As the best kind of California Republican, educated at the U, I'll take your word for how the Prop 8 issue transpired. I read a lot about it, I wasn't there, and I remain very uncomfortable with the backlash, having seen some of my neighbors in the online database of Prop 8 donors.
But I think there was discussion for how gay marriage would diminish regular marriage - admittedly not predictions of specific marriages that would dissolve, but how marriage was essentially the vehicle for society to protect and nurture the best model for procreation and child rearing. Here's a Catholic piece on why traditional marriage was justifiably a protected exception to a variety of other types of marriage, models that would inherently undermine the sanctity of the traditional model:
http://americamagazine.org/issue/487...e-sex-marriage
On your role of defender of "the Faith", we're loosely kindred. One of my friends from college who had tried out numerous churches and decided religion was BS has gone through a crisis of faith, or rather, non-faith. When you get past the half-century mark, have a health scare or two, lose siblings / friends... who *doesn't* start to crap bricks on the essential question of life?
I have my own faith, and sometimes "fellowship" doubters / atheists / agnostics on why it's not irrational to think there actually *could* be more to this thing than just what we know, regardless of what crazy experiences you've had with religion, and the religious. We just don't know / can't know everything, and I think there are reasons to be optimistic... beside optimism being better for you, in general.
I don't think my friend is ready to go door-to-door with my handful of thoughts - lol - but it was nice to see a bit of relief and some "hope" return to their eyes.