Why I Voted No on Proposition 8

I voted in California by Absentee Ballot a few weeks ago, and I've been talking about my votes in this space over the last few days.

Today, I want to talk about why I voted NO on Proposition 8. For my friends who don't live in California, the Wikipedia definition of Prop 8 is:

Proposition 8 is an initiative measure on the 2008 California General Election ballot titled Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry. If passed, the proposition would "change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California." A new section would be added stating "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

In essence, Prop 8 takes away the rights of same sex couples to marry in California. I find this not only un-American, but disturbing at a very deep level. Prop 8 is bigotry codified in law. Americans should be better than this. We should know that in our country all people are equal under the law and have the same rights under the law.

I was so proud when I read that my employer publicly took a position to oppose this proposition:

However, while there are many objections to this proposition -- further government encroachment on personal lives, ambiguously written text -- it is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8. While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality. We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 -- we should not eliminate anyone's fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love.

This morning, I saw a link to a video that Lawrence Lessig made about his opposition to this initiative. Take a look at what Lessig has to say on Prop 8:

Why I Voted for Obama

There are many, many reasons that I voted for Obama a few weeks ago. Today I want to share a video with you from a campaign event in Ohio.



"There are no real or fake parts of this country. There is no city or town that is more pro-American than anywhere else. We're one nation. All of us proud. All of us patriots."

Why I Voted for Obama

I voted awhile ago by absentee ballot, and I voted for Obama. There are a lot of reasons, but the main one is education not experience. When I interview someone, the first thing I look at is where they went to school and how they did there.

Why do I do this? Because the school you go to is a great filtering mechanism. If schools didn't filter we would all go to Harvard, Berkeley, and MIT. We would all go to the best schools because we want to ensure that we get the best education. So, while the school a candidate went to isn't the only determining factor, it's an important one.

Then I look at how that person did at school. Did he graduate at the top of his class at Harvard? Did he graduate at all? Did the candidate work hard in school? That's important. The only reason a person has to work hard at school is if they are motiviated. For the first time in a person's life, they are on their own, and no one is really pushing them anymore. There is no external scrutiny, and that tells me something about their character.

Now, I apply those decision criteria to the people running for office, as summarized on this blog:

Barack Obama:

• Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
• Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:

• University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
• Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.
John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Sarah Palin:

• Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
• North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
• University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
• Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
• University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

 I have to say that is a pretty stark difference, and that difference is one of the biggest reasons for me to vote for Obama. I want smart people in office. I want people who are smarter and have worked harder than me to represent me to the world.