Californians Debate Proposition 8

About 150 Californians turned out for the state’s only forum on Proposition 8, a ballot measure aimed at overturning the state Supreme Court’s passage of gay marriage earlier this year.

Many of the arguments put forth were familiar, with gay rights supporters highlighting the measure’s discriminatory essence, and right-leaning participants harping on how the Court allegedly stole the will of the people. Sixty-one percent of voters passed a gay marriage ban in the year 2000.

Most of the debate, however, centered on familial structure, reports Christina Hoag:

Jennifer Roback Morse, president of The Ruth Institute, which promotes traditional marriage, said same-sex unions violate the “child-centered institution of marriage.”

“Mothers and fathers are not interchangeable,” she said, adding that gay couples should not wed because they can’t bear children.

James Crawford of the California chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics countered that studies show the sexual orientation of a couple has no bearing on their ability to raise a well-adjusted child.

“It’s the strength and security these families give,” he said.

Things became so heated at times that meeting leaders – made up of state Senators and Assembly members – had to call for order. We gays sure know how to cause a ruckus!