"Separate but Equal" is never equal

So Prop 8 was passed, gay marriage was banned, again. And I know most of my friends who read this blog are against banning gay marriage, so I'm kinda preaching to the choir, but I can't help it. I have got to get this out.

In a country where everyone is supposed to be treated equally, banning gay marriage is wrong. And here's my two biggest reasons why:

First, the legal stuff. A lot of people want to protect marriage by banning gay marriage. Not sure if I get this, but ok. They say it would open us up to polygamy and other alternate marriage forms. Wow, very reactionary, but I'll accept it as a legitimate view. They say gays should be happy with their domestic partnership, since that's just the same. Really...

News flash people. Its not the same. Its absolutely, 100% not the same. And I'm not talking about the name, or the feeling of segregation it engenders (though that's pretty valid in and of itself.) I'm talking about rights. Like the right to visit your spouse in the hospital. Or the right to be a guardian to your spouses' child from a former relationship. Or the right to be included in your spouses' final wishes should the worst happen. Or about a hundred other rights married people take for granted. None of these rights are recognized nationally for a domestic partnership (or civil union.) In fact, a domestic partnership itself isn't recognized nationally, its state to state.

Now, I'm married in California. But if I moved to Oregon, I'd still be married. Not so for a gay couple, even if they move to another state with domestic partnerships. Which also means that a domestic partnership isn't allowed to take the marriage tax credit on their income taxes. They get a somewhat similar credit, though it is less overall.

Sure, a gay couple can get almost all the rights of a straight couple by seeing a lawyer and having papers drawn up (wills, powers of attorney, legal guardianships, etc) but they have to spend thousands of dollars to do that, while I, as a hetrosexual, can get them for a measley $100 with a marriage certificate.

So I said I had two major reasons, and here's the second. Banning gay marriage is about the belief that gay marriage is wrong. That is goes against nature, or it goes against God, or that its a choice, or whatever it is. Its a BELIEF. Not only is it a belief, but its a belief that many, many people do not agree with.

So tell me this: At what point did we become a country where the beliefs of a majority could be used to force restrictions on the minority who believes differently. When did become ok? Cause if I remember correctly, that goes against our Declaration of Independence ("All men are created equal" anybody?) and the Constitution, particularly the 14th Amemendment (Requires states to provide EQUAL protection under the law to ALL persons under their jurisdiction.)

If I go by what I learned in Civil History, Prop 8, whether I believe in it or not, is unconstitutional, and should not have been passed. Heck, it shouldn't even have been on the ballot. Cause a domestic partnership is certainly not equal protection (see above.)

So, WTF California?!!?!