Appeal

Dear Readers,

I'm writing to ask your help for a political cause. I try not to do this very often 'cus when people spam me with political requests I tend to find it obnoxious. As you may or may not know there is an initiative (Proposition 8) on the November ballot in California that would amend the state constitution to "eliminate the rights of same-sex couples to marry in California" (http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/bp_11042008_pres_general/prop_8_titlesummary.pdf). Because of my own beliefs about relationships, my feelings about gay marriage as propounded by the cultural left and orthodox LGBT advocates are a bit mixed.

That being said, this ballot initiative (as it is worded) is wrong and discriminates against a minority (when did anything good start with "eliminate the rights..."). Because of that I think:
1. Every eligible voter in California should VOTE NO on Prop 8.
2. Every ineligible voter in California should oppose this in every reasonable way they can.
3. Everyone outside of California should oppose this by contacting friends and family in California and persuading them to VOTE NO on Prop 8 or by donating money to the cause.

There are two reasons why am I sending this now.
1. The people who want to ban gay marriage are winning. Because of massive donations by special interests (see next reason) polls show that the race is either very close or leaning slightly toward banning gay marriage (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/10/prop-8-toss-up.html).
2. The "ban gay marriage" campaign seems to be backed by christian conservative special interests (Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic has been covering this recently, see this http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-mormon-chur.html and this http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-mormon-fact.html). As far as I can tell this race appears to be so close not because Californians are really divided but because special interests have injected tens of millions of dollars to one side. That doesn't sound democratic to me.

Info:
For background info start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8_(2008)

For info on why you should vote yes on prop 8 and ban gay marriage, go here: http://www.protectmarriage.com/

For info on why you should VOTE NO on prop 8 and keep gay marriage, go here: http://www.noonprop8.com/about/why-vote-no-on-prop-8

I've looked at the arguments, thought about them, and I've decided to both give money and try to find persuadable California voters who will vote no on Prop 8. I hope you'll do the same by forwarding this message (or some version of it) to people who might be able to make a difference and/or by making a donation at https://secure.ga4.org/01/socialnetwork?