Election quick links and why we opposed Prop 8

Fuck, it's been a weird, long day on our end. Don't really feel like getting into particulars, just know we'll be drinking heavily tonight.

So there was an election yesterday, right? Noted hat lover Jerry Mac beat ol' Beakface Andal.

Underage sluts women can still get abortions without telling mommy and daddy, which probably makes new Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson happy.

Skeletor overcame a massive negative campaign to beat Clem Lee to become our mayor.

Lathrop Mayor Kristy Sayles discovered that nobody actually takes what they read on one website run by some annonymous douche seriously (hey, wait a minute...).

And while half the city took to the streets (or at least the Miracle Mile) to celebrate the end of racism, discrimination still found a way to show it's ugly pimply face.

Now that the election is over, we should probably explain why we so vehemently opposed Prop. 8. Prop 8 doesn't affect us in the way it probably affects most Californians. As a bunch of straight guys, we just wanted to see our gay friends have the same rights we enjoy. Ironically they now only enjoy separate but "equal" rights. But it goes beyond segregation. El Duke will take it from here.

Last week I let you guys in on one of the things about my life that I'm not particularly proud of. The fact that I spent 19 years of my life as a Mormon. The story of why I eventually left is a somewhat long story, but it began back then Prop 22 started. Prop 22 was the original gay marriage ban and the LDS fought hard for it's victory. Even then at 16 or 17 I knew it was wrong. I didn't like politics and religion mixing. Separation of church and state, right?

A few years later, upon quitting, my Bishop asked if he could talk to me about it. He'd always been a nice guy to me so I agreed, even though I knew nothing he could say would change my mind. I gave him the laundry list of reasons for my departure from the church, ranging from money for blessings (tithing) to Prop 22. When Prop 22 came up, he admitted to me that they were probably a bit too earnest in campaigning for it and that it wouldn't happen again. I was skeptical.

Being the nice guy that I am, I assured him I wasn't going to go all anti-Mormon on him. Partially because the rest of my family is still Mormon and that would be awkward, and paritally because the main reason I quit was I didn't think I should have to force my religion on others by going door-to-door on a bike soliciting my religion like some holy door-to-door salesman.

When I found out about Prop 8, my immediate reaction was disappointment. Right there in the article about it were quotes from people who me and my family consider friends. It may not have been that specific Bishop, but the promise was still broken. I was lied to by a man of God, and that's why I pushed to campaign against it on this site. You may have noticed that it's the only real endorsement we gave on this site (aside from our Robocop endorsement of course).

It's sad that a day that should be marked as a huge victory against discrimination will be slightly marred by the addition of discrimination to our state's constitution. While we're pretty sure this proposition will be contested in courts for years to come like Prop 22 before it, it's still a large personal disappointment to me. While my Bishop didn't keep his promise (or made a promise he couldn't keep), I'll continue to try my hardest to keep the promise I made to him. Even if I really really realllly want to go egg the church right now.