Is this really California?

Techincally this is from awhile back obviously. But I'm shutting down another account and wanted to keep this. I await the day where I can remove this because it will be part of the past and not current history...
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I am sitting here listening to the news that even though not all the votes have been tallied, Prop 8 may very well pass.
Last night, I was elated to hear that Barack Obama will be our new president. I believe that the American people are looking for someone to make big and positive changes for our country.
Now my heart hurts and I am crying because so many people in California, a state I always viewed as forward thinking and supportive of civil rights for all, have actually voted to pass a proposition that would ban gays from being allowed to marry. When did people forget to separate church and state?
I have gay friends and family members. So many of them have a wonderful partner whom they own a house with and share a life with. They plan on spending the rest of their lives together. And yet, if one of them was in the hospital, the other would not be allowed to stay there for their partner because they're not family or the spouse.
If one passed away, the other would not be guaranteed to inherit the home they shared or any other property if a family member came along and decided they wanted the property of the deceased instead.
Denying gay men and women the right to marry is the same as a few decades ago when it was against the law for two people of different races to marry.
I would have been one of those people told I could not marry my husband. Sounds completely absurd yes? The idea that I wouldn't be allowed to marry Jason is beyond upsetting and baffling to me. Could you look me in the eye and tell me that it's not right to marry my husband?
I know it still exists in certain states to this day. A friend told me a story last night of how they had friends in the midwest who had to go to the next state to get married since the wife is asian and the husband is white and they could not find someone in their own state to marry them. This was only 4 years ago.
And for the people who are crying out that this is a threat to traditional marriage? They claim that passing prop 8 will protect their children. If that is what you are really concerned about, let's talk about the sky high divorce rate and the children stuck in these situations they did not ask to be a part of. Let's talk about the straight people who don't respect marriage and take the right for granted, who have 4 divorces under their belt because they dive into one marriage after another and then get divorced because things just didn't work out or they had an affair.
There's the concern that gays getting married will ruin the 'fabric of our society'. Explain how a gay couple who have worked hard at their day jobs, come home to have dinner together and watch some "House" and "Heroes" episodes on Tivo with their dog at their feet will ruin anything for anyone around them.
And for those who claim that schools are required to teach about marriage in schools is a load of crap. The teachers are obviously encouraged to talk about marriage positively if it comes up. Would you prefer they say, "No, you don't have to be faithful to your spouse if you don't want to." or "Yes, marriage is not as magical as it sounds. Trust me."
I wonder if it has occurred to these scared parents that one day one of their children may come out to them. What then? Do they tell their own child, "Yes, I voted that you, my child, would never be allowed to marry because I fear that you will bring chaos to our existence and ruin everything we hold sacred."

If you are one of the people who voted "Yes" you've helped us take a huge step back in people's rights. I can only hope that one day you will understand that your beliefs, regardless of what they are, should have nothing to do with a decision that allows equality for everyone.