(It's sad that I have to start with that introduction, but in my best experience, there is no way to keep the peace other than to inoculate from the beginning.)
One of the most prominent issues in American politics in this day and age is the issue of Gay Marriage. People are HEAVILY influenced by what they think their religion tells them, and they form opinions based on petty arguments, and frankly have no backbone to support what they are trying to defend.
Let me blatantly state where I stand on this issue: PRO GAY MARRIAGE. Because I believe that everyone should have an EQUAL right to love.
I am a born and raised Catholic Christian. However, I made the decision to leave the Church a few years ago when they started pushing things on me that I didn't agree with and didn't believe in. Politics to be exact. There is a STRICT separation between church and state, and it is COMPLETELY ignored in this issue. The line that separates the two is so blurred that people actually think that the church should have a say this area. In reality, religion is a FREEDOM that we as Americans are granted the right to practice however we want. We are given the FREEDOM to believe what we want and act on them as we wish. It is NOT a requirement, and no matter what your religious beliefs are, you cannot deny that. So in my opinion, religion should not take part in anything politically.
So, why is it then, that we have the FREEDOM to practice religion as freely as we want, and there is an Establishment Clause in the United States Constitution that prohibits the establishment of a national religion, yet when it comes to getting married to the person you love that happens to be of the same sex, religion is the main argument?
I understand that the Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman, but people fail to acknowledge that NOT EVERYONE LIVES BY THE BIBLE. This is exactly why there is no national religion. No one is required to live by the Bible. So just because it may be what YOU believe in, doesn't mean that the person getting married believes in it too. And frankly it is not right to force this on people or expect this of anyone. And if you decide to use living by the Bible as your main argument, then you had better make sure you live EXACTLY by it with no flaws, and let he who is without sin cast the first friggen' stone.
On a related note, the Bible is a very old, old book that is BASED on the teachings of God. I took a religion class called "Understanding the Bible" and the entire class was based on the fact that the Bible has been re-written thousands of times because when it was being copied there was no printing press. Everyone was writing it by hand and had the freedom to change whatever they wished. This isn't to say the Bible is not valid, it is just meant to say that times have changed. The word of God may not have, but let's think about things people used to do during the time the Bible was crafted that have been outlawed in recent years because of how wrong we saw they were:
1. People were stoned to death in the Bible.
2. There were slaves in the Bible.
3. If you were poor, you could sell your sister for money.
4. Women were looked at as a man's lower, not his equal.
So while these things are not valid in society anymore, why should the issue of marriage be so stuck in it's ways? We forget that the whole point of marriage is about love (which is the ULTIMATE teaching of God). Two people joining together to spend the rest of their lives with each other. Making a life and a family, and loving each other enough to make the choice to spend the rest of it together. Why should this be denied to ANYONE?
Clearly it is about happiness, and love, and emotion, while people try to turn it into something it's not by saying things like "gay's are ruining the sanctity of marriage!" No. 50% of all marriages end in divorce, and THAT is what ruins the sanctity of marriage, not two innocent people joining their hands and vowing to love each other. Just because they are of the same sex does not mean marriage is any less valuable in society.
People like to say that you have a choice to be gay. Actually, it has been scientifically proven that you are born gay. It is not a choice. If it was, who would honestly choose a life where they were constantly ridiculed and judged and looked-down upon for who they love? No one that I can think of would WANT to be in that position. It is not a choice to be gay. You cannot help who you fall in love with and anyone who has been in love should know that first hand.
Come on people, why support hatred? It is not going to get you to Heaven any faster when you judge people and try to control their personal lives and look down upon them for who they love. There are so many important issues that we should be worrying out, so why is this EVEN an concern? There are rapes and murders and AIDS and starving children and poverty and we can't seem to get our noses out of people's love lives? Remember that Jesus is the most caring, loving, and forgiving person and I believe he would be extremely sad and disappointed at the way people treat the children that HE created PERFECTLY in his eyes. Let HIM be the judge, and you just live your life, and treat others with the same respect you would want. Love your brothers and sisters, and accept them. No one is perfect, but we should love and embrace them anyways, don't you think?
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