California - Few Californians are supporting a ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage. A new Field Poll has found Proposition 8 trailing among likely voters, with just 38 percent supporting the initiative. Susan Russell, a priest at the All Saints Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, says people may be surprised to know she opposes the ban on gay marriage.
"Polls are showing us that fair-minded Californians are not interested in taking rights away from their neighbors. A core value of all of us who are people of faith is to love your neighbor as yourself. You don't love your neighbor by taking away their right to marry."
The Reverend Russell says she believes in protecting the sanctity of marriage for all people and that her church has married hundreds of gay couples since the unions were first allowed on June 17th. In May, the California Supreme Court overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Proponents of Prop. 8 want to overturn that ruling by creating a constitutional amendment.
The Reverend Deborah Johnson with Inner Light Ministries in Santa Cruz says Prop. 8 would set a dangerous precedent by putting basic constitutional rights up for a popularity vote.
"What's next? Are Californians going to deny access to education for children of undocumented workers, or restrict where Muslims work or live? I do believe the resistance to putting rights up for a vote is is part of the reason why this proposition is not passing."
More information on the results of the poll can be found at http://www.field.com.
