Today, the Supreme Court is considering two cases regarding gay marriage: California's repeal of Prop 8 and a case involving the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
I've been watching people on both sides duke it out on social media today, and both sides are guilty of intolerance. This fact does not surprise me as over the last four or five years, our society has reduced itself to the level of finger-pointing and laying blame with nobody willing to be tolerant of anyone else's position and trying to find some common ground.
With all that being said, I'm just going to state my position.
First of all, I'm probably the only person who has a middle of the road position. As Dennis Miller says, Gay marriage is about 536 on my list of political and social issues that need to be resolved.
In my opinion, leave Prop 8 alone. A select group of citizens should not have the right to have the courts overturn a decision that was voted on by a majority in a state. That's legislating from the bench, and the Supreme Court needs to stay off that slippery slope.
DOMA, on the other hand, is wrong. The Constitution is silent on the right to marry. That should absolutely be a decision made by each state. To further say that if a state allows same-sex marriage, those spouses are not entitled to the rights afforded other married couples is wholly unconstitutional.
By now, I'm sure many of my devout Christian friends want me to expound on how homosexuality is wrong. Well, allow me to disappoint you. God hates the sin but loves the sinner. God also does not differentiate on sin. Humans quantify sin. Sin is sin is sin to God. Homosexuals are not viewed any differently than how I was perceived when I lived with Owen before our wedding. I'm still a Christian and still part of the body of Christ.
I do believe Holy Matrimony is a ceremony that must be between one man and one woman. Under the eyes of the law, however, heterosexual couples get married in civil ceremonies or even get "common-law married." Are those unions less legal than church-ordained ceremonies? In the eyes of the law, no. I have also never seen those such couples ostracized by churches. What's wrong with allowing civil unions between two citizens with full rights of any legally married couple? Who does that harm?
In my opinion, legal marriage is a states-rights issue. When states decide to allow it with no condition on gender, full legal rights should be accorded to all their citizens.
The federal government has no right to order churches to perform marriage ceremonies that go against church doctrine. Any reading of the Constitution should make that clear.
My only plea is to think about where you stand on this issue. Are you imposing your personal beliefs on others despite whether you are for or against same-sex marriage? Stop it. All Jesus wants us to do is to treat others the way we want to be treated. We were not given the right to judge others, even though we are quick to do so. We are to order our lives to have Christ show through us, but judging others is not our job. If you judge someone's sexual sin, they can judge your gluttony, your lack of stewardship, foul language, or whatever sin you battle. Remember, all those things are equally bad in the eyes of The Lord.
I too hate the sin and not the sinner. I also cannot go against any of God's mandates, especially the dicta not to judge others. People are free to live anyway they choose. Consenting adults have a right to enter into binding legal arrangement without the need for validation by government, media, or the current Zeitgeist. Furthermore, no form of government has the authority or the obligation to legislate for, or against acceptance of any form of sexuality. Lastly, the Supreme Court should not rule on what is constitutional, and not what is popular at the moment.
ReplyDelete