June 9, 2009 5:45 AM

Standing up for equality...because it's the right thing to do

I believe the fact that an atheist, who doesn't believe in God at all, is allowed to enter into the holy land of marriage while a gay Christian is not, shows that this law is arbitrary. Are we to believe that anyone who doesn't live their life according to the King James Bible isn't protected by the same laws that protect those who do? Using the same argument that I've seen on the 700 Club, that would mean that Jewish, Hindu, or Muslim weddings are also null and void. I believe that to deny this right to the gay population is to say to them, "this god is not your god and he doesn't love you." There isn't one person who is against gay marriage that can give me a reason why it shouldn't be legal without bringing God or their religion into it. Still, I'm amazed at the audacity of a small, misdirected group of the ultra-conservative Christian right wing, to spend millions of dollars, in a recession, on advertisements to stop two men or women who love each other from being able to be married, but when you present any opposition to them, they accuse you of attacking their religion. Isn't it funny that the people who are the quickest to take someone's basic rights to happiness are always the loudest to scream when someone attacks their right to do so?

Those of you who have hung 'round my dark, cobwebby little corner of da Interweb for awhile understand that when it comes to homosexuality I'm profoundly ambivalent. You love who you love, hopefully you're happy and fulfilled by the experience...and whom in the Hell am I to be telling anyone whether that's wrong or right? It just seems basic; to each his (or her) own. In a free country, you are and should be free to choose how and who you love. I have friends and coworkers who are gay, but I don't think of them as my "gay friends" or "gay coworkers". They're just people who happen to be friends or coworkers. No qualifiers, no artificial separation, no diminishing their humanity simply because of who they happen to love. They're humans, in the same way that you and I are. Period. End of story.

While I have no great love for the concepts of homosexuality or same-sex marriage, my opinion shouldn't matter a damn- nor should that of anyone else. If two people love each other and a willing to commit to a stable, long-term relationship, how is that not in the interests of society? How do we lose when two people love one another? That no one seems to be able to answer that question without invoking their flavor of religious prejudice speaks volumes about the rampant ignorance and hatred involved on the part of those who feel it their perfect right to legislate those who think, act, believe, and/or love differently into a second-class existence.

Just as many Whites did during the Civil Rights struggle, those of us who aren't gay need to recognize that this is also a Civil Rights struggle. As long as one group is actively oppressed, NONE of us are truly free. Until ALL Americans enjoy the full range and scope of freedoms and responsibilities that accrue to "normal" Americans, NONE of us truly enjoy them.

Hatred is not a family value, no matter what so-called "Christians" might have you believe. The arguments against same-sex marriage is not really about marriage at all. At it's most basic, it's an argument over who gets to sit at the table. It's about one group of narrow, ignorant, hateful hypocrites feeling that their religious beliefs trump everything, including the rights of Gays and Lesbians to live and love in peace.

Despite what the haters will have you believe, this is not about "special rights" or a "homosexual agenda." It's about a minority class of people who simply want to be left alone to enjoy the same rights and benefits that accrue to heterosexuals. Those of us who enjoy the rights we have would do well to stand up and advocate on behalf of those who so many would gladly oppress. If won't stand up for Gays and Lesbians, who's going to stand up for us when the "Christians" come for us and our rights?

Just a thought....

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on June 9, 2009 5:45 AM.

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