What does it mean to vote on Proposition 8?

PROPONENTS' ARGUMENTSProposition 8 is about preserving marriage; it s not an attack on the gay lifestyle. It takes away no rights or benefits of gay or lesbian domestic partnerships in California. It restores the definition of marriage to what the majority of California voters already approved and human history has understood marriage to be. It protects children from being taught in public schools that same-sex marriage is the same as traditional marriage. It protects marriage as an essential institution of society. While death, divorce, or other circumstances may prevent the ideal, the best situation for a child is to be raised by a married mother and father. OPPONENTS' ARGUMENTSThe California Constitution should guarantee the same freedoms and rights to everyone. No one group should be singled out for differential treatment. Marriage is the institution that conveys dignity and respect to the lifetime commitment of any couple. Proposition 8 would deny lesbian and gay couples that same dignity and respect. The freedom to marry is fundamental to our society, just like the freedoms of religion and speech. The government has no business telling people who can and cannot get married. Just like government has no business telling us what to read, watch on TV, or do in our private lives. Domestic partnerships are not marriage. Source: California Voter Information Guide (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)