Hi All,
I have heard enough complaints about people being made about me placing
something so personal on a "consumer site"... Well there is a connection.

Just visit:
http://afa.net/
They list companies to attack and boycott for their support of the GLBT
community...
Is that really worse than someone complainting about their hair hurting?
Please... I think I might have brought a topic up that might make sense
for people to think about... Not the same, I hate this company because I
didn't get my way...
I am all for PFB, but too often politics harm consumers too.
Just my 2 cents. I am not here to offend or "take up bandwidth". I think
PFB is safe from crashing or becoming homo-friendly...

But I am not reading any of this guys stuff--he seems fanatical to me-- and
that turns me off faster than anything.

I just didn't know who.

But I was pretty confident that it wasn't a HUGE number of people who could
help him "get out the vote" so to speak.

As rxgirl said, I'm also in Virginia. This happens to be an issue of mine
(and not because I'm gay), but... had I no seen my name, I would have
given up reading.

I agree with whoever first commented. This is not a useful place for this.
And the letters are not written in a way that I find will either rally
those that agree or sway those that disagree.

Just my opinion.

Not fanatical, passionate.
Why, because if someone was trying to say you can't own a home with someone
you love (or even another person) would you not be a bit upset? If you
read the letters and took a minute to understand what I have been through
you might just feel a bit passionate too!
This is the type of voter that I worry about, this is the type that is so
one sided they won't look at how this amendment could and will impact other
people's lives in VA. They say, "it won't affect me" so they run to the
polls and vote in support of it...
It is amazing how people think today. It doesn't seem fair that a majority
should be able to vote on something that only really impacts a minority.
For this very reason...
We are talking about a person's liberty to own property and make legal
arrangements about life decisions. Not about if you think same sex folks
should marry, but the ones that wrote the bill would think that is all it
is about... It is really sad! It just makes my blood boil! Makes ya feel
helpless...

People say Love is Blind... I say Religion is...

Following any religion so blindly and placing it before the very freedoms
that allow that religion to exist is DANGEROUS. If you doubt it's
happening, look at history around the world. Look at Iraq, look at the
crusades. Now look at the evangelical uprising here in the US. It is of
things to come... We must stop judging each other and remember what
America is all about... FREEDOM & LIBERTY.

VA BALLOT QUESTION NUMBER 1 November 2006

Shall Article I, the Bill of Rights, of the Constitution of Virginia be
amended to state "That only a union between one man and one woman may be a
marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political
subdivisions"

"This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or
recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that
intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of
marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create
or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is
assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of
marriage."?


Dear Family, Friends, Associates and Neighbors:

I send this message to you as a plea. Above is the full text of the
amendment that you, as a registered voter, will be voting on this November.
This is a plea because this amendment will deeply affect my life in a
profound way. Please note the section that is bolded and underlined in
red above. It states that no agreement or even contract, such as a will or
beneficiary will be valid between any two individuals, other than those
that are legally married. This impacts contacts with people that have
jointly purchased homes, listed others as beneficiaries, will agreements,
joint bank accounts and many other legal agreements that you might take for
granted.

This entire subject is very personal and private to me. I would never
discuss something of this nature with anyone other than my partner, for
those that know me, you already know even writing this email is extremely
uncomfortable for me. While I might agree and respect the sanctity of
marriage, I do not agree with the wording of this amendment. It restricts
me from legally securing my personal and financial affairs in my life.
This is extremely humiliating to me. I have confirmed with three different
law firms and even spoke with a retired judge to confirm the implication of
this amendment to all unmarried individuals. This amendment simply goes
too far.

I sincerely ask you to vote against this amendment in November. Virginia
already has at least 2 different laws in place that protect marriage. This
amendment not only goes too far, but it is simply unnecessary.

As your relative, friend, associate and neighbor. I respectfully ask you
to vote against this amendment in November. Please vote "NO" and encourage
your friends and family members to also vote "NO". I rarely ask anyone for
anything, this time my plea is very important.

Honorable Elected Official:

I am writing you today because of this cultural war that seems to have
broken out regarding the marriage amendment. I have taken the time to
speak with both extreme sides on the matter and the results are always the
same and surprisingly consistent.

The deeply religious people always want, "to protect the sanctity of
marriage and define it as a union between one man and one woman"; which is
fine from a religious point of view. However if you look at and speak with
homosexual people they say, "They want the same rights and protections as a
married couple."

Both of these arguments are valid in the Liberties outlined in the
Constitution, specifically the preamble. Where the opposition comes in is
when the argument becomes one-sided. When you have the deeply religious
pushing for an amendment and the homosexuals pushing for equal marriage
rights you cause this cultural war. This is understandable if you take a
moment to understand both sides of this situation.

The answer is simple. While passing this legislature to define marriage,
also attach or push through legislature to protect the rights of
homosexuals. If you don't want to call it a Religious Marriage and a Civil
Marriage, you could just call one Marriage, and the other a Civil Union.
The catch is, when it comes to legality the word marriage is already on all
legal documents between two people, if you change the wording to Civil
Union, all the documents have to change to accommodate the new status.

This is a topic that many people take sides on. I think if we all tried to
understand each other and tried harder to meet in the middle agreements
could be made to protect both. However, this could not be done separately.
These laws need to pass together as one amendment, and need to be reviewed
by both parties to ensure the wording isn't so loose that you could drive a
bus through the loop holes. This is the same issue facing Virginia's
amendment.

I ask everyone that reads this letter to put down the stones, take a deep
breath, understand the deeply religious aren't going away, and the
homosexuals are only growing in numbers. It is time to find a peaceful
solution that makes everyone happy. Please remember that "respect does not
require approval." We live in the United States of America; we must all
start being American's first and everything else second. We need to treat
everyone with respect and dignity despite if we agree or disagree with what
they are asking for; as long as it does no harm to anyone else then there
is no reason not to accommodate their liberties and equal rights under the
law.

In memory of Coretta Scott King, please remember "justice is indivisible",
not long ago she spoke on this issue and was very plain spoken about it;
please work toward a solution that represents everyone, not just the
majority in this case. Remember, what the homosexual people want doesn't
hurt anyone; if it did, then pass all the laws you want to, but what they
want is respect and liberty like every other American.

Dear Elected Official:

I found an amazing statement recently I wanted to share with you.

To be a person of faith is to have the world challenge that faith. Was the
universe designed by God? Should marriage only be between one man and one
woman? That's up to everyone in this country to decide for themselves,
because the Framers of our Constitution believed that if the people were to
be sovereign and belong to different religions at the same time, then our
official religion would have to be no religion at all. It was a bold
experiment then--as it is now. It wasn't meant to make us comfortable. It
was meant to make us FREE.

This statement expresses the very fabric of what it is to be an American.
It is our most essential imperative that protects all of us in the first
amendment. I fear our country has lost sight of this. So many seem bent
on protecting the sanctity of marriage.

This entire controversy contrasts our freedoms in this country. I simply
ask that each and every person remember the freedoms our framers worked so
hard to protect and cherish. In the times of modern conveniences and fast
food we have forgotten these most basic imperatives and are writing things
into our constitutions that would make the Framers of our Constitutions
faint.

We all need to be very careful and much less reckless in regards to our
Constitutions and most sacred documents.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the government for a redress of grievances.
It seems that all the different states are attempting to sanctify marriage
by using the state constitutions. This goes against the first amendment.
It amazes me that our leadership is getting away with this (probably
because they are mostly Christian...) raising an entirely new issue, but
still the same dangerous lack of regard and respect for these documents.
It's time to draw the line again...

I would simply like to ask you to think before you act so quickly.

"To be a person of faith is to have the world challenge that faith. Was
the universe designed by God? Should marriage only be between one man and
one woman? That's up to everyone in this country to decide for themselves,
because the Framers of our Constitution believed that if the people were to
be sovereign and belong to different religions at the same time, then our
official religion would have to be no religion at all. It was a bold
experiment then--as it is now. It wasn't meant to make us comfortable. It
was meant to make us FREE.'