see gay families as families that will survive into the eternities. But to gay spouses, children, and other relatives, gay families are vital families. If we are to act with honesty and integrity, we must take sober responsibility for the fact that “Yes on 8” eliminates the rights of actually existing families. The “Yes on 8” campaign, strictly and honestly considered, is a mission of destruction. We must consider carefully what it means to undertake a mission of destruction in the name of God.This seemingly noble sentiment is not only a non-sequitor; it follows a very narrow field of vision. To indulge false, dangerous redefinitions of marriage is itself, the destructive act. The move to stabilize those definitions will lead to freedom and constructive conjugal bonds that have the potential of enduring.
The Proclamation on the Family stands as a banner of God's will and wisdom in ordaining, preserving, and creating the family unit. It doesn't mean that all families are harmonious, that there are not splintered and fragmented families, or that abuse doesn't exist. Those are ills to cure, in this life and as we move on towards the next. But it's not our perogative nor is it the solution to throw out the divine unit itself.
I marvel at how many who wish to redefine families have also been among advocacy groups who have cried out for protection of the habitats of land and marine endangered species, a cause aimed at protecting and conserving the natural habitat and life as it exists in its own order, to ensure quality of life and preservation of the ecosystems we and they enjoy for generations to come. Many will call out to preserve the black-footed ferret, the grouper, the grey-faced sengi, the beluga, and over 1100 other species that are deemed as threatened or near threatened-- and to reconstruct their natural habitat. I find it noteworthy that such advocates do not seek to redefine the whale or African elephant when their livelihood and procreative powers are being stifled by the interloping of man in the environment. They, and we, seek to restore the endangered to its natural habitat. We try to "heal" the natural order.
Why, then, do we do the opposite with marriage--the quintessential unit of life, now and forever? Why would we ever want to redefine the family whose habitat is being endangered by pseudo-definitions and makeshift civil unions that satisfy some but do not satisfy the Creator of life himself? Heal it, yes. Restore it, yes. Redefine it, no. Absolutely not.
And. . .this is clearly not about lack of compassion for those with same-sex attractions. We have much love for those who contend with inclinations towards same gender relations. But we draw the line there, where God has drawn it. To perpetuate and sanction unnatural, constructed versions of love and family, is immoral, unproductive, and destructive--physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It's time to save the institution of marriage. Vote YES for Proposition 8!
