Election 2008 | Proposition 8

Election 2008 | Proposition 8 In the war over words, Attorney General Jerry Brown has nothing to apologize for. All he's offered is blunt clarity. The group promoting Proposition 8 to bar same-sex marriage has sued to amend the title Brown chose for the initiative. The court should dismiss the case. Brown's wording states what's at stake. The initiative "Eliminates The Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry." Proposition 8 would overturn the state Supreme Court's ruling that homosexuals have the same right as heterosexuals to marry. Since that May ruling, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples have wed. The initiative would not euphemistically put a "Limit on Marriage," the advocates' preferred title. It would rescind a right that couples have exercised. What is not true is the statement in the proponents' ballot argument that Proposition 8 "protects our children" as early as kindergarten "from being taught in public schools that 'same-sex marriage' is the same as traditional marriage." That purportedly is based on a requirement for schools to include instruction on the legal and financial aspects of marriage. But that law doesn't require that teachers discuss or defend same-sex marriages. In a countersuit, opponents want that statement deleted. But enough is enough. Let Proposition 8 and the arguments for and against it stand on their own in the court of public opinion. Source: Mercury News Website: www.mercurynews.com