A Christian Ought to Vote Against Prop 8

I'll summarize next round. For now, I'll refute the claims my opponent has made. Thanks for the response! Items which I will go over this round: A2 My arguments are illogical we sacrifice our doctrine to witness to gays in my case no logical Biblical evidence clarifications A2 Voting against Prop 8 supports homosexual acts Proposition 8 text & California Problems with my opponent's case Opposition to Prop 8 makes it easier for gays to sin. Jesus would not support homosexual behavior Conclusion, (pseudo) underview I'll discuss these in order and give a brief summar of the debate so far at the end. Let's get started!1. My Arguments are Illogical Many of the logical fallacies my opponent lists are misunderstandings of what I stated or inaccurate interpretations of what I conclude. 1a. We sacrifice our doctrine to witness to gaysThis is false. To back this claim, my opponent gives the following chain of logic that I supposedly use: Homosexuality is a sin A vote against Prop 8 would support the recognition of domestic partnerships We should not sacrifice our doctrine to witness to others We should support homosexual behavior to witness to others The problems arise in 2 and, as a result, 4. I do not recall saying that Proposition 8 would recognize domestic partnerships, and if I did, this is false. Wisckol in the Orange County Register explains:When the Supreme Court overturned Prop. 22 last year and ruled that gay marriage was legal, it noted nine minor differences between marriage and domestic partnershipThis is implying that domestic partnerships were legal in California anyway (which they were) and the defeat of Prop 8 would merely keep the status quo: domestic partnerships would be the de facto as they were when the ballot measure began. Domestic partnerships are NOT marriage, and, as the article pointed out, somewhat dissimilar in social stigma - thus, the problems my opponent puts forward with gay marriages probably wouldn't hold in a domestic partnership well. † Either way, the Proposition should have been voted against by Christians for another simple reason: tactically, they should have known it would fail, as the Supreme Court of California had ruled a similar measure (Proposition 22 of the year 2000) unconstitutional as well. It is failing today, with two federal judges and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a stay on the decision (which means it really hasn't done anything, as it isn't taking effect).As a result, 4 fails: with or without domestics partnerships, and with or without gay marriage, LGBT people would still acquire girlfriends or boyfriends at a presumably negligible increase or decrease. No matter what happens, people will come to God if they choose: no laws can change that or make that easier. A large study by the Family Research Council found that several gay men have over 500 partners in their lives - I'd contend that it'd be harder to give that up than a monogamous relationship! ††The basic point is this: whether Proposition 8 passed or not would not change significantly the conversion rates of gays. Gay marriage is no obstacle for Jesus. 1b. There's not logical Biblical evidence given by my caseThe basis of my case is Jesus' Great Commission (shortly before his ascension) that states we need to save as many souls as possible. That's Matthew 28: 19-20. Since voting against Prop 8 would have no effect on that amount of gays, the actions of gays, the lifestyles of gays, or the conversion rates of gays, it follows that the most logical thing to do would be to vote against Prop 8 - maintaining the gay sex is a sin, but showing the LGBT population that even though homosexual acts are a sin, we're not a hostile mob of gay haters and are willing to work with them: we won't try to convert you via the state. 1c. Brief clarifications.When I said "this is absolutely true" that was poor sentence structure on my part. I was not agreeing to your conclusion, but to this: "Well this might be true" which I quoted as the first few words of a block of text. I do not agree with the rest of the statement - I refute it in the following sentences.2. Voting Against Prop 8 Support Homosexual Acts.I've more or less dealt with this above. Negligible effect on gay lifestyles, and the church can maintain that homosexuality is a sin while giving a softer face. 2a. (Relevant) Text of Proposition 8"Section 2. Article I. Section 7.5 is added to the California Constitution. to read: Sec. 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California" This ballot measure does not say "gay sex shall be illegal" - we're not talking about a Lawrence v Texas case here. It does not affect any gay lust at all. It doesn't even legalize gay marriage. Christians voting against this can still retain that homosexuality is a sin, while, like I've stated before, giving off a slightly more open face to LGBT people. Do you honestly think that anyone would consider a vote against Prop 8 by a conservative church as a sign that they've reversed hundreds of years of their respective doctrine? The church would tell the public why they voted (so as not to seem hostile to LGBT people) and move on. They'd look all the better.3. My Opponent's CaseGoing down the list.3a. Voting No on Prop 8 Makes it Easier for Gays to SinI've already dealt with this extensively. See the section 1a and corresponding evidence † & ††. 3b. Jesus Wouldn't Support Homosexual BehaviorI agree. But remember, this isn't about whether to support gay sex, but Proposition 8, which, as I displayed above, is not connected to the number of gays that there are, etc. Voting against it would save souls, period - and open the doors for new Christians, which Jesus would be for. I believe I've fairly dealt with my opponent's case in the prior rounds and I've reiterated most of my points against it defending my own.3c. So What do we Have Here?Let's go down the chain Jesus commands us to save souls (Matt. 28 19-20) Homosexuality is a sin (all over the Bible) Voting against Prop 8 would not increase gay-related sins at all, or legalize gay marriage, so it wouldn't support a sin at all. (see 1a, 2a, and 3b) (supporting sources: Round 4 † and ††) Voting against Prop 8 allows the church to appeal to LGBT people without sacrificing doctrine in any way. (1 a, 2a) (Supporting sources Round 2 † and ††) Thus, it is logical to vote against Prop 8 as a Christian. Clearly, my logic stands, and I deserve a Pro ballot. Thanks for reading! SOURCES.† Wisckol, Martin. "Gays Would Lose Few Legal Rights with Marriage Ban." Orange County Register. 4 Feb. 2009. Web. †† A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), pp. 308, 309; See also A. P. Bell, M. S. Weinberg, and S. K. Hammersmith, Sexual Preference (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981)