Below is a special editorial from Mike Morrell.  Mr. Morrell is the President of Provident Home Loans, Inc. and is a member of the San Bernardino County Republican Party Central Committee.  Below is his piece on Prop 8, California's traditional marriage initiative: 

In the midst of California's budget woes and America's financial crisis, we have another battle we must win - defending the institution of traditional marriage between "man and wife."  And let us keep our priorities straight - as important as financial matters are, the health of the American family is even more important.  A moral people can recover from money problems - even serious ones.  But a nation that loses its moral compass is in danger of complete disintegration.

I'm not homophobic and I don't believe you are either.  Neither are we intolerant.  But we will be accused of both, simply because we support an institution celebrated for thousands of years in our Judeo-Christian culture, an institution that is one of God's greatest gifts to mankind.

As American citizens, and as husbands and fathers (and wives and mothers), let's not stand by idly while the family - the cornerstone of civil society - is systematically destroyed.  Today, let's review together some thoughts on marriage, and some facts related to Proposition 8, which, if passed, will overturn the California Supreme Court's unilateral decision to extend the benefits of marriage to same-sex couples.  And then let's spread the word to others.

The greatest minds of history defended the natural order of marriage.  Philosophers and theologians, including Plato, Augustine, and Aquinas, understood marriage to exist between a man and woman only.  From ancient times, peaceful societies viewed non-heterosexual unions as indecent perversions.  Nature produces higher life forms only through sexual reproduction - the interaction of male and female. The Biblical writers clearly stated that same-sex relationships are not only unnatural, but morally wrong.  In fact all three of the major monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - have historically taught that homosexuality violates the laws both of Nature and of Nature's God.

Let's for a moment leave the realm of religion and philosophy and turn instead to social science.  In his book Sex and Culture, J.D. Unwin chronicled the decline of eighty-six cultures.  Having embraced sexual hedonism and debauchery, not one of these societies survived intact beyond a single succeeding generation.  And this line of thought is not unique to Unwin.  The Greek historian Polybius (ca.200 B.C.) attributed the increase in homosexual activity to the ultimate collapse of the Roman Republic.  In the twentieth century, the Weimar Republic quickly fell into political and economic disarray in proportion to its rampant sexual immorality.  Clearly, the cycle of history has not changed.

On our own soil, could sexual preferences precipitate a breakdown of social structures?  Let's first look at some striking medical evidence.  Eighty-five percent of HIV and AIDS cases link directly to the homosexual lifestyle, as do hepatitis A,B, and C, colon, prostrate, and testicular cancer, and numerous other diseases and infections.

Today, lifetime treatment for one person infected with HIV costs approximately $195,000.  Forty thousand new cases each year will cost our healthcare system an additional 7.8 billion dollars per year.  If our society formally endorses the homosexual lifestyle, it's reasonable to expect a rise in the physical ailments associated with this lifestyle.  The healthcare system will be further overburdened.  Taxes and insurance premiums will rise. And the door will be opened to further absurdities like publicly financed sex changes operations.  You may think this latter is beyond the pale of possibility, but remember that only a few years back so was legalized gay marriage.

In addition, if Proposition 8 loses on November 4th, same-sex marriage will bring an unprecedented level of legal confusion.  Over 1,000 federal and state laws and policies pertaining to marriage will require review.  Adoption, domestic benefits, and even pension benefits will be affected.  Our military order will be undermined by charges of sexual discrimination when awarding promotions.  I expect that before long polygamists (or any other group of multiple men and women) will also possess the right to marry - if same-sex couples can marry, what is to stop other combinations?

As organizations large and small rewrite their policy handbooks, America will inevitably adopt a new national character, one likely to put limits on our freedom of speech.  Time and again, the gay community - in contrast to their professed love of tolerance - has demonstrated a willingness to persecute free expression that differs from them on the issue of human sexuality.  A classic example is the continuing attack on the Boy Scouts of America for refusing to sanction gay scout leaders.

Finally, let us consider the impact that marriage has on children.  Decades of scientific and government data are conclusive:  a child exhibits, overall, the best physical, cognitive and social outcomes when raised in a home where the mother and father are united in holy matrimony.  Such children are less likely to be victimized by physical abuse, less likely to face prison time as adults, less likely to be expelled from school, and less likely to become depressed or to suffer from developmental and behavioral problems.  Today we see all around us the damage done to children from the devaluation of the nuclear family.  What kind of new miseries will the latest attack on the family bring?

I want to end with a passage familiar to all of us, Genesis chapter 2, verse 24.  "For this cause, a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one."

Since the dawn of human history, this union between man and woman has been vital to any healthy, vibrant culture.   Therefore, with every resource and faculty in our power, we must vigorously defend the traditional institution of marriage - one man with one woman.  Let's spread the word to every single person we can hope to influence:  This November 4th, stand up and vote "YES" on Proposition 8.  Our own consciences will not bear timidity or silence.

Mike Morrell is a business man from Southern California.  He has been married to his wife, Joanie, for 31 years and together they have 3 children.  He is the President of Provident Home Loans, INC.  He serves on the San Bernardino County Republican Party Central Committee as an alternate for Sen. Bob Dutton.