Support Our Marriage — Support the “No on 8” Campaign

Formal portrait

Today, I’m going to do something I normally don’t do.

I’m going to use shameless emotional manipulation to persuade you to support a political cause.

In California, there’s an initiative on the November ballot — Proposition 8 — that would ban same-sex marriage. In fact, it would amend the State Constitution to do so. In May of this year, the California Supreme Court said that banning same-sex marriage was a violation of the State constitution, and that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to marry. Proposition 8 would take away that right, writing discrimination against gay people into the Constitution of the state.

Until a few weeks ago, No on 8 had a slim but steady lead in the polls. But in recent weeks, the right wing — especially the religious right, and even more especially the Mormon Church — has been pouring an enormous amount of money into the campaign to ban same-sex marriage in California. They’ve been running a series of campaign ads that tell flat-out, outright lies about same-sex marriage: saying, for instance, that legalizing same-sex marriage will force schools to teach that same-sex marriage is just as good as opposite-sex marriage, and that churches who refuse to perform same-sex marriages will lose their tax-exempt status.

The lies are so blatant that even a Mormon scholar has written a detailed analysis pointing out how deceptive and misleading the campaign is, and saying that, “Relying on deceptive arguments is not only contrary to gospel principles, but ultimately works against the very mission of the Church.”

But the ad campaign has been extremely effective. Largely as a result of it, the Yes on 8 campaign has pulled ahead in the polls. The No on 8 campaign is running ads to counter this campaign… but they need money to do it.

So here comes the shameless emotional manipulation part.

Aisle

Readers of my blog have been unbelievably sweet and supportive about me and Ingrid getting married.

If you want to translate that sweetness and support into a practical form — please support the No on 8 campaign.

If everyone who reads this blog donated even a small amount — say, $25 — to the No on 8 campaign, it would be a substantial amount of money. It would go a long way towards countering the fear- mongering lies of the religious right… lies that they’re telling to try to undo our marriage.

If you can’t donate money, there are other things you can do. You can talk to your friends and family. You can volunteer. You can help spread videos and links. And of course, if you live in California, you can vote.

And if you have a blog? Please, please, blog about this. Spread the word. Get your readers to donate.

Nobody knows for sure what will happen to existing same-sex marriages in California if Prop 8 passes. Chances are good, actually, that our marriage will be fine… and we will then be in the unenviable position of being legally married while our friends can’t. (Much the same position that our straight friends have been in for years.)

Vows
But if you want me and Ingrid to stay married for sure — and if you think we had the right to get married in the first place, and want to support that right, not just for us but for other couples like us — please support No on 8. Thanks.

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Support Our Marriage — Support the “No on 8” Campaign
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14 thoughts on “Support Our Marriage — Support the “No on 8” Campaign

  1. 1

    I’m on it. I’m sickened by the fact that the Mormon church (and others to a lesser extent) is using its considerable religious influence to organize this kind of political action. And that’s without even considering the flat-out lies and deception. I was among a group of Mormons and former Mormons who marched on the church headquarters and petitioned them to stop their involvement. Not that it will make any difference, but someone has to speak up.
    I’ve donated to the cause and I hope many more of your readers also donate. Also, more people should link to Morris Thurston’s article! Perhaps there’s still enough time to counter the lies with truth. I can only hope. I wish you and Ingrid the best, regardless of how the Prop 8 debacle turns out.

  2. 2

    I wish I were still in California so I could vote about this (moved to WA two years ago, ah well!). I grew up mormon and tried bringing this up with a sort-of-friend of mine who was tooting her Prop 8 Horn. The vitriol of the responses I received was absurd! Another girl told me that I shouldn’t be talking about things that I don’t understand, which I felt was an insulting assumption. And the sort-of-friend told me that saying no to prop 8 infringes on her rights. What rights, I wondered? Apparently LDS adoption services has to give away already unwated children to “the gays.” And they have marry homosexuals. I don’t think a lot of homosexuals are happily planning their Mormon weddings, but who am I to say.
    That was a little lengthy, but I had to share and after I get paid this week I hope I have enough left over to donate. I want you, and everyone, to be able to have happiness.
    I’ve read your blog for a while but this may be my first comment. So thanks for always posting thought-provoking content.

  3. 3

    I’ve already kicked in some money, and I was actually thinking about you two (along with a few other bloggers who’ve encouraged people to donate) when I did so. I’m gonna see if I can afford another $20 or so after my next paycheck. If I knew anyone who lived in California, I’d be pestering them non-stop, but I don’t, so this is the next best thing.

  4. 4

    I think this is my first (maybe second) time commenting, and I’m only doing so because I find this issue so important. I donated to this cause along with a few others, and I hope that many others do the same!
    I wish you and Ingrid a long and happy marriage, unimpeded by the stomping feet of the religious right! Your passion for the world helps all of us be better people. Thank you, and good luck in the polls!

  5. 5

    “If everyone who reads this blog donated even a small amount — say, $25 — to the No on 8 campaign…”
    Done. Actually, I donated more.
    Why is the Mormon Church tax exempt again?

  6. 8

    This January I had the very great honor to preside over the wedding of two dear friends who, because they both happened to be women, couldn’t have an “official” ceremony. Next Friday they’re doing the “official” version. I’ll be there for that too, staying for the party, and then heading back home to my “No On 8” phone-bank training. This hateful measure has to be defeated, and if it comes up again it has to be defeated again.
    When our state supreme court decided as it did in May that gay marriage was legal, it was the first time ever that I’ve actually been proud of our state government. I think that 10 years from now the folks who’ve been so vocally opposed to gay marriage, and so loathesomely hateful about it, are going to be painfully ashamed of themselves. At least I hope they will.
    I know so many loving, committed couples who should, must, have the same right that Jon and I did, to choose when and who (whom?) to marry. I feel very strongly about this. I’ve donated money (several times), and now I’m adding my voice to the huge number of volunteers trying to keep our state in the small but growing number who are doing what’s right.
    If you don’t have money to donate, you might have a free evening or afternoon before the election to spend some time on the phone. Get in touch with Equality California, or No on 8. It’s pretty easy, and they’ve got volunteer opportunities all over the place. This is a hugely important issue. If this hateful measure passes by a slender margin, wouldn’t it suck if you could have helped but didn’t? You’re on the computer right now. Go ahead. Get in touch and volunteer!

  7. 9

    Thanks for this blog post, Greta. I’ve known about this issue, but I’ve had lots of other stuff on my mind lately. I don’t think I would’ve gotten around to donating had it not been for this particular kick-in-the-pants, but now I’m glad I did.

  8. 10

    I’m an impoverished PhD student with no money to spare for anything, but I still decided that I had to contribute to this. Prop 8 is, in the simplest and starkest terms, morally reprehensible.

  9. 11

    Thanks to all for donating, and for all your kind words and wishes. It means a lot to us.
    And Kalia, you RAWK for phone banking! I know people won’t be able to resist that lovely ECD caller’s voice of yours…

  10. Eli
    14

    You know what? I accidentally typed in nonprop8.com instead of noonprop8.com.
    I ended up redirected to protectmarriage.com.
    How sleazy can you get, registering mispellings of domain names used by the other side and redirecting them to your own website? What assholes! There should be a law against that. It pissed me off so much that I devoted an episode of my webcomic to advertise the vote…

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