Fresno Says: Vote No on Proposition 8

Fresno Says: Vote No on Proposition 8
By Mike Rhodes

A rally was held today in Fresno to oppose proposition 8. Between 200 - 300 supporters of marriage equality showed up at Blackstone and Shaw (one of the busiest street corners in Fresno) to hold signs and encourage those driving by to vote no on proposition 8. All four corners were packed with people and the crosswalks filled up every time the signal changed.

On Sunday, October 26 at 4 PM supporters of proposition 8 will rally at City Hall. Pastor Jim Franklin, of Cornerstone Church, wrote: “we NEED YOU and your SPOUSE (if you're married, if not we still NEED you to come) - to join us, as we stand up for traditional marriage. It's one thing to proclaim it in a sanctuary, but it's much more impacting to take it to the streets and that's
what we're doing. I want to not only ask you to join me and Cyndi, but also to get your friends and family to join us, as well. Think about the statement we will make when hundreds or thousands of couples stand together on the steps of City Hall. Will you join us? It won't take long. Mayor Autry will be joining us and we will SHOW our values and impact our city.” It is unknown whether counter-protestors will attend the Sunday event.

Next Sunday, November 2 from 2 - 4 PM, faith communities will speak out in opposition to proposition 8. This event will be held at Fresno City Hall Plaza 2600 Fresno Street in downtown Fresno. The featured speaker will be Father Geoff Farrow. Earlier this month, Father Farrow ( http://fathergeofffarrow.blogspot.com/ ), came out publicly against Proposition 8. For this courageous act, he was suspended as a priest and removed as pastor at the Saint Paul Newman Center . For more information on the November 2 event, call (559) 862-4559.

The local No on Proposition 8 campaign asks you to call them at (559) 862-4559 if you can help distribute door hangers. The campaign’s website is at http://www.noonprop8.com/ . Here is what they say about proposition 8:

Proposition 8 puts discrimination into our Constitution. It would inject government into private lives. It undermines equal protections under our laws.

Here's what's fiction and what's fact:

Fiction: Prop 8 doesn't discriminate against gays.
Fact: Prop 8 is simple: it eliminates the rights for same-sex couples to marry. Prop 8 would deny equal protections and write discrimination against one group of people—lesbian and gay people - into our state constitution.

Fiction: Teaching children about same-sex marriage will happen here unless we pass Prop 8.
Fact: Not one word in Prop 8 mentions education, and no child can be forced, against the will of their parents, to be taught anything about health and family issues at school. California law prohibits it, and the Yes on 8 campaign knows they are lying. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley has already ruled that this claim by Prop 8 proponents is "false and misleading." The Orange County Register, traditionally one of the most conservative newspapers in the state, says this claim is false. So do lawyers for the California Department of Education.


Fiction: Churches could lose their tax-exemption status.
Fact: Nothing in Prop 8 would force churches to do anything. In fact, the court decision regarding marriage specifically says "no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs."

Fiction: A Massachusetts case about a parent's objection to the school curriculum will happen here.
Fact: Unlike Massachusetts, California gives parents an absolute right to remove their kids and opt-out of teaching on health and family instruction they don't agree with. The opponents know that California law already covers this and Prop 8 won't affect it, so they bring up an irrelevant case in Massachusetts.

Fiction: Four Activist Judges in San Francisco…
Fact: Prop 8 is not about courts and judges, it's about eliminating a fundamental right. Judges didn't grant the right, the constitution guarantees the right. Proponents of Prop 8 use an outdated and stale argument that judges aren't supposed to protect rights and freedoms. This campaign is about whether Californians, right now, in 2008 are willing to amend the constitution for the sole purpose of eliminating a fundamental right for one group of citizens.

Fiction: People can be sued over personal beliefs.
Fact: California's laws already prohibit discrimination against anyone based on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. This has nothing to do with marriage.

Fiction: Pepperdine University supports the Yes on 8 campaign.
Fact: The university has publicly disassociated itself from Professor Richard Peterson of Pepperdine University, who is featured in the ad, and has asked to not be identified in the Yes on 8 advertisements.

Fiction: Unless Prop 8 passes, CA parents won't have the right to object to what their children are taught in school.
Fact: California law clearly gives parents and guardians broad authority to remove their children from any health instruction if it conflicts with their religious beliefs or moral convictions. Regardless of how you feel about the issue, we should not eliminate fundamental rights for ANY Californians.

Please vote NO on Prop 8.