Oh, well, as long as there's a
sensible reason.
I don't think there's been much discussion of this so I'm going to throw it out there. It would be interesting to see a poll that finds out how many voters support civil rights for the gay community, but who do not see marriage as a civil right. The answer in the gay community is clear; the answer elsewhere, less so.
It would be interesting to know what the overlap is on those groups...that is, how many black voters voted for Prop 8 because, while they support civil rights for gays, they consider marriage to be a religious question, and not a civil right.
We've had many discussions here about whether marriage should be strictly religious, with the state uninvolved. I wonder how many people actually took the time to reason it out.
I wonder if Prop 8 had curtailed more traditional civil rights (like employment and housing rights) instead of marriage, if the support would have changed.
Mostly I still think there are a lot of assumptions here about who voted and why - and I think some of those assumptions are damaging, if they turn out to be wrong. I'm sure it sounds like I'm being picky with words - but if I support you in those rights I consider to be civil, that has value. That is a show of support, although not the support the gay community was looking for. It's a basis of mutual support, and it can be built upon - if, in fact, it exists.
