Monday, October 6, 2008

"We don't have to accept this!"

I just saw an ad for Yes on Prop 8. It's the only one I've seen, I think. They show Gavin Newsom with his "Whether they like it or not!" quote. One of the things that the hate mongers narrators mention is that if 8 doesn't pass, churches could lose their tax exempt status. So wait - they WANT me to vote no? Even if I was opposed to gay marriage, I would still see this as a positive. Churches should not have tax exemptions. I think this is an out of date idea whose time has come. Of course, there's no way in this Christain dominated country that it will change. The commercial states that "We don't have to accept this!" And I agree. Church tax exemptions are wrong.

A few months ago, I said that I hoped this would come to a vote since I think that the climate in California has changed enough. I still believe that it has changed, and I there's still an advantage in that people are less willing to change the law. But I just haven't seen a lot of No on 8 propaganda. I have gotten a phoner from the Yes people, and one of my former subs sent out the Yes emailer to everyone since he was, I guess, concerned that gay marriage will ruin his LDS marriage of 50+ years. But I haven't heard at all yet from the No people or seen any commercials. In something like this, I think most people have made up their minds anyway at this point. It's not like too many people are going to read Prop 8 and then say, "Hmmmm.. I need to go read about this "marriage" thing before making an informed choice.

But what worries me is the "Bradley Effect," but with gay marriage instead of black people. For those who haven't heard of the Bradley Effect, it comes from the 1982 California Governor race. All the polls showed Tom Bradley, a black man, leading the race until the end. Even exit polls showed the same thing. But Bradley lost. It is credited to people not wanting to say that they weren't voting for the black guy. That's one big reason why I think Obama needs a cushion in the polls before you can start thinking about him winning. But does liberal California put enough pressure on its people to say in public that they're voting "no" but then they'll turn around and do the opposite in the polling booth? I couldn't imagine it happening in Mississippi, for example. But California, maybe?

And before any Christians try to respond by talking about the sanctity of marriage and how God doesn't accept gay marriage, just remember this: Your religion isn't real.

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