All I'm going to say about the Gay Marriage Issue
On this coming Tuesday, the Washington State Supreme Court will decide the constitutionality of the state law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Right off, I'll say that I don't believe in a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage. First, I think it really is a states rights issue. Second, the few CA's that limit the rights of the people have been utter failures. Take Prohibition for example.
At the state level, however, the issue does need to be dissected a bit.
There are three prevailing views of marriage. Those opposed to gay marriage view marriage as a religious issue. Marriage is a sacred pact with God, blessed by God, made in faith to spend the rest of your life committed to another person. It mirrors the life long commitment to God. Religious documents say that God considers homosexuality a sin; therefore the blessing of God could never occur in a marriage of two men or two women.
Most heterosexual supporters of gay marriage view marriage as a legal construct. This view has only really been able to take shape since the "separation of church and state." Based on the privileges provided to married couples in our society, there is no wonder that supporters consider marriage a vehicle of the state. The privileges can provide hope of a better life. Since marriage is a legal and state supported institution, it should not be denied to any citizen.
The third view is that held by homosexual couples themselves. Love, love, love. They breathe, they bleed, they love. They love as strongly and passionately as any man or woman can. The fact that they find someone they choose to commit their life to is as difficult for homosexuals as it is for heterosexuals. If gays love as straights love, they should be able to profess that love to the world in the same way.
We can all talk until we're blue in the face. "Just don't call it marriage," I hear on talk radio. "Hateful, bigoted, ignorant, right-wing conservatives," I read in the paper. A rose by any other name, I say. Can't we all just get along, I say.
"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."
Jesus gives us an answer, whether or not anyone wants to hear it, "and now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."
We can find an answer...to make everyone happy.
Right off, I'll say that I don't believe in a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage. First, I think it really is a states rights issue. Second, the few CA's that limit the rights of the people have been utter failures. Take Prohibition for example.
At the state level, however, the issue does need to be dissected a bit.
There are three prevailing views of marriage. Those opposed to gay marriage view marriage as a religious issue. Marriage is a sacred pact with God, blessed by God, made in faith to spend the rest of your life committed to another person. It mirrors the life long commitment to God. Religious documents say that God considers homosexuality a sin; therefore the blessing of God could never occur in a marriage of two men or two women.
Most heterosexual supporters of gay marriage view marriage as a legal construct. This view has only really been able to take shape since the "separation of church and state." Based on the privileges provided to married couples in our society, there is no wonder that supporters consider marriage a vehicle of the state. The privileges can provide hope of a better life. Since marriage is a legal and state supported institution, it should not be denied to any citizen.
The third view is that held by homosexual couples themselves. Love, love, love. They breathe, they bleed, they love. They love as strongly and passionately as any man or woman can. The fact that they find someone they choose to commit their life to is as difficult for homosexuals as it is for heterosexuals. If gays love as straights love, they should be able to profess that love to the world in the same way.
We can all talk until we're blue in the face. "Just don't call it marriage," I hear on talk radio. "Hateful, bigoted, ignorant, right-wing conservatives," I read in the paper. A rose by any other name, I say. Can't we all just get along, I say.
"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."
Jesus gives us an answer, whether or not anyone wants to hear it, "and now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."
We can find an answer...to make everyone happy.
posted by Charlie Brown at 5.3.05
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