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I figure it'd be appropriate for my first bout of rambling to talk about something that's affecting a lot of people right now: California's Proposition 8. These are the standpoints of one straight man in a stable relationship.

What it would do is ban gay marriage if it's passed.

This proposition is such a load of bullshit for a lot of reasons:

Separation of church and state: For the government to rule on something that's strictly in the domain of the Church according to tradition, the section of the Consitution that covers separation of government and religious bodies would be cast aside in favor of public opinion.

Religous outcry: The people who're calling for the ban on gay marriage are the very same religious groups who target gays and lesbians, an entire set of people whose only defining factor is that they prefer the emotional and/or sexual gratification from the same gender as them. It may very well be the same religious groups that've been giving minorities a hard time for years.

Violation of civil rights: A successful ban on gay rights that goes unprotested will soon be followed up by an outlawing of homosexual practices completely. A snowball effect would occur within ten years that would allow the government to regulate every aspect of a person's life all the way down to what news programs to watch.

It amuses me to see all of the supporters of Proposition 8 claim that they're doing it to preserve family values. They're forgetting that at one point, blacks were kept separate from whites to 'protect the children', and for millenia before that, women were treated more as property and breeding stock than as actual people. I can actually see the next wave of Prop 8 supporters donning white pointed hoods and preparing to light two-story-tall wooden crosses on fire.

Who the ******** are we to tell gays and lesbians that they can't go through a religious ceremony and make the ultimate leap towards happiness?! All they want to do is look each other in the eye, take turns saying 'I do', and exchange rings! s**t, we're going to tell them they can't marry when our divorce rate is already high enough to qualify as a punchline?

Think about this for a second, ye supporters of the ignorant: You and your significant other have been dating for a couple of years, and you're ready to make the next step. You've been to the jeweler's and you've picked out an engagement ring that you're sure your mate would love, and all of a sudden, you're told by the very people running your hometown that you can't apply for a marriage license because of who you are. Think about that and tell me you wouldn't be pissed.