Why I care so much about Prop 8

Boy, I just realized that Prop 8 has completely taken over my blog as of late. I am absolutely heartsick over the passage of Prop 8 on Tuesday. I am crushed. And as I was thinking about it tonight, I realized that there are two simple reasons why:

1. I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. I don't know why some people are gay. It doesn't really matter why. I don't think people choose it. But they should be able to choose who they share their life with, and that choice, like mine, should be entitled to the legal and social benefits of marriage. I believe that we all benefit when our society is fair and when everyone is treated equally. Family and marriage are good for everybody, and we need to support them whenever we can.

2. I believe that religion can and should be a positive force in society. Religion is powerful. It can motivate us to do amazing things. But it needs to be used wisely, and never to hurt or to damage. I'm sad that the church I grew up in and loved for so long decided to use its power and influence to help take away the right of my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to marry. I'm sad that it joined forces with groups that despise it and supported a campaign that I feel misled and deceived. I no longer attend that church, but I still want it to be a force for good. I feel like it missed the mark on this one.

I hate that Prop 8 has caused so much hurt and misunderstanding. I've spent the last couple hours reading blogs on both sides of the issue. There is truly so much anger, misunderstanding, and pain. I just don't even know how to respond to it.