A Message from Ren and Tiff
Thursday, 23 October 2008
No swim/bike/run for now, but instead, a message from my friends Ren and Tiff. Get out there and vote. Me? Already voted NO on 8.
clm
Subject: please take a moment and read about the election
If you are receiving this email today - at some point in your life, you crossed paths with one of us and you live in California. Whether you are an avid cyclist, an artist, a venture capitalist, a CEO, or someone from our past, we are sending this to you today in the hopes that you will take the time to read these words and understand the impact this has on all of our lives. At first, we tried to be as pacifist about this issue as possible - remembering that everyone has a first amendment right to free speech - but then we read this article today once again proving that threatening scare tactics are being used against those opposed to Prop 8...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/10/23/state/n145556D05.DTL&tsp=1
.... and we had to do something to express our outrage.
We write this today because we fear that -- for whatever reason it may be - November 4th is going to come, and we as Californians are going to be caught offguard by "The Vote" and we will ERASE human rights from our state constitution. Many of us sit and say "there is no way this state would be ignorant enough to let that pass". And some of us will simply not vote believing that our vote doesn't matter. Let us assure you, it does. It matters more than it ever has in any election. Those in favor of Prop 8 are taking busloads of supporters to the central valley to knock on doors and get the (false word) out on this proposition. Regardless on your philosophical stance on gay marriage, we implore you to look at Proposition 8 and understand EXACTLY what you are voting for, or against.
Most of you may already know that we were legally married on September 20, 2008 so yes - this affects us directly. But moreso, it affects every single one of us that believes in a person's inalienable right to live free and happy. Ren comes from a place where women are still on the books as property of their husbands and not so long ago black folks weren't allowed to sit in the front of the bus. Many of you on this list have been born since such atrocities and some of you may remember these atrocious times or have ancestors that were directly affected. Either way - it's a time in our history we cannot revisit
On November 4th, you will go vote. We have faith that everyone receiving this email from us understands the important presidential choice we have before us during this election. As intelligent, responsible adults, it's imperative that we also understand that on November 4th we will be faced with another choice...not just whether gay people can stay married and not whether "straight" people can still have their fundamental right to be married....no, it's not that simple. Not so black and white. On November 4th all of us -- whether gay or straight, black or white, cyclist or runner, democrat or republican – are faced with the decision to vote on the issue that could erase human rights for all people of California and forever cement prejudice and discrimination into our state constitution. The document is based on the US Constitution -- the same doctrine that was written to keep a person's personal freedoms just that…free. Our founding fathers were passionate about separating church and state. It's one of the foundations of our government and we just cannot believe ANY of the founding fathers would support the idea that we would negate rights with a document that was specifically created to grant such basic human rights. This is not about whether you like us, are still pissed off at us for some reason, or don't like the fact that we are gay. Please set that aside on November 4th and see this Proposition for what it REALLY is...a document of discrimination.
Many of you are religious and we respect that - very much so. We respect the principle that your church can refuse to marry same-sex couples. In fact, we would support the fact that they have the freedom to choose to do so, or not. If tomorrow, the Methodist, Baptist or Catholic churches refuse to marry same-sex couples -- its their right to choose . BUT the California government should not have the right to limit any freedoms. They are there to protect their citizen's freedoms and rights.
We want to apologize to anyone we may have offended. We have never shoved our personal decisions on any of you and have never held a gun to anyone's head and asked them to wave a rainbow flag. This isn't about a rainbow…its about what we truly believe about freedom. California has led the country and the world in so many ways - be it the technological revolution in the Silicon Valley - or the creative revolution in Los Angeles...we have always believed in protecting our personal rights. It's important that we show the nation and the world that we will continue to lead the way even on issues such as this.
Please vote NO on Proposition 8....and PLEASE forward this (or this message) to everyone you know in California....
Thanks for your time, and your support-
Tif and Ren
