Marriage.... what's the big deal?

The Supreme Court of the United States is hearing testimony today on two cases that ban same-sex marriage. One is Proposition 8 from California that makes same-sex marriage illegal. The second is the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which claims that marriage is supposed to be nothing but one man and one woman.

The problem with these two items is that they are highly discriminatory. In this era of supposed equal rights for all, we are still a long way from actually having equal rights. There are far too many people still judging, still discriminating, still hating others based on the most trivial of reasons. By trivial, I mean they have no good reason for their bias.

I have asked many times for any non-Biblical reason why same-sex marriage should not be allowed. I have to date heard one. That argument is that the dictionary states marriage is one man and one woman. Unfortunately, the dictionary was written initially in a time when marriage was just that: one man and one woman. Of course, arranged marriages were common, as were forced marriages, but that’s irrelevant. Definitions for many things have changed over years of usage. The definition of marriage should be updated to be more inclusive rather than staying in the Middle Ages.

Many people are against same-sex marriage because they believe it is wrong, according to the Bible. Let me say, before I counter this argument, that what you believe is up to you, no matter how hateful it is. You’re entitled to believe it to be true, just as I am entitled to believe it to be false. That being said, the argument using the Bible is extremely biased.

Yes, there are passages in the Bible which can be used to make the argument that homosexuality is wrong. There are also passages in the Bible that say women are supposed to be subservient to men, that Saturday is the correct day for worship, and that eating pigs is wrong. I don’t see these passages being touted. Sadly, many who use the Bible as their sole basis for being discriminatory are unfamiliar with the entire Bible. They pick and choose what they want to follow, discarding the rest. They then wear their beliefs as a badge of honor, thrusting it in the face of any who dare disagree with them.

I know many churches will not permit a wedding to be held in that location if one or both of the people getting married is not of that religion or even a member of that particular church. This is fine. Discriminatory, yes, but it is up to those in charge of that particular church to make such decisions. This does not make marriage the sole institution of that church, however, or any church. Marriage is not a religious institution, no matter how badly some want it to be.

As I said, you have the right to believe what you want. I support that fully, no matter how wrong your beliefs may be. That does not give you the right, however, to force others to follow your beliefs. There is no justifiable reason for any law in the United States to be made forbidding same-sex marriage. Religion has been used as a battering ram for racial segregation, for sexual orientation segregation, for any type of discrimination that those wielding it wanted. That doesn’t make it right.

Imagine, for a moment, if someone decided that pork should be banned, because the Bible says we should not eat pork. There goes the Easter ham, there goes the bacon, there goes pork chops. Would you follow that law? What if a law were created based on a religion other than yours, forcing women to wear their hair a certain way, or certain clothing? Would you follow that law? Probably not, because it would be against your beliefs. Yet you expect others to follow your laws because you believe them to be right? How arrogant are you?

You have the right to not agree with same-sex marriage, or same-sex couples. Absolutely. You do not have the right to tell them they are wrong, or cannot marry. You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to participate in it. You don’t have to agree with it. But you do not have the right or the authority to ban others from liking, participating, or agreeing with it. To believe you do have that right, that power, is arrogant, ignorant, and certainly not based on anything a loving God would do, no matter what religion has been attached to Him.

Equal Rights? How gay....

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.