Something that I have not given any space in this blog to this date - regrettably - happens to be one of the most important issues of this election season: Proposition 8, on the ballot in California, and the effort to defeat it. To catch up, I'll be reading Andrew Sullivan's massive archive of posts, reading Towleroad's one-stop shop, and watching ads like this one voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, which relates this episode to other discrimination:


Two of my favorites, Apple and Google, have donated to the No on Prop 8 effort. Bill Clinton just recorded a call to urge people to vote NO on November 4. Please, if you're a California voter, vote against bigotry. If you're not, like me, urge every Californian you know to not just assume that because Obama has it in the bag out there that they don't need to show up at the polls. There's something else important at stake. Ask Margaret and Helen (quickly becoming my favorite bloggers), who have a keep it real (H/T: Dan Savage via Sullivan):

So several of you have emailed me about something happening in California. Now, a lot of crazy stuff goes on in that state and so I may be getting this a little mixed up. Evidently they are wanting to pass a constitutional amendment to make only marriages between a man and a woman valid in California. Talk about an ignorant pot calling a gay kettle black. Somebody really should check the latest divorce rates because clearly many marriages everywhere are not valid.

Now I am an old broad. We didn't talk about this stuff. I really don't know why gay people want to get married. It's not all it's cracked up to be. Just ask Harold. But I guess if one consenting adult wants to declare their love for another, why would anyone have an issue? I do know one gay couple. Margaret's nephew and his friend have been together for several years. They are a lovely couple and make me laugh and feel special every time I see them. A couple of years ago Texas passed one of these constitutional amendments. The place where Harold and I go to vote is actually an elementary school in the neighborhood. On that particular election day I was appalled to see all the signs that said "Marriage Should Be Between a Man and Woman Only". As Harold drove us into the parking lot to vote, I looked out the window at those signs and realized that many parents had driven their kids to school that morning driving past those very signs. I wonder if any of them had the same reaction I did--those signs reminded me of the little signs we used to have back in the day that said "Whites Only". Think about it.

I donated to No on Prop 8 for the first time tonight. Even if it's as little as, say, $8, I hope you do the same.

(Cross-posted on 1,369 lightbulbs.)