First off, I actually think Prop 8 is kind of silly. It seems like all we are fighting about is one word, "marriage". If Prop 8 does not pass, then civil unions between same-sex couples will be deemed a marriage. So we're wasting all this money on a single word to be applied to same sex civil unions? Yea...there are many other more important causes we could spend money on...like helping 3rd world countries, or improving the environment.
Moving on, of course being an LDS Democrat, I'm kinda torn on the whole same-sex thing anyway. On one hand, being LDS, I obviously don't agree with the homosexual lifestyle. But on a different level, I feel they deserve the same rights, status and privileges heterosexual couples get. I'm absolutely in love with the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights and it's shameful how we often forget about these important, fundamental documents our country was founded upon. If it hadn't been for these papers, our country would not be what it is today. Specifically a passage from the Declaration of Independence states-
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
So who are we to say, "No you cannot have a civil union because you are of the same sex."? I've gotten ahold of a few reasons our society would be doomed if Prop 8 does not pass. And I present them below.
1. Children in school will have to be taught that same-sex marriage is just as good as traditional marriage.
-There has been talk that parents are not allowed to pull their kids out of school if there is material being taught they would rather their children not hear. I think that children should know that there are same-sex couples out there. I am also living proof that you can support same-sex marriage and still support the church. I feel in my conscience that is the right position for me, and I will teach my children tolerance for all lifestyles even if my religious beliefs don't necessarily agree. And who says you can't pull your kids out of school? If it means that much, school districts will usually allow you to enroll your child in another district, or you could enroll them in a private school or even home school them. This is similar to the whole issue about teaching evolution in school, or stopping the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance because it talks about God. Plus, whatever happened to the PTA? Or to School Board meetings where parents could go and voice their opinions about various things?
2. Religions that sponsor private schools with married student housing may be required to provide same-sex couple housing, even if counter to church doctrine.
-This is absolutely not a valid issue. A PRIVATELY funded school has the right to do whatever they see fit, without pressure from the government. That's the whole point that it's PRIVATE! It's not in any part, owned by the government. It's like saying the government is going to force you to allow someone in your PRIVATE home. They can do that if they want to compensate you (see Amendment 3 of the Bill of Rights), but otherwise it's a private matter. There is a PUBLIC college (the name escapes me right now) that is considered a Jewish school. It is not private however, so in that case, then yes this school would eventually have to allow same-sex couples housing (which actually might just be allowing same-sex couples to live in the married housing). That's the point though, they cannot discriminate because they are partially funded by the government, and the government has a say.
3. It will cost you money. This change will bring about a cascade of lawsuits. (e.g. photographers cannot refuse to take pictures of gay couples, doctors cannot refuse to artificially inseminate gays, even given other willing doctors)
-So isn't one of our whole ideals is that we cannot discriminate against anyone regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender? Isn't that Fair Employment Act thing at the bottom of every job application you fill out? So as I am a photographer, if I refuse to take photographs of a gay couple, aren't I discriminating against them? So basically they have the right to sue me. Yes I have the right to refuse, but they also have to right to react to my decision. As much as some might say it isn't about not tolerating same-sex couples, this reason seems to me all about intolerance of the same-sex lifestyle. We have a choice but we also have to deal with any consequences. That's free agency.
4. Ministers who preach against same-sex marriage may be sued for hate speech and risk government fines.
-This is a potential issue. But because of our beloved Bill of Rights, the First and one of the most important Amendments is freedom of speech. Now it has been stated that the First Amendment may not necessarily apply to "hate speech". But in conjunction with Amendment 2, Freedom of Religion, this could protect ministers from lawsuits. In addition, you can call being gay a religion as well. And I could be in error saying this next sentence because I seem to have a fault with always wanting to see the good in people, but I don't think that the "gays" are out to get us "straight" people. Yes there are going to be a select few who might want to sue over every reason, but they just want the same rights and status as heterosexual couples. Some fear that homosexuals will try to force their lifestyle on the world, but this is absolutely not the case. All the gay people I've known have never tried to force their lifestyle on me, and sometimes even joke about it themselves. They are sometimes even more tolerant than us "heteros".
There are a few more reasons in this list, but right now it's 12:30am and I'm too tired to type more. Maybe in the next few days I will address the rest. This whole situation seems very familiar to me...hmmmm where have I seen this before? Could it be from the 1970's when Blacks were fighting for Civil Rights? Could we go through all these reasons and substitute "blacks" for "gays"? Could all these have been issues back then? Has the passing of Civil Rights for ALL people regardless of race ruined our country? The answer to all questions is "yes" except for the last one which of course is "no". I honestly don't see any difference between what is happening now, as opposed to what happened during the Civil Rights movement. Yes there were some bumps along the road of integration, but it's all pretty smooth now. There will always be opposition in the things we do, because that's the beauty of our country. We have the blessing of being able to think whatever we want and being able to worship however we want. As LDS members, "We claim the privilege of worshipping the Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow ALL men to the same privilege, let them worship how where or what they may."
2 comments:
Some Evangelical Clergy are urging people to vote NO on propsition 8. Perhaps that accounts for the fact that the NO side is gaining ground.
Also, shouldn't Christians be more concerned about the Parental Notification initiative? I think Christians have been bamboozled by out-of-state interests.
hey, thanks for this. i like that you wrote out different arguments for prop 8 and debunked them.
i completely agree with you that with prop 8 passing, we literally can substitute 'gays' for blacks', a lot of people have picked up on this. http://cartoonbox.slate.com/hottopic/?image=2&topicid=57
in a way, gay people have become a second class citizen. that we're even fighting about this abstract concept and denying people the benefits of it is just ridiculous. real equality is still aways away, especially if we can't declare it by law.
-iris
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