Eduardo Verástegui And The Latinization, Catholization Of Proposition 8: He’s Speaking Out For You

It turns out noted gay-face parading thespian Eduardo Verástegui is not only an outspoken opponent of gaybortions, but the official Latino spokesperson for the Anti-Gaybortion Movement! He speaks for all of us! Whether reclining leisurely with a homosexual baby cheetah or not performing abortions with his many Oscar awards, Eduardo is speaking out for you, Guanababy:

Verástegui is the face - and voice - of Spanish-language commercials calling for “yes” votes in favor of a parental notification law for abortion and a ban on same-sex marriage.

His presence in the campaigns for Propositions 4 and 8 underscores the fight for a critical constituency that could decide either measure.

We Latinos love Props 4 and 8, right? ¡Somos locos por El Cuatro! Jajaja:

Latino, mostly Catholic, voters overwhelmingly favor Proposition 4. Their turnout is considered key to whether the parental notification initiative passes after two previous ballot failures.

On gay marriage, Latino voters are split. They may well prove to be a critical swing vote on Proposition 8.

“Yes on 8″ campaign is spending one million dollars on targeting Spanish-speaking Latinos who are gay for the pope:

Frank Shubert, manager of the Yes on 8 campaign, said “we have tremendous involvement from the Catholic Church” in pushing the message that gay marriage is wrong and that “children need a mother and a father.”

But other influential Latinos, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and leaders of the United Farm Workers union, are spreading the word that Proposition 8 is anti-civil rights.

Others, however, are hard at work campaigning against voting yes on Proposition 8:

Yvette Martinez, political director of the No on 8 campaign, said bilingual phone bank volunteers are appealing to Latinos to be supportive of their family members, regardless of sexual orientation.

“Familia es familia - family is family,” Martinez said. “We don’t treat anyone differently in our families, gay or straight.”

We think the focus on family and togetherness is a good one in combatting the notion that being gay somehow works to tear families apart, like a giant, fat, throbbing bat hurled repeatedly against a poor little piñata. We also have to wonder to what extent Eduardo Verástegui’s reinforces stereotypes about Latinos: Do non-Latinos behind the campaign look at him and think, “Yes, he’ll appeal to them because they are anti-choice and anti-gay. It’s just against their humble, conservative, family-oriented, ol’ fashioned values.” Not that we don’t love our families after seven Christmas coquitos, but we just tend to cringe at the idea that we’re being lumped together and simplified by people who might not understand us or our beliefs at all beyond a piece of paper labeled “Market Research” that’s passed around at meetings.

We wonder how the baby cheetah is voting, though. Hm.

Prop. 4, 8 campaigns battle fiercely for crucial Latino vote [Sacramento Bee]