Get to know me, before you judge me...(Pt.1)

Well as many of you who know me already know, I have been a registered Republican since the day I turned 18. However I am a California Republican what some on the far right (like Rush Limbaugh) call a R.I.N.O. (Republican In Name Only). I call it a New Republican. A McCain Republican or a Schwarzenegger Republican. So before we judge me because I am a Republican lets explore my ideas / beliefs.

"NEW REPUBLICAN" VIEWS:

Gay Marriage/Rights:

I am most certainly 100% without a question for Gay Rights. This of course means I fully support Gay Marriage. I think the discrimination towards gay marriage has reached it's zenith in this country. However that said I think most Gay activists approach the issue completely wrong and polarize people on the issue. Except for the LetCaliforniaRing.org commercial currently running on TV here. (Which can be seen Here).

However the most vocal supporters of gay marriage keep it a right / left issue and don't address opponents reservations or try to address them. How can they? Well this is going to cross over into another section here but I'll explain it anyway. Religious groups have watched the courts systematically discriminate against them and attempt to destroy and / or outlaw their beliefs. Not elected officials mid you, unelected judges who have no accountability to the people. So if Gay marriage is allowed how long is it before the ACLU or someone comes along finds a favorable court and actually force churches to perform those marriages instead of letting churches decide for themselves if the practice fits their beliefs? Well if the past is prologe then the answer is not long. This clearly infringes upon the free expression of religion by those groups, but it'll be postured as discrimination by the other side even though undoubtedly there will be churches who would perform the cerimonies and of course the government would recognize the marriages.

But it turns nasty when it comes to the issue. The proponets call those who believe that it's not right "Religous Extreemest" or bigotted, or even more often extreemly hateful names, all the while trying to say they just want people to understand. Not that thier aren't extreemest spouting hate towards gays, there most certainly are. But does that always have to mean that EVERYONE who opposes gay marriage is an extreemest or biggoted? The answer of course is NO. Just becaue we don't agree we don't have to deamonize each other.

I believe the best solution to gay marriage is a bill to leagalize it while maintaining that no one shall force any group to perform any cerimony that is not consistant with their beliefs. AND keep in mind I said a BILL not a legal action into court. THAT will make things much much worse and create a longer period of opposition.