Okay, most people know I'm not a big fan of President Obama. However, one move he made recently actually surprised and impressed me. President Obama actually ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the "Defense of Marriage Act". This so-called Act defines marriage, for federal purposes, as one man and one woman. As such, I say this Act has no place in the Justice system.
Now, before everyone gets their knickers in a knot over what the Bible says, let me remind you: This country was founded on Freedom of Religion. This means, just because your religion doesn't agree with same-sex marriage doesn't mean everyone has to feel the same way. This is not now, nor has it ever been, a 'Christian Nation'. Yes, most of the founding fathers were Christian. They were also able to include, as the very first amendment to the new Constitution, these words: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. There is no legal reason why two men or two women can not be wed. It's a moral issue that was brought forth by certain religious elements, who lobbied for a bill specifying the definition of 'marriage' and 'spouse' to meet their own private agenda. This forces everyone in the country to follow the beliefs of certain religions, whether a member of that religion or not.
What I find interesting is that not too long ago, most religious people preferred homosexuals to stay with "their own kind" rather than mingle with the "straight crowd", particularly in the US but in other parts of the world as well. If two people of the same gender were living together, as long as they weren't open about their relationship, everyone could pretend they were just roommates and all was right with their view of the world. Nobody saw this as discrimination, except for those who were on the receiving end of it. These people were forced to hide their true feelings for no reason other than the narrow minded beliefs of their neighbors.
Granted, just because something is a moral issue doesn't necessarily exclude it from being a legal issue as well. Murder is a fine example. Most religions believe that you should not kill another human. I'm going to focus on Christianity because it's the religion I'm most familiar with, but don't assume this means I'm picking on Christians.... One of the Ten Commandments is "Thou shalt not kill." Simple, straight forward and completely religion based. However, killing someone also infringes on their right to live, which takes this from a religious based moral issue to a legal issue.
Some other examples of moral issues that became laws are child-related. Just 100 years ago, children as young as 5 were out on the street corners selling newspapers and anything else they could, or working in factories, or delivering telegrams, or doing any other manner of work they could to help the household. Then some people decided that children shouldn't be working and called for laws making it illegal for children under a certain age to hold a job. More recently in many parts of the US, children as young as 10 were getting married, and not always to other children their own age. Nobody really had an issue with it, except for some of the kids themselves who were married off to someone they didn't like. Sure, life expectancy was much shorter then, so 'middle age' was much younger. Still, it wasn't until certain people thought perhaps they should wait a bit longer, and called for laws making it illegal for children under a certain age to marry or even be deemed able to give consent. Moral issues, both, but thanks to special interests, they became law. **Disclaimer** I'm not calling for a repeal of these laws, nor do I condone sexual acts with minors. I'm merely giving examples. Granted, the way many kids act and dress these days, it appears they ARE looking for sex and/or marriage, but still please understand I'm not condoning it.
In sum, good people, there is no Constitutional reason why two people of the same gender can not be married. It's nothing more than certain religious beliefs and has no call being made law. Anyone that claims to believe in Equality for all must remember, Equality is not just for racial issues, but gender issues, religious issues, any issue where there is more than one point of view. Equality for all means everyone, not just the people you like.
