The Price of Prop 8 heritage.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heritage.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A significant body of evidence suggests that sexual orientationnondiscrimination laws like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act(ENDA) can function as important incremental steps toward same-sexmarriage. This evidence, which shows how effective a step-by-stepstrategy can be for redefining marriage, provides substantial causefor individuals who support marriage as the union of husband andwife to be concerned about local, state, and federalnondiscrimination laws like ENDA.
Supporters of Proposition 8 in California have been subjected toharassment, intimidation, vandalism, racial scapegoating,blacklisting, loss of employment, economic hardships, angryprotests, violence, at least one death threat, and grossexpressions of anti-religious bigotry. Arguments for same-sexmarriage are based fundamentally on the idea that limiting marriageto the union of husband and wife is a form of bigotry, irrationalprejudice, and even hatred against homosexual persons. As thisideology seeps into the culture more generally, individuals andinstitutions that support marriage as the union of husband and wiferisk paying a price for that belief in many legal, social,economic, and cultural contexts.
A significant body of evidence suggests that sexual orientationnondiscrimination laws like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act(ENDA) can function as important incremental steps toward same-sexmarriage. This evidence, which shows how effective a step-by-stepstrategy can be for redefining marriage, provides substantial causefor individuals who support marriage as the union of husband andwife to be concerned about local, state, and federalnondiscrimination laws like ENDA.
Judicial decisions redefining marriage to include same-sex unions state that limiting marriage to men and women is a form of unacceptable dis-crimination against homosexuals. Individuals andinstitutions that believe marriage is a relationship between aman and a woman could lose access to government benefits andbecome subject to costly lawsuits under nondiscrimination laws thatprotect sexual orientation, gender, and marital status.