Rethink Prop. 8

That's nice Grace but you are missing the BIG picture and when you grow-up, and become an adult, the world and the people you will meet will teach you the right way to see gay people; as evil and bad. People that MUST be punished for their choices and the way they love. As you MATURE, you will learn that GAY people are the root of all evil, that GOD hates them and that only your Priest, Rabbi or Minister can marry a true family; a Male and Female.
You will learn this or your church will Re-educate you through guilt and ridicule. Eventually, YOUR Government, will teach you that GAY people should be imprisoned or put to death for the way they love or show affection openly.
This my dear young and inocent child, is the way of the American people and you will learn this or be imprisoned or put to death yourself.
Love and Marriage are exclusively for strong religous, God-fearing, Straight people ONLY and these people are the ones that GOD only loves.

That kind of sarcasm is a little too harsh, I think.

Agreed. There is no need to attack bigotry with bigotry. There are certainly people who hate gays, but I think that is the minority. Most are simply uneducated, that is, unworldly, isolated from the gay community either by predilection or circumstance. I maintain that anyone who thinks about this issue in any depth beyond their fear and discomfort will eventually see the light.

1. For a group that is so quick to accuse others of "hate", I have seldom been around a group that outwardly expresses more hate than the "No on 8" crowd. Why all the name calling? Reasonable people can have a debate without calling each other names. I have yet to discuss the issue with a single "No on 8" supporter, who did not resort to name calling. I have many gay friends, I am not intolerant, I am not a bigot and I don't hate anyone. We just disagree. Can I explain why? Apparently not.

2. The bible is clear about homosexuality. The behavior is forbidden. The person is loved, the behavior is condemned. Christ fulfilled the law of Moses, so don't try to relate it to not eating shellfish, etc and picking and choosing what Christians believe. Those who try to explain that the scriptures do not mean what they explicitly say, are rationalizing. It is not a phobia, it is an opinion. You can disagree with the opinion, but someone who believes what the bible says is not intolerant, is not a bigot and is not hateful. You may have a different interpretation of what the bible says. Fine. You don't need to call me names. We disagree.

3. A civil right is not granted for a "behavior". There is enough scientific data now to make a convincing argument that homosexuality is a behavior and a person is not "born that way". How else do you explain the tens of thousands who have been "cured" of homosexuality and are living in happy heterosexual relationships. Same sex attraction is certainly present in humans in a very small percentage of the population. Acting on that attraction is a choice. It is not equivalent to skin color or gender. An obvious point of disagreement among reasonable people. But the gay lobby has been very effective in limiting the argument to civil rights, when in fact, the argument is a non-starter for many. And if a person disagrees, they are likened to the bigots of the fifties who discriminated against blacks.

4. The majority of people in California and indeed the folks in 44 other states who have laws and constitutional amendments identical to Prop. 8 obviously feel the same way. The election is over. It passed.

Loveforall, you're just pasting your empty arguments all over this website, aren't you? I'll follow your lead, and copy my response:

"The bible is clear about homosexuality."

Fortunately for us, we live in an enlightened society where the religious beliefs of one group are not applied to the entire population. Unless you can explain logically why your religious views are valid, you are not adding anything constructive to the conversation. (I wrote a piece about this topic here: http://www.independent.com/news/2008/nov......)

"There is enough scientific data now to make a convincing argument that homosexuality is a behavior and a person is not "born that way". How else do you explain the tens of thousands who have been "cured" of homosexuality and are living in happy heterosexual relationships."

Unless you can reference this scientific data, you are once again failing to add anything of value to this forum. As it happens, however, I do have some direct links:

“Brains of homosexuals are structurally and functionally different from those of heterosexuals.”
(http://www.india-server.com/news/homosex......)

“Two of the most convincing studies have proved conclusively that sexual orientation in men has a genetic cause.”
(http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/bor......)

(As for your comment about hateful comments, while I have certainly seen opponents of Prop 8 give in to overly passionate language, there are many who continue to argue calmly and reasonably. Whether or not you've noticed is another matter.)