Mr. Dobson, Why The Big Rush?

Assemblyman Leno, I have an idea.
And
Mr. Dobson, why the rush?

I was talking to my Domestic Partner (for all intents and purposes my Wife), Andrea this morning about how the Far Religious Right always schedules their initiative votes during the “off years”. You know, those years when there isn’t a Presidential campaign. It’s no accident that they time them this way, because they know that the vast majority of voters usually can’t be bothered to show up at a polling place in these "dog catcher election" years unless they needed to vote some complete reprobate out of office like when they turned out to oust Grey Davis... Or this year when they are going to the polls to decide whether or not to terminate Governor Terminator or not.

But even at that, the turnout still won’t be nearly what it will be in 2008 when the yet open field will be decided for the Presidential race. Something about these “off year” initiatives just seems sneaky somehow. Especially when they are being authored by someone from out of state and backed by huge gobs of out of state money! I mean, just where does James Dobson get off coming in from Colorado and telling US how to run OUR state?

So now Mr. Dobson is getting ready to blitz the state with deceptive advertising claiming that allowing LGBTQ folks equal access to the franchise of civil marriage will somehow weaken “traditional” marriage. Neither I , nor anyone I have asked on either side of the question have ever explained how that will happen, except the assurance from Mr. Dobson's supporters that is will. That it will damage the marriages of heterosexuals. Again, no knows how this will happen and we only have Mrs. Dobson's assurance that it will. That it will cost the state of California millions of dollars. That we already know, but we also know that we will get many time more than that back. That it will lead to the demise of western civilization itself! Huh? That all of that will happen overnight. Again, HUH? And that it violates Gods plan! Did you notice I said CIVIL marriage there? You know, like the kind you get with a Justice of the Peace or a County Clerk rather than a Minister or Priest, in a judge’s chambers or the county recorder's office instead of a church. You know, the kind that are legally binding without any religious under or overtones at all? Yeah, those kind. The separation of church and state kind. Anyway, why don't we ask the good people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? They’ve had legal gay marriages there for a year this month. A recent Boston Globe poll shows that better than half of the folks there are perfectly happy with having married gay neighbors. And that their society hasn’t been damaged one bit. And not a single church has been forced to marry a gay couple against the parishioners’ will, nor have any heterosexual marriages been damaged in the least. The state did lose about $15 million in lost tax revenue because of couples now filing jointly but gained something like $30 million more than that in taxes from increased tourist trade and from being able to deny people welfare and other "means based" program qualifications! But with all the millions and millions and millions of out of state dollars Mr. Dobson is going to pour into his ad blitz I seriously doubt anyone living here will get to hear about that. Nope, we have an outsider, with outside money, trying to buy a California Constitutional Amendment because our acceptance of diversity here in California violates the tenets of his Colorado church. So he’s going to stage an “off year” initiative vote and try to slip one over on the California people. And it just doesn’t seem fair, or honest.

The amendment to The California State Constitution that this Colorado outsider, Dr. James Dobson, has crafted is positively PUNITIVE in the way it strips away the rights and responsibilities of gay families from them! It is as though in his anger over having both of his legislative amendments soundly defeated in Sacramento, he needed to lash out at the LGBTQ population of California. It seems like he’s trying to show us, the people of California, that he does not care what we want as shown by the overwhelming support Assemblyman Mark Leno and the rest of our state representatives received that allowed them to defeat those bills in the first place! He's going to punish us for refusing to play his hateful game. So he has decided to do the next best thing to going behind the backs of the people of California; because in his arrogance he believes that most Californians will be too lazy to get out and vote down his hate based initiative! And the most terrible part is, he may be right, they may not vote, he may actually get away with buying an election here.

But wait, what about this? IF this California State Constitutional Amendment really does have the backing of a true majority of Californians, then why does Mr. Dobson have to have to have it voted on during an off year? Why NOT try having “gay marriage” for a couple of years? What would it hurt? After all, you can always come back later and declare them null and void, just like they did in San Francisco. So why not wait till 2008 and prove just how much the people of California really DO want it by holding off until then, when the most California citizens are going to be going to the polls? And would it not be an easier sell to the people of California if after two years of equal marriage he can point to hard, cold facts that back up his claim that allowing gays the opportunity to legally enter into civil marriage actually does damage to the marriages of heterosexuals? It sure would make more sense for him to do it that way instead of rushing right into filing to put an initiative on the ballot for next year!

So Dr. Dobson, if you really do have confidence that you know what the people, ALL the people of California want, then why sir are you rushing into this off-year election gambit? And if allowing homosexual couples the right to enter into civil marriage is such a terrible thing, then do you not think that by allowing Californians to live under the terrible conditions that you say will inevitably result from AB19 becoming law for 2 years that your point will not have been all the better made and you will have gained even MORE support for your cause? By rushing the people of California into this controversy without a period of contemplation and reflection it would seem, sir, that you have something to hide. Have you something to hide, Mr. Dobson? Is there a reason you do not wish for the people of California to be able to properly reflect on your idea? Do you have some reason to fear us having a period of 2 years of equal marriage before considering whether or not to ban it by constitutional amendment? Come to think about it, should we ban something outright that can do no actual harm without first giving it a fair trial? After all, Mr. Dobson, if you really ARE right, if you really do have nothing to fear, then why all the rush? Since it is the business of a state other than than your own we are talking about here, is it not prudent to use all deliberation in making such decisions and do nothing in haste lest ye do it in error? If you are an honorable man, you will wait. Are you that kind of an honorable man Mr. Dobson?

I'm just a handicapped housewife in a wheel chair Mr. Dobson. If I can figure all of this out, I'm sure my fellow California voters can as well. Why don't you wait and have your initiative vote in 2008 when the maximum number of California voters will be at the polls? Why the big rush? Is there something you're not telling us Mr. Dobson? Is there some particular reason you are rushing us into this vote on OUR state constitution? When all of this is over you'll be packing up your tent and going home. WE are the ones who will have to live with the results of this vote. So if there is something you don't want for us to have time to think about Mr. Dobson, you'd better come clean now. Because we're pretty quick on the uptake here in California Mr. Dobson, and it's not always all that easy to put one over on us.

So what do YOU think Mr. Leno? Do YOU think that Mr. Dobson, an outsider from Colorado, maybe doesn’t really know ALL of the people of California as well as he thinks he does? Do you think he's trying to put one over on us? Do you think you could convince the rest of people of our state to, well... not so much vote his amendments down, but rather put them on hold for 2 years until we’ve had a chance to see if equal marriage really is OK for us, or if there really is a good reason to ban it? For is it not a better idea to take our time and to actually try this great experiment? After all, there is no possibility of it doing any real harm to anyone. Do you think you can do that, sir? Do you think you can be the voice of your constituents in this matter and call for time to allow we Californians, without the interference of outside agitators, to consider carefully something as drastic as amending our state constitution to exclude an entire class of people? Of this I have little doubt. You have already proven yourself to be an able elected representative of the majority of the people of California in your district.

That's my opinion and you are welcome to it.

Julie Johnson aka “The Great Spoon“

NOTE: I Faxed this to Mr. Dobson @ Focus on the Family in Colorado prior to distributing it and snail-mailed copies as well. There is NO WAY he can say he didn’t see it. See attachment for the Fax receipt.