A CONSERVATIVE AGAINST PROP. 8!

By the Rev. Michael C. Boblett

Editor’s Note: Proposition 8 seeks to overturn the legality of same-sex
marriages in California.

I
believe that Proposition 8 is a perfect example of an important fault line
dividing the conservative movement in America today.  On one side of this
line are people like me, fiscal conservatives who prefer a government
that does not seek to legislate private morality.  On the other side are
those who seek, whether they admit this or not, to turn this republic into
a theocracy. 

Though I am less than satisfied with the judicial activism that initiated  this
crisis, I am even less happy with the mixture of bullying self-righteousness
and outright dishonesty that has characterized the Yes on Eight campaign.  Instead,
I pray that we may return to a truly traditional American way of doing things:  1)
Leave sexual morality to the various faiths and 2) allow a genuinely level
playing field for those whose ways of life differ from our own. 

This approach has served us well for centuries.  The only necessary adjustment
has been to occasionally widen the circle of those allowed to compete without
unnecessary barriers.  This is the true free market.  And this is
true conservatism.  

Rev. Michael C. Boblett, D. Min.  is a retired UU Minister living
in San Carlos.