Another letter from Marvin

Friends,

The CNN interview aired this morning. For those of you who missed it, I’ve included a link to view it on-line. For those of you who saw it, I’ve included the text of everything you actually missed that I can recall from memory. The reporter and the cameraman were very obviously against prop 8. And being so, they chose to leave out all of the details that have been so successful in helping voters see through the distortions of the opponent of YES on 8. Will you pass this on to all you know CA? It may help them to see through the blatant deceptions. Also included are video links from CA teachers.

There are a couple of things to note about the interview and the footage of our sign waving rally:

Interview

* They asked me several times was I involved in fund raising (No)
* They asked me several times is it mainly a moral issue for me. Each time I respond with a list of things with morality being an afterthought at the end
* They asked me several times what is the main issue or most important issue for me. Each time I respond with a list of things and that there was not just one.
* Note that they included in the interview the No supporter’s legal or civic arguments and cut out all of mine
* Notice they keep saying that this won’t effect the schools, all while it’s affecting the schools. (see second and third links from CA teachers)

Rally

* Note the phrasing is negative toward the YES campaign.
* Note that they were able to find 2 no on 8 supporters and put them in the midst of over 300 Yes supporter.
* Note that they ended with those and then a flash to one of our signs with “freedom of religion, while making the point that Marvin is Mormon

VIDEO LINKS

CNN INTERVIEW

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2008/10/29/rowlands.ca.same.sex.debate.cnn


CA TEACHER - If 8 has nothing to do with schools, why is the CTA involved?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQs4-5crLKI


CA TEACHER SUPPORT PROP 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzEIx4Def5g


INTERVIEW

CNN Stan Wilson: How did you first get involved with prop 8 campaign?
Marvin Perkins: A friend from church and one of my neighbors brought the subject to me. And at that point, I was not heavily involved. I was simply making phone calls on Saturday.

CNN Stan Wilson: When did you get more deeply involved?
Marvin Perkins: I received 3 calls on the same day and was asked to speak at a legislative hearing the following day. I went to the hearing and had a great opportunity to listen to both sides. I had great compassion for both the supporters and opponents of prop 8. However, when I heard distortions on every point coming from the opponents and their trying to equate this to the civil rights movement of Blacks in America and that it would have no effect on the children, I knew that I had to get more intimately involved.

CNN Stan Wilson: So what having a yes on proposition 8 mean to you?
Marvin Perkins:
* It means a restoration of the votes and voice of an overwhelming majority of Californians.
* It means the preservation of democracy
* The preservation of free speech
* Parent rights
* Rights of children
* Freedom of religion
A YES on Prop 8 takes nothing away from same sex couples. They currently enjoy all the access benefits of married heterosexual couples. See California Family Code - section 297.5

California Family Code – Section 297.5 Reads
297.5 (a) Registered domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections, and benefits, and shall be subject to the same responsibilities, obligations, and duties under law, whether they derive from statutes, administrative regulations, court rules, government policies, common law, or any other provisions or sources of law, as are granted to and imposed upon spouses.
So if same sex couples already have the same rights as married couples in CA, voters have to ask themselves, what is this really about?
Unless we get a Yes on 8, it would mean taking rights away from Californians and voters of other states. Last week I had a conversation with a Rev. on the board of the SCLC, Southern Christian Leadership Council, founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He shared with me a conversation he had with a gay man. "With civil unions, you have the same rights as married couples, so why is gay marriage so important to you" he asked. The man said "You're right, we do have the same rights with civil unions. But if we move to another state which has chosen not to recognize same-sex marriage, if we have a legal marriage, they have to recognize it. So as you can see this is not about civil rights.

The year 2000 – Proposition 22
“Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California was on the ballot”
52 out of 58 CA Counties voted YES on Prop 22., over 4.3 million votes.
61.4%, voted YES 38.6% voted NO

8 Years Later in May, 2008, 4 San Francisco Judges ignored the votes and voice of over 4.3 million and made same sex marriage legal. So I believe that every Californian should vote yes on Prop 8 to restore the voice and votes of the majority of Californians and to preserve democracy.

CNN Stan Wilson: So what did you think about one of the Supreme Court Justices saying that this reminded him of the civil rights movement of the 60’s?
Marvin Perkins: You know, I was born in the midst of the civil rights movement. My family marched in the civil rights movement. They were subject to police batons, dogs and water hoses and all manner of hate. We integrated schools and were subject as kids to every manner of hate, racial slur from adults and other kids, signs and our buses going through gauntlets of rock throwers.
Now we see the same thing coming from opponents of YES on 8. There have been violent attacks, harassments, sign stealing the works. One of my dear friends even had the outside of their home vandalized. So yes, it reminds me of the civil rights movement where violence, hate and scare tactics were used against us to keep us for standing up for our rights. The YES on 8 supporters are suffering the same things as we stand up for our rights, the rights of our children, democracy, free speech and religion.

CNN Stan Wilson: Where in the language of the ruling by the CA Supreme Court Justices does it say anything about what kids are taught in schools?
Marvin Perkins: It doesn’t say it in the ruling that I’m aware of, however is gay marriage is legal in CA as it is now by the actions of the 4 judges who overturned the voice and the will of CA voters, then there will be free reign to teach homosexuality in schools. Look at the case in MA who legalized gay marriage earlier this your, or last year I think it was. They already have the books ready to go. A first or second grader came home with a diversity book bag and in it a book entitled the King & the King. San Francisco first graders were taken to a same sex wedding to throw rose pedals. Just Thursday, a Hayward school surprised K-8 graders with a Gay Day, or a Coming Out Day.
So here we have such a hotly contested issue on the ballot for election day. You’d think everyone would be on their best behavior. So if they’re willing to do these things just before the election, it is only reasonable to think that if we don’t get a YES on 8, that it would be even more wide spread after the election.

CNN Stan Wilson: This all this sounds like you’re quite homophobic:
Marvin Perkins: I have gay friends and neighbors and co-workers. We love each other like family. Gay couples, per CA Family Code Section 297.5 (a) have the same rights as married couple. I just don’t thing the rights of CA voters, children, parents, speech and religion should be sacrificed when gay couples already have the same rights as heterosexual couples.

CNN Stan Wilson: So this is a moral issue for you?
Marvin Perkins: It’s actually several issues for me.
* California voters right
* The preservation of democracy
* The preservation of free speech
* Parent rights
* Rights of children
* Freedom of religion

CNN Stan Wilson: So you don’t have a moral issue with this?
Marvin Perkins: Morally I believe that homosexuality is wrong. But I also believe that we all have the right to choose to live in any manner that we choose. I will not attempt to push my morality on the gay community and I simply want the same in return for the gay community not to push homosexuality on me or my children.

CNN Stan Wilson: So tell me about your Mormon beliefs and how they affect your feelings on gay marriage?
Marvin Perkins: Mormons or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian religion. Our beliefs are the same as all the Christian religions and many others on this issue. The bible clearly teaches that all men have the agency to do whatever they choose, to choose for themselves how they live. We Christian religions believe the bible and this teaching. The bible also clearly indicates that the gay lifestyle is not in keeping with the commandments and the law the Lord has set forth all His children.

CNN Stan Wilson: So what gives you the right to judge?
Marvin Perkins: Oh, did I say something that made it appear I was judging? I’m not, I’m simply saying that all have the right to choose and I support that right. I will not push my beliefs on others and I’m just asking the same in return.

CNN Stan Wilson: Wasn’t there a time when interracial marriage was illegal? How do you respond to that?
Marvin Perkins: There was. Interracial couples were told they could not marry or have any of the rights of marriage. Same sex couples in CA have the same rights with domestic partnerships. There were no domestic partnerships for interracial couples.

~Marvin Perkins
www.BlacksInTheScriptures.com

"All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing"