California has always been made fun of as a "progressive" state with nothing but hippies and liberals. Today's decision is a huge step back for California, in my opinion. Writing this post, I'm almost in tears because I cannot imagine a place I call home telling me I can't marry the person I love. I'm going to try not to write this out of emotion, but if I do, please forgive.
I have always said EVERYONE has the right to be happy, no matter who or what makes them so. Just because it's different than what we're used too, or what we believe, doesn't make it wrong. Love is never wrong. In times like these with so much violence and a war going on, I would think this would send a huge message of tolerance, saying to the world "Hey, we accept ALL people and they are ALL equal". Just because someone is gay doesn't mean they're some sort of subhuman alien a la boogeyman who's going to eat children alive. They're just PEOPLE, like you and I, who were just told by a government they PAY TAXES too that they can't get married because they're different than what convention calls for.
I know there are some who will probably quote the Bible when I say this: but I don't believe gay people are an abomination. I've been raised to believe that God doesn't make mistakes and He has a grand plan for all of us. He designed us for exactly who we are supposed to be. If this is true, then wouldn't God have made gay people the way they are? I believe God loves all people, no matter who they are. If someone who has raped or murdered can be accepted by God, why should gay people be any different? I don't believe God made a mistake in creating someone who is gay. It's just one more trait to make someone unique and somewhat different than the rest of us. A few decades ago, it was thought an abomination for interracial couples to marry and have children. If that's true, then one family member in particular would be considered an abomination, but he's not. He's a bright, beautiful human being that I love dearly. Just because he's different, doesn't mean he's destined for a firey pit headed up by the Devil.
There are some things people know about me, and others that some don't. But when I've needed support, my family and those whom I love have always been there for me. They have shown me that compassion goes a lot farther than prejudice and hate. Life is too short to tell anyone that just because they exist in a different spectrum than you do means you're right and they're wrong. This may make me a hippie, but there's too much hate passed around. We need to spread the love.
Also, to Katie and Lori: Jake and I will always be here for you no matter what. We're so proud of you and hope to spend more time with you in the near future.
11 comments:
This decision has brought me to tears also. There's just no reason for this kind of blind hate. More than though, is the fact that we don't live in a theocracy, we live in a democracy and people should not be able to manipulate our constitution for use in discrimination. *sigh*
hubris is a sin too, so you'd do well to step off your judgemental soapbox.
P.S. Marriage is a government issued legal document. You get married wherever, by a priest or pastor in a church if you want, but it's not valid without the state issued piece of paper, signed, witnessed and registered. You're delusional if you think anything else.
Megan - sooooo, I don't believe in god. Yours or anyone elses. Does that mean that my marriage isn't a marriage at all? Is it a civil union? Because my government tells me it's a marraige...and that's really all we're fighting for...for the government to recognize MY marriage and the marriage of my best friend as the same thing - a covenant NOT between some god we don't believe exists, but between us and our life partners. Your religious argument doesn't apply to MY marriage, and I'm half of a heterosexual couple...why would you think it should apply to thousands of other couples in the world?
commenting to receive any follow up comments...
Post Part One:
I knew that I would recieve a verbal thrashing when I decided to comment to this post...so no surprise.
I don't agree with certain veiws and opinions, but I don't intentionally bash people bacause of them. You may be thinking that my post was nothing but bashing, however I must disagree.
@ Caliet: To say that I'm being prideful, arrogant, judgemental, and delusional just blows my mind. I can understand that you may not like or agree with my theology/opinion, but I did not feel as though I was being any of the above mentioned. I did not say anything negative about gay PEOPLE, only that the ACT of being homosexual as being a sexual sin. I don't think there is any reason for name calling here, so you can get off YOUR judgemental soapbox now.
If I wasn't clear before, then let me try again. We are all EQUAL...equally sinners! ALL have sin in our lives, wheather it is sexual in nature or not, wheather you believe it or not. I am a sinner, not perfect in many, many, MANY ways and never have claimed to be perfect!
One chapter of my life contained sexual sin, but I have repented and turned from that life...so I am most definately not being judgemental of the person, only pointing to the sin. I suppose if you do not see it as sin, then you would believe I'm judging the person. If this is the case, then please refer back to the part of my previous comment that speaks to truth.
Hmm...not sure if I should go here, but I feel it relates to the issue. I believe homosexuality is a choice and people are not born that way. Please see an article written recently (May 2009) with current research findings made by the APA (American Psychological Association) regaurding this very topic. The APA is a non Christian organization, so it is not biased on Christian views. Just in case you don't believe in God. If anything it is just the opposite...trying to debunk Christian thinking. Here is a link to said article:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=528376
With that read...if homosexuality is a CHOICE, then what about equall "rights" for people who choose to be a child molester, murderer, rapist, ect? Are they born that way? I think NOT. They chose to act that way. I chose to act in sexual sin myself, so I'm not being judgemental. However, if people are chosing to live the way they want, then they have to bear the consequences of those choices...as do I. How does this relate to marriage? Bear with me as I try to explain.
Post Part Two:
I have been homeschooling (through the public Charter School) my 8th grader this year...in doing so I have had to learn/teach about the start of our nation in History...this is the SAME curicculum taught in public schools, not some Christian biased curriculum. With that said...Our forefathers were Christians. Our laws are based on Christian beliefs...ahem, the Ten Commandments, ect. (needless to say that the argument of seperation between church and state is ridiculous...the creation of our nation was built on and around the fundamental Christian beliefs...and BTW the constitution does NOT say anything about seperating church and state, but once again people belive what they want and not what's true.) So, if our great nation was built on these fundamental truths, then marriage (while being a govenrment sactioned covenant) is based/defined as a union between a man and a woman...as created by God. I know people want to seperate the two, but they are entwined together. Marriage (and the majority of our fundamental laws that basically state that murder is wrong, lying is wrong, stealing is wrong, sexual sin in it's many forms is wrong, ect.)in this country is based on these beliefs.
Yes. Our great nation is also one of freedom. YOU ARE FREE to live as a homosexual in this nation...if that is what you choose to do. However, I do not believe they have the "right" to re-define marriage...and I'm not the only one!
This will be my last comment to this post. If I have not been able to effectively state my theology/opinion on the matter, then I don't think another post will be of any value at this point.
Once again, I have not intentionally tried to "bash" or "judge" anyone. If you are offended by my post, then that is your issue and there is nothing I can do about that...cause I will not change my position in order to please those who dissagree.
To Katie and Lori: If you are reading...I hope we can agree to disagree? You two are beautiful women whom I enjoy being around!
Megan,
Marriage was not created by God. People were joining in unions long before they were letting their lives be ruled by higher powers. People were engaging in the act of marriage when they were still worshiping multiple gods. Marriage, therefore, was not created by your god, but by people who date our history much farther back than your bible does.
That said, in today's society marriage is just a document. You PAY for it. It's not free and it's not issued by a church, so I have a hard time with people claiming it's such a religious thing. You can make it religious if you want by holding a ceremony in a church and having a pastor-but the truth of the matter is that it is not a marriage unless you pay for the document and return it to the government agency.
If a church chooses not to recognize certain marriages, it's within its rights. However, a government is not a religious entity. This government is separate from the churches in an effort to allow religious freedom to those who want it, not to allow the church to parade in and out of government at will-which is what this proposition was doing.
I don't care what you think is a sin and what you think isn't, what I care about is the fact that non-Christians have rights as much as Christians do. Within a church, I believe you should have ever right to establish what you do and do not accept, but within a government we either need to uphold separation of church and state, or get rid of it. And mind you, if we get rid of it then it means that the government has the right to tax churches and tell you what you can and can't do inside your church.
And believe me, I'm not trying to bash you, I just think you're not respecting the government. I mean, it was created to protect people. Our constitution was created to grant rights and protect us. It was not created as a soapbox for the beliefs of one group of people.
Megan, I was just rereading your earlier post and I have to comment on your words about the country being founded on Christian beliefs. While that may be true, it's true because that was pretty much the only belief at the time. There were very few Jews in the New World, and that's to say there were even less of anything else.
Today we live in a place where multiple religions are dominant, not just one. We need to respect them all by taking an unbiased approach. Putting Christian beliefs in the lives of every single person in CA just because they are not the majority is not respect, it's discrimination and you know it.
Also, separation of church and state DOES exist. It may not be in the constitution, but it's a real thing created to protect churches. It is the reason your church has tax-exempt status. It's the reason ministers go through training based on what their church requires instead of what the STATE requires. It's what separates a church from the Environmental Protection Agency. If there were no separation of church and state, your church would be no different than any other governmental body like the EPA or NRA.
Megan,
I respect your right to say what you believe, but I can't let certain things go without some sort of comment. Homosexuality is not a choice. Believe me . . . I fought who I was for 10 years and did everything I could to deny myself. I am not a weak person and I probably could have spent the rest of my life living as a heterosexual but I would have been miserable and loveless. It was only by finally accepting myself as a lesbian and embracing the gifts that I was given by God that I was able to live my full life. See I believe being gay is a gift from God. I was made this way by God for a reason. Maybe to stand as a witness to those who want to say they love the sinner, but hate the sin. Because in this case, the two are the same. I am a homosexual... to say that God would prefer me to live without love and to deny myself to live a life of deceit does not make sense. You cannot equate homosexuality with murder, rape and theft and not offend gay people. I am sorry, but what I do in the privacy of my bedroom does not kill anyone, take anything from anyone or hurt anyone. So you can believe what you like, but I know that being gay is not a choice.
Now, as a lawyer, I cannot let you say that separation of church and state is not in the Constitution. The First Amendment specifically says that the government will not establish a religion or interfere with the free exercise of religion. Therefore, the state cannot promote a certain religious belief and force it upon the people and it cannot prevent or prohibit people's practice of religion -- that is separation of church and state. Marriage is a civil right and has been for quite some time. Marriage did not become part of the church until the middle ages and even then it was not a covenant of love but one of property. I do not expect and am not asking the Pope to grant me the sacrament of marriage, but I can and am demanding that my government treat me the same as all others when it grants privileges and rights based a government doled out status. Not everyone in this country is a fundamentalist Christian and the First Amendment protects the rest of the population from having the government adopt and force upon them fundamentalist Christian principles in the form of laws. Oh and Lori would like to add that the Ten Commandments are from the Old Testament and a part of Judaism long before they became part of Christianity. And Jesus was a Jew and not everyone believes he is the messiah.
Therefore, by mixing the religious definition of some people into the civil institution of marriage, the principles underlying separation of church and state have been weakened. But time is on our side and in a few years this debate will be over and equality will win out and the world will not come to an end.
I could go on about the rule of the Courts to enforce the Constitution and protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority or how Lori and I have a marriage that is a covenant of love blessed by God. But all this would be too much for this post.
So I respect your right to believe what you believe, but please understand, I know what I know and do not believe your statements are based on fact. We each have right to believe what we do -- the First Amendment protects each of us.
All I can say, THANK GOD FOR KATIE.
"BTW the constitution does NOT say anything about seperating church and state, but once again people belive what they want and not what's true.)"
I'm sure glad you had all your facts correct. Aren't you a great example of what you just said-people will believe what they want and not what's true. Thanks for proving my point (that dogmatic people are useless) and yours at the same time.
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