April 28, 2009

Hello America, Welcome To The 21st Century!

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Disclaimer: this post will be about gay rights. There will also be a history lesson.

History lesson: Not so long ago this great country of ours recognized how insightful the forefathers were in creating a constitution worthy of the world's envy, with a declaration that proudly proclaimed "all men are created equal" and all men have "certain unalienable rights" of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Now, we're pretty sure they meant "mankind" when they said "men" and women are included in this righteous goodness (see the 19th Amendment). In the 1960s America recognized the importance of civil liberties to the disadvantaged groups, like minority races and women. We have laws preventing discrimination against a person based on just about everything. Including sexual orientation. Gasp! [End history lesson.]

Today, we are engulfed in a civil liberties war. We've long recognized that it's wrong to discriminate against a person because of race or sex, but it's still socially acceptable to have a personal discrimination against gays and most states even prohibit gays from marrying and having children. What happened to all men created equal? Arguments against homosexuality center around the Bible saying it's wrong. For arguments sake, I'll ignore that Jesus said nothing about sex, marriage, or sexuality (didn't stop talking about love, though) and all but said the Old Testament is more or less defunct. Instead, I ask what happened to separation of church and state? Why are laws that deny a specific group their rights upheld in this day and age? 

Fifty years ago blacks could not associate with whites, much less marry them. Now we look back on those years with embarrassment. Have we not learned from our mistakes? Is history bound to repeat itself? Will it take fifty more years for us to look back on gay marriage bans with embarrassment? 

One cannot preach love and hate at the same time, but many do. These are convinced homosexuals are a blemish on society but listen to sermons on love and peace. If they would only hear with their ears or see with their eyes, like Jesus asks in the Bible, they would understand they can give people their rights and still have a strong Church. Gays never wanted to take away the faith of the religious; they just wanted the same freedoms.

*EDIT: New Hampshire came up with a great solution that can make everyone happy. Just hope the governor doesn't veto it...

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