On Nov. 5, the American White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan will be rallying in front of the Texas state capitol to show their support of Proposition 2, the proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
While Ed Board thinks the fact that the KKK can support this proposition is reason enough to vote against it, there are countless other reasons why this ridiculous piece of legislation needs to be voted down.
It is redundant. Texas law already stipulates that marriage is between a man and a woman. The proposed resolution serves no other purpose than to further attack homosexuality, as if it isn’t already attacked enough in this state.
Gay couples should be allowed the same basic rights as straight couples. How does the fact that both people in a couple are the same sex make these people any less worthy of the basic rights that are entitled to all others? This proposed constitutional amendment is reminiscent of a time when women and minorities were legally discriminated against. A vote for this resolution is a vote to revert to a past we’ve struggled long and hard to overcome.
The government should not legislate religion, and that is exactly what it’s doing with this proposition. Just because one person believes that homosexuality is wrong and that gay couples are not capable of having healthy, loving families doesn’t mean another person has to believe the same.
That’s the beauty of the First Amendment, specifically the establishment clause, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The government legally cannot force us to believe something. When the government makes religious principles into law, it is violating the rights this country was founded upon.
Whether you believe gay marriage or even homosexuality is wrong, you cannot deny that this resolution is discrimination and violates basic rights. Furthermore, the specific language of this resolution extends its reach to affect not only gay couples but all couples in civil unions by prohibiting the state from “recognizing any legal status identical to or similar to marriage.”
If the Texas Constitution is amended to read like this, both the government and private companies will be allowed to take away health benefits that are currently available to unmarried couples and their children.
This legislation must be destroyed. For human rights, for the Bill of Rights, for all couples in civil unions and these couples’ children, vote against Proposition 2. It isn’t enough to believe this proposition is wrong – you must vote on Nov. 8. In this fight, every vote really does count. Ed Board is asking you to make the difference.
