Facebook and Twitter are exploding this week with both sides of the "Marriage Equality" debate.
I'm a bystander on both. I don't post a whole lot, I almost never tweet. But I do have my blog. That's where I usually put my thoughts. Probably because no chance I could keep it to 140 characters.
Here's the way I see it, you can agree or not...but it's my blog, so I write what I want.
One of the biggest oppositions I hear about gay marriage...no really the only opposition I hear...are religiously based. But I don't think this is a religious matter.
I am not religious. I believe in some form of God. I believe there's more than this life. I believe in a soul. I pray. But I am not religious. I really can't remember the last time I went to church. I can't make myself believe and follow all that is said in a church, because to me it comes down to just a few simple rules that I try and live my life by and try to instill in my children...
-Treat others the way you want to be treated.
-Love is better than hate.
-When possible, do no harm.
-Stand up for what's right, even if it's not easy.
These really are the fundamental values of religion...but then somewhere along the line you throw in guilt and absolutes and demands...and I'm sorry, I just can't get behind all that. I struggle with the fact that I don't go to church, that I'm not exposing my children to church...but then I come back to my own values and I think I'm doing alright. And if you want, you can judge me for it. I'm sure lots of people do.
So the religious veiw point on marriage doesn't really speak to me. But I guess my point is, that this is a political matter. A matter of civil liberties...not a religious matter.
If you believe that homosexuality is wrong. Okay. I don't agree with you, but I can respect your viewpoint. I know homosexual people, and they're not evil. No more evil than any heterosexual people I know. Are they sinners? Sure, but so am I. Are they sinners because of who they love? I personally don't think so.
If your church believes it's wrong and won't marry them. Okay. Again, I don't agree and I won't be attending your church, but I can respect a church's right to deny marriage or any kind of religious ceremony to someone that has a lifestyle they don't agree with. That's part of what religious freedom means.
But the government? The government is not a church. They don't get to pass judgement. Their job is to protect us, protect our rights. And I do believe that we all, every American, should have the same rights. If I have the right to get married to the person I choose, so does my gay neighbor.
And you know what? I don't even think we should vote on it. Our votes should be about things that influence our lives. Guess what, if my gay neighbor marries his gay boyfriend? It doesn't really affect my life. So why do I get a say? No one ever voted on if I was allowed to get married. Why do I get to vote on someone elses decision to do so?
There is a line in the Declaration of Independence. A line you've heard. A line in the document that declared us our own nation. That declared that we would no longer be at the will of the British empire. Yet, that line gets overlooked so often, and really it sums up what we should be about. What all of us, as Americans, should support...no matter what our church preaches, or what our Bible reads.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."
All men. Gay, straight, bi, transgender, white, black, blond, green eyes, whatever. We're all equal, we all get the same rights...or we should...in the eyes of the government.
