When does the will of the people count?

I can't stay silent on this anymore...

In the past week, I've received a lot of email from friends outraged over the passage of Prop 102 / 8 / 2 (depending on which state they live in).

Many of these same people claimed Obama's election was the will of the people, and conservatives just need to accept this and move on.. While I disagree he was the better candidate, he got the most votes, and they're right -- it's time to move on. End of story.

But not so with Prop 8....

No, despite the fact that this is the second time California voters have spoken on the issue, supporters of gay marriage are literally taking to the streets and protesting.

Some are targeting Mormons, threatening to boycott Utah, and there was even an Anthrax threat last week in a church mailroom. I'm not a Mormon, but their church has as much of a right to defend marriage as the GLBT groups have the right to try and change laws in their favor.

What is unnaceptable is the hate and intimidation they're resorting to.

There's now video on YouTube of gay activists tearing a cross out of a Christian woman's hands, throwing it to the ground, and stomping on it.

Is this how we react when the vote goes counter to our view?...

Can you imagine if the tables were turned and it were churches doing the protesting?

Let's assume there's a third vote on gay marriage in California. Statewide, more than 70% of blacks and Hispanics voted for 8. Given how those demographics have voted in other states, it's unlikely they're going to be swayed by the media (which is heavily biased) or activists. If anything, being second guessed on their vote might just polarize them even more than they already are...

More interestingly, if you look at the states who have enacted constitutional amendments, combined they have 290 electoral college votes.

That's enough to win the Presidency.

To be clear, I voted for the marriage amendment. It's not that I hate gays. I don't. I just don't agree the amendment is a referendum on gays as much as it was a referendum on secularism.

I believe in scripture and marriage is a faith based institution first and foremost. Trying to turn it into a secular institution doesn't sit well with me any more than it does for Christmas to be redefined as The December Holidays.

Thus, I'm not likely to be swayed.

What will the GLBT groups do if they are succesful in pushing for a repeal vote, and it fails a third time?

At some point, you'd think that it ends when the votes are tallied.

And it should.

If the GLBT groups truly feel disenfranchised, then they need to focus on fixing the remaining laws which deny civil unions and domestic partnerships the same rights as those in faith-recognized marriage. With the exception of a few ultra-conservative churches, many Christians are ok with civil unions being on the same level as marriage. They just don't want marriage to be diluted or secularized.

Nobody likes defeat, but there are going to be winners and losers when ballots are cast. Its time to recognize that voters have spoken regarding gay marriage, and consistently at that, to the point that it is a mandate.

Why I Support The Death Penalty Redux...

Last April, a 17 year old Kurdish woman was stoned by hundreds of men in her home village in Mosul, Iraq. Camera phones captured the event, and even the local police seen to be participating side by side with her uncle, cousin, and even her brother...

The crime? Falling in love with an outsider... an Arab Muslim.

According to the United Nations, around 5,000 women are murdered each year to "restore their family's honor"... Typically, these occur in non-Western cultures when a woman's behavior is seen as casting shame on the entire family.

It probably doesn't surprise anyone that this stuff happens in places like India, Syria, or Pakistan.

I wrote back in July about a woman in the U.K. who was murdered by her uncle.

This week, honor killings came to the U.S., and five people are now dead in two separate incidents...

In Chicago, an India-born Hindu set fire to the apartment that his daughter lived in, and 36 apartments in the building were destroyed. Not only did he murder his daughter, but also his son-in-law, three year old grandson, and his unborn grandchild, as the daughter was pregnant. Her crime? Marrying "below her caste" without permission....

In Dallas, an Egyptian-born Muslim allegedly murdered his 16 and 17 year old daughters in the back seat of a taxi he was driving, and then abandoned the cab in the parking lot of a hotel. Their crimes? Who knows... The father was allegedly distressed over their dating habits, and is still at large...

I find a little comfort in knowing that if the Dallas father is caught alive, he will be sent to Huntsville. While Allah may forgive him for restoring his family's honor, the State of Texas won't be as nice. He'll die strapped to a gurney. Makes me proud to have been a non-native born Texan...

Fortunately, here in the desert, we still execute criminals for capital crimes. There was only one execution in 2007 (compared to 26 in Texas...), the first in seven years. Time will tell if there will be any in 2008.

Unfortunately, while the Chicago father is eligible for the death penalty under Illinois law, he probably won't face the same. Thanks to former Governor Ryan, there's been a moratorium since 2000 on executions. In 2003, the Governor commuted all 176 death sentences for death row inmates, reducing their sentences to life. His successor, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has refused to lift the moratorium, but has not commuted any of the 11 death sentences issued since 2003.

I'd like to see Blagojevich or Ryan face the family of the murdered woman and justify their actions...

Passport Agency Targets Child Support Scofflaws

I'm not a huge fan of how the passport agency is handling things of late, but have to admit that this is something I'm in support of.

New passport rules force scofflaws to pay back child support

By Kevin Freking, Associated Press  |  August 15, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The price of a passport: $311,491 in back child support payments for a US businessman now living in China; $46,000 for a musician seeking to perform overseas, and $45,849 for a man planning a Dominican Republic vacation.

The new passport requirements that have complicated travel this summer also have uncovered untold numbers of child support scofflaws and forced them to pay millions.

The State Department denies passports to noncustodial parents who owe more than $2,500 in child support. Once the parents make good on their debts, they can reapply for passports.

Now that millions of additional travelers need passports to fly back from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and South America, collections under the Passport Denial Program are on pace to about double this year, federal officials said.

States have reported collecting at least $22.5 million through the program thus far in 2007. The money is then forwarded to the parent to whom it is owed.

Some people never learn.

A boxer paid $39,000 in back child support to the state of Nevada last year to get a passport, which he lost. This year, his promoter had to loan him $8,930 so he could pay off his new child support debts and get a new passport to fight overseas.

One man got his parents to pay his overdue child support -- $50,498 to the state of Illinois.

"For us, it's been amazing to see how people who owe back child support seem to be able to come up with good chunks of money when it involves needing their passport," said Adolfo Capestany, spokesman for the state of Washington's Division of Child Support. "Folks will do anything to get that passport, so it is a good collection tool."

The $22.5 million reported to have been collected through the program this year is a conservative estimate. Some states voluntarily report the payments to the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, but other states don't. 

Why a parent wouldn't be paying support to their own kids is something I just don't get....