First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me. -Pastor Martin Niemoller
I am urging anyone who reads this to vote no on Proposition 8 on the California Ballot. This is the proposition that takes away the right to marry for same-sex couples in the state of California. The issue itself is deeply personal to me, however, it really is bigger than that of equal marriage, it is a Human issue.
Think about the door this opens if a simple majority of the electorate can change the State Constitution to deny rights to any minority group.
The Mormon church has pumped a ton of money into this campaign. While I respect their religious point of view, I would like to remind them of the persecution they faced in the early days of their religion (Nauvoo? Missouri?) and even in some cases now. They know what it's like to be segregated and persecuted. Why would they sanction taking rights away from a minority group?
I am proud that I was allowed to bring a motion before my synagogue's board recommending that we publicly oppose prop 8. In doing this, I pointed out that this is a human issue: the state should not be in the business of eliminating civil rights from any part of the population and it's a Jewish issue: we as Jews know what it is like to be singled out or entitled to fewer rights than the rest of the population.
Jews are not the only group that knows about being singled out and having their rights reduced, there are many populations in the history of the World and in the history of America. I encourage anyone who is a part of a minority group, or whose ancestors endured any kind of persecution, to think about the precedent we're setting with proposition 8 and to consider voting against this proposition.
2 comments:
this is really nice. i especially like the quote. i've heard it before, but it has never hit home quite as solidly as it did this time.
If I still lived in CA I would vote against Prop 8. I just don't see how a gay couple being able to get married should affect my marriage in the slightest.
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