Kudos to Apple, Inc. for taking a stand for equality and helping to defeat a discriminatory California Proposition 8 on the ballot this election. Prop. 8 is simply unfair and wrong. It is discriminating against a group of people by taking rights away from them. Thus treating people as second class citizens. Proponents claim to be “defending” marriage, but how is it defending marriage if the Prop only serves to destroys certain types of marriage. It is all about fear and prejudice and should not be on a ballot. Equal rights should not be ballot issue. Equal rights should be inherent to all citizens.

As a long time Apple user and aficionado, I am proud that they joined a chorus of others such as Former President Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Senator Dianne Feinstien, Governor Arnold Schwarznegger, Magic Johnson, and many others including just about ever major newspaper in California in standing against this hateful proposition that would ban same-sex marriages which are already legal in California.

Apple made the announcement in a simple statement on their Hot News webpage released on the 24th of October 2008:

1. “Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.”
   

Meanwhile, it was during this same week that I learned of another entity that donated $1 million to this hateful campaign. The Knights of Columbus has contributed $1 million to the Prop 8 campaign and to that I say SHAME ON THEM! Why should I care so much about this organization, when other groups like the Mormons have done contributed so much as well (the Mormons by the way who have a history of “non traditional” marriages and should be the last group to attack marriage which Prop 8 hopes to do in California). I am singling out the Knights of Columbus because my late father and brother had been involved with a local chapter. My father who was a WWII veteran who had put his life on the line and in fact took a bullet for our country when we rose up to fight hatred and intolerance in that historic war. Now the same organization he had helped after returning home from the war has insulted what my father fought for by donating a total of $1.25 million to an unfair proposition that at it’s roots is about discrimination.

In fairness, the Knights of Columbus has done good deal of good in assisting those in need. When my brother became too ill to walk on his own and was using a scooter to get around, members of the local chapter came together to build a ramp for him to get in and out of the house. This is not a condemnation on those individuals or the local chapter that my father and brother were involved with, but rather of the national organization as a whole.