The NO H8 campaign website:
www.noh8campaign.com/
No H8 SL - a flickr group dedicated to SL avatar pictures for the campaign
www.flickr.com/groups/noh8onsl/
Avatars against abuse, bullying and harrassment - a flickr group dedicated to anti-bullying, violence, harrassment and abuse messages. Exclusion/discrimination can lead to all of these things, thus the link. www.flickr.com/groups/avatarsagainstabuse/
Second Lifers! Teleport to Ryker Beck's store to get your tape and NO H8 face text for free (thanks Ryker!). Note: as per the RL campaign, many of the SL pictures are taken against a white background while wearing a white shirt.
About the campaign
On November 4th, 2008 Proposition 8 passed, amending the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
In the wake of the defeat, there has been a groundswell of initiative from within the community at grassroots level. Seizing this opportunity, new political and protest organizations are forming almost daily. The NOH8 Campaign is a photo project & silent protest created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska and partner Jeff Parshley in direct reponse to the passage of Proposition 8.
The campaign started with portraits of everyday Californians who support Marriage Equality and soon rose to celebrities, military personnel, brothers & sisters, law enforcement, lesbian mothers, directors, politicians, newlyweds, and more, Photos feature subjects with duct tape over their mouths symbolizing their voices not being heard and NOH8 painted on one cheek in protest.
My personal view
I have a number of gay friends and family members - some that have kids and are fabulous parents and I love them to bits and without apology.
Some people have stated that their issue is with the use of the word marriage, (rather than the demonstration of commitment itself), based on the belief the church own the concept. It seems that the exact origin of marriage may not be known.
What we do know is that marriage is a legal recognition of a partnership that defines certain roles and responsibilities for each partner within that context.
It appears some believe the origins of marriage may come from the concept of a business transaction that merges two families or the dowry concept rather than from a religious point of view. Most churches will not perform a same-sex ceremony as it is against their religious beliefs and in many cases are not asked to - many same-sex marriages involve civil services rather than religious ones.
I have tried to understand why people have such an issue with same-sex relationships/marriages and just haven't been able to work it out. I have issues with bullying, violence, abuse, war, etc but no issue at all with people demonstrating their love and commitment for one another.
I don't know where the origin of marriage comes from, nor to I care. I'm happy to stand up and support anyone who wants to demonstrate their love for one another with or without an official document.
