Now Let's Vote On Your Marriage

There’s an old saying that goes something like this, “It’s better to stay silent and let people think you are a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.” Mostly for this reason, I try to shy away from political topics on my blog. What I don’t know outweighs what I do know by volumes. But something has happened lately that I feel I need to speak up about. I promise to be as brief as possible.

Californians have voted by a slim margin to amend their state constitution to ban same-sex marriages. This has also happened in other states, but this is the first time that people have voted to take away rights from people that already legally existed. Think about that for a moment. Imagine what it would be like to have the right to do something one day, and then wake up the next day to find out that your friends, neighbors, and co-workers have voted to take this right away from you. It’s astonishing to me that people could be this cruel.

There seem to be five main arguments against same-sex marriage. Let’s run through those shall we?

1) Same-sex marriage threatens the sanctity of traditional marriage.

I had to look this one up. I’ve heard this word so much lately that I’m not even sure I know what it means anymore. The word “sanctity” is synonymous with “holy”. Something that is “holy” is automatically worthy of respect and reverence. So, suddenly people consider marriage to be sacred? Where is the outrage when Las Vegas vacationers have too much to drink, get married by Elvis at a drive-through window, and have it all annulled the next day? Where is the outrage at a divorce rate that is near fifty percent of all marriages? Where is the outrage of the folks who are afraid that the sanctity of marriage is threatened by divorce and the lack of religious significance marriage holds for most of us? Where are the ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments to prevent these outrages? Hmmm? The sanctity of marriage is not created by the church, or simply by its own existence, but by the actions of the people that enter into it.

2) The purpose of marriage is to encourage procreation.

Okay, this one is simple. Let’s ban marriage for anyone who cannot or does not want to have children. If having children is the reason for people to get married, then there is no reason for two people who are unable or unwilling to conceive to be married. But wait, that would be cruel wouldn't it?

3) Churches will be forced to marry same-sex couple against the will of the church.

Nonsense. Churches don’t even have to marry different-sex couples if they don’t want to. The separation of church and state is well established. (It does however, seems to be perfectly okay for churches full of people wearing magic long underwear to donate millions of dollars to pass constitutional amendments.)

4) Schools will be forced to teach children that it’s okay to be gay.

And? Is there some reason that children should be led to believe that gay people deserve to be treated as second class citizens? Let me just say this now. Being gay is not a choice. Want proof? Do you remember the day when you "chose" your sexual orientation? I'll give you a minute to think....(insert Jeapordy music here).

Do you remember now? I didn't think so. You are what you are. It’s that simple. There is no such thing as “recruitment”. I don’t get a toaster if I sign up ten new ones. And frankly, if there it were a choice, believe me…I would have taken the easy way out. Let’s face it. I’m lazy and this is too much work.

5) Same-sex couples already have all the rights that everyone else has. They only need to draw up contracts and wills.

Not true. This is the most important point. There are 1,138 legal rights and benefits extended to married couples by the federal government…all of which I shall name for you now. (That was for you Pee Wee’s Big Adventure fans.) Please take a moment to click on this link to read about them briefly. The injustice is self-evident.

We all know what the bottom line is- fear. People are afraid that if gay people can marry then it will be okay to be gay. And then maybe little Timmy or Mary will turn gay. And maybe drag queens will run for president. And we’ll all be forced to redecorate our living rooms against our will. And who knows what other kinds of awful things will happen? Fear makes people weak and too afraid to stand up for others.

I ask all of you…my friends, my family, my neighbors, and my co-workers to imagine what it feels like to watch those around you be treated differently than you are. Stop being afraid. Stand up for me. Allow me to have the same rights and benefits under the law that you have.