Yesterday’s New York Times contained a piece on the fierce battle over California’s Proposition 8, a referendum that would ban same-sex marriages in the state–a process which began with a California Supreme Court decision in May. The conservative base is riled up, led by familiar evangelical stars such as Tony Perkins and ex-Watergate felons such as Charles Colson. And on the other side, gay-rights activists are hoping to keep the Proposition from passing and overriding the Court.

The vigor with which the conservative base, especially evangelical Christians, is able to fight on this issue amazes and confuses me. I understand that they might take offense to an initiative which, say, outlawed churches that didn’t endorse Democratic presidential candidates. That they work themselves up so much over a policy which doesn’t effect their lives in the slightest is what is so remarkable. The key to understanding this reaction is their sense that this upcoming vote will be “Armageddon,” according to Colson. Tough stuff. What does Armageddon look like, according to opponents of Prop 8?

In television advertisements, rallies, highway billboards, sermons and phone banks, supporters of Proposition 8 are warning that if it does not pass, churches that refuse to marry same-sex couples will be sued and lose their tax-exempt status. Ministers will be jailed if they preach against homosexuality. Parents will have no right to prevent their children from being taught in school about same-sex marriage.

Some of those items sound scarier than others, granted. I come from Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage has been legal for four and a half years. When I interned at the Massachusetts State House this past summer, much of my time was spent reviewing the progress of bills. Not one that I found attempted to make preaching against homosexuality a felony, nor have I heard of a religious institution be brought to court because it would not perform a same-sex union. That is to say, of course, that nothing the religious right fears bears any precedent or is even remotely desired by gay-rights activists. Perhaps that’s because the people mobilized by this issue can’t point to a single, concrete negative consequence of same-sex marriage; they must resort to fear-mongering instead. Here’s to hoping that California voters don’t fall for it.

Tags: Proposition 8, same-sex marriage

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