Trying to overturn Prop. 8 at Moorpark College

The group Love, Honor, Cherish came to the Moorpark Gay Straight Alliance to appeal for assistance in collecting signatures to repeal Proposition 8.

The Moorpark College GSA were hosted by Michael Perl and Bahman Ghahremandi of the pro-gay marriage Love, Honor, Cherish. They are campaigning to get the issue onto the 2010 ballot.

Ghahremandi believed that the time is now to take a course of action.

“We can’t wait for the right time, we must make the right time,” said Ghahremandi.

On Nov. 4, 2008 California voters voted to make gay marriage illegal. This came after a California Supreme Court ruling legalized it on June 17 of that year. Since then, many groups like Love, Honor, Cherish, have campaigned to repeal the ruling.

The issue of education is an issue Love, Honor, Cherish is campaigning for. They believe that the more educated people are on the issue of gay marriage, the less likely they are to support a ban on gay marriage. They mention the recent result in Maine where voters overturned gay marriage on Nov. 3, 2009.

“The Education issue is alive…people (anti-gay marriage groups) in Maine admit their commercials were misleading,” said Perl.

Ghahremandi later said, “(in a battle of) facts versus emotions, emotion wins.”

Perl and Ghahremandi are looking for volunteers to collect signatures and get the proposal on the ballot for 2010; they require approximately 1 million signatures or 5% of the number of voters from the previous gubernatorial election to get it on the 2010 midterm election ballot.

Club President Jared Markowitz, 19, a Computer Science major, said if they are permitted, the club will set up places where people can sign in favor of getting the proposal on the ballot.
“We’ll probably have tables where people get signatures,” he said.

The meeting was meant to raise awareness of the issue of repealing Prop 8, to help people get in touch with others who are trying to legalize gay marriage and acquire the assistance of those who could contribute to the repealing of Prop 8.

“[I] Think it’s good to raise awareness of what’s happening,” said Tyler Hayden, 18, an undeclared major.