Opinion: "The Essence of Family"

Prop. 22 is just more of the same

By Greg Gangitano

Once again, it's time to go to the polls and attempt to put our beliefs into policy. I feel obligated to state that I am a member of the Reagan Youth, and if you're not familiar with the term and its connotation, you either prospered under the Reagan administration or you're a person who wonders why there's no place for that strange homeless guy who wanders up your sidewalk, shouting at the wind, to receive any help. For us, the voting process has become a matter of minimizing damage rather than making progress.

So this year, I have decided not to get swept away by the whirlwind of political malaise that seems to transpire before every election. I could get myself all worked up discussing the fact that Senator McCain, almost 30 years later, has refused to "come out of the bush," or that some of our political representatives would like to see misguided boys and girls put into the general population where they will be "rehabilitated" by a 40-year-old convicted murderer named Rocko. But what would be the use? The scores of decent, law-abiding right wing Americans who will vote for these people and initiatives have Jesus on their side, and from what they tell me, I don't.

But for the sole reason that I hold the concept of family in the highest regard, I feel that it is my duty to throw out a few thoughts on Proposition 22, the reinforced ban on gay marriage California has so lovingly passed.

I am a believer that family plays a vital role in the process of human development. I don't know how many times my family has come to my rescue, or how many times their lessons of compassion, love, and understanding have helped me trudge through the muck that life periodically dumps in the middle of the road. So when I first saw Proposition 22 signs on the front lawns of the conservative folk, reading "Save Our Families," or "Protect the Sanctity of Marriage," I knew that these people were up to no good.

Let me relate a brief Proposition 22 tale which I came across while visiting a friend in Orange County. The neighbors who lives across the street from this friend come from a lengthy tradition of strong religious conviction. Upon my arrival in their quiet suburban neighborhood, I saw signs similar to the ones I've mentioned above, posted across these neighbors' front lawn. Because I have come to view conservative Christians like a McDonald's restaurant - don't expect anything more than what you know you're going to get - I wasn't shocked or surprised.

But when, in jest, I mentioned the neighbors' sign to my friend's parents (who consequently posted "No on 22" signs across their front lawn a few days later), his mother shook her head with a heavy heart. "It's sad," she said. "The couple who live at the end of the street saw the signs. They told me that although they weren't about to confront anyone about their political views, it was a difficult thing to drive home to their own neighborhood at night and feel unwelcome."

I needn't say anything about the couple mentioned by his mother, save for the fact when I used to live down the street from them, we never really knew each other. But they always gave a friendly wave when they drove by. But I will say that I too developed a heavy heart when this information was passed onto me. What in the hell do these people, who parade around as the venerable champions of family and marriage, believe that the two institutions stand for? Last I heard, it was unconditional love, tolerance, compassion, and acceptance. And although I don't dig on organized religion, I have to wonder, would Jesus argue with me? I better retract that statement...you're not supposed to argue with the teachings of Jesus, especially after they've been reinterpreted for the last 2,000 years by people who don't understand them.

So I'll climb down from my soap box and take refuge in humor, one of the only means used by those whose diminishing faith in the land of freedom to make the road seem less dismal. Remember, we still live in a country in which, according to the Literacy Volunteers of America, 30 percent of all adults can't read prescriptions on medication bottles. We still have states, like Tennessee, who have standing laws prohibiting people from using lassos to catch fish. And despite the outright hypocrisy that underlines issues like Proposition 22, which, when mentioned, causes conservative hands to tremble, I still have to wonder ­ why are conservatives so obsessed with the nature of homosexual relationships? Hmmm...could it be that...naaa.