(Thanks to David Flanders for this one)
The Portland Trail Blazers are in support of the Freedom to Marry and Religious Protection ballot initiative. We do so as believers in individual choice as a fundamental right of all people.
Last week the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers became the first American professional basketball team to take a stance in favor of same-sex marriage. Activists here in Oregon are collecting signatures to place a measure on the November 2014 ballot that would, if passed, overturn the Beaver State’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. It’s something that, IMHO, is long overdue. While loathe to support the idea of voting on what should be considered a human right, I’m embarrassed that my home state has discrimination enshrined in its constitution.
As laudable as the Blazers’ announcement was, it should be pointed out that they’re not the first American professional sports franchise to come out in support of same-sex marriage. They’re not even the first team in Portland to do so. That honor would fall to a team threatening to knock the Blazers from their long-held perch as the most popular (for a long time they were the ONLY) team in town. I’m talking about the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer and Portland Thorns FC of the National Women’s Soccer League, both owned by Merritt Paulson, who’s decided that supporting same-sex marriage is the right thing to do.
I don’t write a lot about my hometown, though I love it in ways I can’t begin to adequately describe. Portland has been described (not unfairly or inaccurately) as quirky, a place where woolly-headed Liberals espouse a tolerant, tree-hugging, live-and-let-live philosophy. Given the demographic nature of Oregon, it’s no surprise the Portland has taken a leadership role in the fight to legalize same-sex marriage. Because the majority of the state’s population lives in the Portland metropolitan area, as goes Portland so generally goes the rest of the state (which can be fairly described as West Idaho). Win the Willamette Valley (the area from Eugene in the south to Portland in the north), and odds are good that you’ll carry the state. If you were to fashion a map color-coded to indicate the areas of the state that support same-sex marriage, you’d undoubtedly find that the blue Willamette Valley is surrounded by the vast red majority of Oregon’s land area that doesn’t.
Their will be a ballot measure asking Oregonians to remove the ban on same-sex marriage from our state’s constitution; it’s just a matter of getting the signatures. There’s growing momentum for expanding the definition of marriage, both locally and nationwide. The State of Oregon has already decided that even though same-sex marriage may not yet be legal, state government will recognize same-sex marriage consummated in other states. It’s a step in the right direction, but we’re not all the way there.
People are coming to see that it’s wrong to legislatively sanction love in some forms but not in others. The heart wants what it wants, we love who we love, and it should be no one’s concern save for the people directly involved in a relationship. There’s nothing wrong with not believing in same-sex marriage; it’s still a free country, and there’s a very simple solution available to you. Don’t marry someone of the same gender. No one among us should have the right and the ability to determine what relationships should be legally recognized and sanctioned.
A couple months ago, I wrote a short speech for a friend who was supposed to give a toast at the wedding of two friends in Washington State (where same-sex marriage is legal). I think this is a good place to share part of the speech (I’ve changed the names to protect the privacy of those involved) that I think sums up where we as a society should be heading:
We’re gathered here today to recognize and celebrate the love and commitment that Gretchen and Lisa share. Unfortunately, Gretchen’s family has chosen not to share in this celebration. That’s sad and disappointing, but the good news is that her friends, in-laws, and I have become her family. “Family” comes in many forms, and sometimes the closest families aren’t biological. Sometimes the closest families are the ones forged in adversity and challenge and share bonds that transcend blood and a family tree.
A very wise man once said that it’s not important who, how, or why you love; it’s only important that you love. If there’s one thing we can never have too much of, especially in a world where so many live in fear of what they either can’t or refuse to understand, it’s love. And the beautiful thing about love is that there’s no one definition that can be used to explain it. It can be something different to anyone and everyone with an open mind and an open heart.
Those gathered here today understand that love isn’t something that can be fit into a one-size-fits-all box. It’s not about gay, lesbian, straight, or any other label. It’s about finding that person who fills a hole in your life as your fill one in theirs. It’s about finding someone that you want to spend the rest of you life with. It’s about doing the things that most people take as their due- building a life, buying a house, maybe even starting a family. More than anything, it’s about finding someone with whom you can be who you truly are- without fear, reservation, or hesitation.
We’re here today because we understand that love doesn’t have boundaries or rules. Its not about laws, or morals, or religious doctrine. It’s not about judging. It’s not about praying the gay away or living up to the rules and expectations of others. It’s about blazing our own trail and creating a life that has meaning and value in a way that’s unique to each and every one of us. We understand that love, when your heart is open to it, can help create amazing things in our lives. We love, and we’re better, more complete, and happier people for it. That’s what love is about, and that’s what makes this day so special.
My hope and my prayer for Gretchen and Lisa is that the good days will outnumber the bad and that their lives will be richer because of the love they have for each other.
May your time together be long, rich, and fulfilling, and may your days be filled with happiness and joy. You deserve nothing less.
In the end, we all want to live and love in a way that makes our lives richer and more meaningful…and what, really, is so wrong with that? Happiness and love don’t come in one-size-fits-all packaging. We should all have the right to live and love as we choose, and the rights, responsibilities, and benefits that accrue to a legally-sanctioned marriage should be open and available to all. Not all marriages are or should be about procreation. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have the legal right to marry, since I long ago decided to have my children vicariously.
The statements made by the Trail Blazers and the Timbers and Thorns are a step in the right direction. Society is changing, and these team have taken a stand recognizing and supporting those changes. Just as with women’s suffrage, interracial marriage, and the Civil Rights movement, eventually the haters lose. The same will (and is beginning to) happen with same-sex marriage. I’m proud to live in a place that’s playing a role in changing social and cultural mores, and with it laws.
One more reason I don’t miss Texas, eh?
