Marriage
Election Day was a day of mixed feelings for me and many of my friends. It brought news that Barack Obama would replace G W Bush. And while George the II's rule is over, Obama brings with him the hope for a government that respects people.
But also came news of the passage of Prop 8 in California along with other anti-gay legislation in other states. The proponents claim the people have spoken. But typically recognizing people's rights is not something the majority has done very well.
No majority voted on the Emancipation Proclamation. No majority voted to end segregation. No majority ended interracial marriage laws. The majority does a poor job of recognizing the rights of minorities. No majority decides what a religion is. No majority decided Britany Spears could marry.
And yet people think it's perfectly ok to vote on gay rights.
They couch it in terms of defining marriage, protecting traditional marriage. But most see it for what it really is, denial of recognition of the families gay people create. A denial of gay rights.
Now I'm confident that people will eventually do what is right, though it will probably take the passing of this generation.
But it is painful to hear what the anti-gay people say. They belittle marriage saying it is purely for procreation. They bring children out as shields to their words. They blantantly lie, use deceitful words and twist facts. They manipulate people through fear.
I will probably hear about Biblical marriage (by people who might want to really do their research first) and how God created Adam and Eve. To those that think that way, I hope they overcome their fear some day. In the meantime we gays will live within the whim of the majority.
But this I do know. No law or amendment is stopping gays from marrying in the eyes of God, their friends and their families. Much as people want to make this about religion, it's about law.
All because it is more important for some people to be right than to do right.
But also came news of the passage of Prop 8 in California along with other anti-gay legislation in other states. The proponents claim the people have spoken. But typically recognizing people's rights is not something the majority has done very well.
No majority voted on the Emancipation Proclamation. No majority voted to end segregation. No majority ended interracial marriage laws. The majority does a poor job of recognizing the rights of minorities. No majority decides what a religion is. No majority decided Britany Spears could marry.
And yet people think it's perfectly ok to vote on gay rights.
They couch it in terms of defining marriage, protecting traditional marriage. But most see it for what it really is, denial of recognition of the families gay people create. A denial of gay rights.
Now I'm confident that people will eventually do what is right, though it will probably take the passing of this generation.
But it is painful to hear what the anti-gay people say. They belittle marriage saying it is purely for procreation. They bring children out as shields to their words. They blantantly lie, use deceitful words and twist facts. They manipulate people through fear.
I will probably hear about Biblical marriage (by people who might want to really do their research first) and how God created Adam and Eve. To those that think that way, I hope they overcome their fear some day. In the meantime we gays will live within the whim of the majority.
But this I do know. No law or amendment is stopping gays from marrying in the eyes of God, their friends and their families. Much as people want to make this about religion, it's about law.
All because it is more important for some people to be right than to do right.
posted by Scott | 12:08 PM
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