A friend posted this on her Live Journal today and I am re-posting it here because it's a point of view on Gay Marraige which I wish everyone could consider.
It's an MSNBC piece and I know that MSNBC has lately been lauded as a Liberal counterpart to Fox News and I really hate that kind of reporting, but this piece really isn't about partisanship. It's a plea to hear out the Gays and for everyone to think with their Hearts.
Honestly, I don't want Gays to have Marriage rights. I want everyone in America to have Civil Unions as far as the legalities of the state/nation/benefits are concerned. Marriage should be governed by religion. And each religion should govern its own marital beliefs and services. The legalities of a commitment between those who love one another are the matter of government. We are a nation who was wise enough to begin with a determination to separate religion from governance. We should not turn out backs on that. We should only strive to continue on. Allowing the religious sector and our religious beliefs to determine what the government does is in direct opposition to that notion.
For me, this is not a matter of spitting in the face of one's ethics and religious beliefs. For me, this is about equality. It is about Civil Rights. A religious couple can have both a legal ceremony and a separate spiritual ceremony if they like. It is not about taking the spirituality out of Marriage, it is about giving Marriage Back to the religious sector and letting them have it. It is about putting the government in charge of the right to legally bond with another person. A separation in such matter is exactly how it should be if we are truly going to be a nation of benevolence and kindness and even true to our words of being Just.
It's an MSNBC piece and I know that MSNBC has lately been lauded as a Liberal counterpart to Fox News and I really hate that kind of reporting, but this piece really isn't about partisanship. It's a plea to hear out the Gays and for everyone to think with their Hearts.
Honestly, I don't want Gays to have Marriage rights. I want everyone in America to have Civil Unions as far as the legalities of the state/nation/benefits are concerned. Marriage should be governed by religion. And each religion should govern its own marital beliefs and services. The legalities of a commitment between those who love one another are the matter of government. We are a nation who was wise enough to begin with a determination to separate religion from governance. We should not turn out backs on that. We should only strive to continue on. Allowing the religious sector and our religious beliefs to determine what the government does is in direct opposition to that notion.
For me, this is not a matter of spitting in the face of one's ethics and religious beliefs. For me, this is about equality. It is about Civil Rights. A religious couple can have both a legal ceremony and a separate spiritual ceremony if they like. It is not about taking the spirituality out of Marriage, it is about giving Marriage Back to the religious sector and letting them have it. It is about putting the government in charge of the right to legally bond with another person. A separation in such matter is exactly how it should be if we are truly going to be a nation of benevolence and kindness and even true to our words of being Just.
