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Whether you support or oppose Proposition 8, the proposed amendment to the California Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, you ought to do it deliberately.
Making a deliberate choice means not only checking "yes" or "no", but doing so with the consequences of that choice in full view, and accepting them. Making a deliberate choice means choosing for reasons that stand up to scrutiny.
From ProtectMarriage.Com, the major sponsor of the amendment:
About Proposition 8
Proposition 8 is simple and straightforward. It contains the same 14 words that were previously approved in 2000 by over 61% of California voters: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
Because four activist judges in San Francisco wrongly overturned the people’s vote, we need to pass this measure as a constitutional amendment to restore the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.
Voting YES on Proposition 8 does 3 simple things:
It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and what Californians agree should be supported, not undermined.
It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people.
It protects our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage, and prevents other consequences to Californians who will be forced to not just be tolerant of gay lifestyles, but face mandatory compliance regardless of their personal beliefs.
Section 1:
The first highlighted section and its attendant bullet point (Marked in Orange) from the Prop 8 sponsor site does two things: (1) it provides the actual wording of the proposition and (2) it provides the very first argument for voting for Prop 8 the sponsors would like you to attend: California voters have already approved the use of the 14 words contained in the proposition.
But what kind of argument is it?
The phrasing of the argument makes it appear the simplest conclusion in the world to draw. Of course you ought to approve of Prop 8: it's exactly the same language proposed in 2000, and so many of you approved of it back then.
However, Proposition 8 is not a proposition to favour or disfavour a bit of language; it's a proposition to favour or disfavour an amendment to the California Constitution. The 2000 proposition, which was approved, was not an amendment to the California Constitution. It was a simple piece of legislation, subordinate to the California Constitution. It was a bet, or hope, that it would turn out to be the case that the Constitution would permit defining marriage in the way the Prop 22 (2000) people wanted it to be defined.
So this very first argument offered by the sponsors contains a logical error, deliberately or malevolently. There is no valid analogy between the 2000 vote and the 2008 vote: this vote is a more radical step; an attempt to frame not just what the law says, but what the law will be permitted to say.
No one ought to be moved by this argument by analogy.
Section 2:
The second highlighted section, and its attendant bullet point (Marked in Blue) does three things: (1) it provides an abbreviated history of Proposition 22, (2) it notes the reason why Prop 8 has been written as an amendment, (3) and it provides an argument for why Prop 8 ought to be supported even though Prop 22 was overturned.
The abbreviated history is simply that Prop 22 was overturned. Because Prop 22 was overturned by judges citing the California Constitution (in particular the Equal Protection clause) if any definition of marriage as between a man and a woman is to exist in California it will have to be enshrined in the Constitution.
The argument for supporting Prop 8 despite Prop 22 being overturned is subtle, but it runs like this: California voters as a majority want to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Only the voters of California have the right to decide what the definition of marriage is, with judicial oversight provided by responsible judges. The judges who ruled against Prop 22 prove themselves irresponsible, by both their ruling and their geography: they are in San Francisco. So the judges are not
