Gay marriage. In case you live under a rock, North Carolina recently passed an amendment that reads the following:
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Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State. This section does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts.
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(Take a moment to notice a key word: LEGAL)
Now, in a culture that victimizes homosexuals, we Christians and non religious people alike who are opposed to gay marriage have been getting copious amounts of flak and being bullied by anti-bullying activists and other groups who obviously know everything.
And apparently, I hate gay people because I don't agree with them.
An assertion to which I respond using this facial expression:
In this edition of 'Dat Blog,' I'm going to attempt to explain to these 'anti-hate' folks (who I happen to admire for their passion - I do believe they have good intentions.) that those in favor of the amendment, save a few actual homophobes, are NOT trying to discriminate against, persecute, or take away the rights of gay and lesbian couples.
I will also be leaving my Catholicism out of my points (for the most part). I know how much non-religious folks hate it when people break out the God-speak.
First. I have come to terms with the fact that I'm actually unable to stop gay people from having gay relationships. Sure, I don't support them, but aint a darned thing I can do to stop what goes on in your personal life. If you want to commit your life to someone of the same sex in a special ceremony and call it marriage, go for it. I don't like it, and I believe it's an abuse of what I believe to be a sacred union, but it's your life, and I'm a firm believer in the concept of free will.
The problem comes when gay couples expect the same legal benefits that heterosexual couples recieve by being married.
(Break time. Go get a snack whilst keeping in mind that I dont hate gay people.)
Okay, why do married couples get legal benefits? Just because they love each other and live together now? Because the government wanted to thank them for making a lifelong commitment? 'Course not. The government doesn't care about those things.
Back in the day, the social norm was marriage for the purpose of perpetuating the species by being a means for raising the next generation. Marriage benefits are there as an encouragement for people to settle down and procreate. There's a problem with giving these benefits to gay couples because,
you guessed it,
gay couples are physically and completely incapable of producing new life through their own persons.
This is the part where someone brings up that not all heterosexual married couples have children.
This is, however, easily explained by the following:
That's not the government's OR the state's responsibility.
Should some fellow (or lady, for those of you who are convinced by now that I'm not only a gay-hater, but a misogynist at the same time) check every marriage that goes on in order to see wether or not the couple PLANS on EVER having kids, as if the poor lovebirds have their entire future planned out entirely? That simply is kind of really impractical and silly.
Back to the gay folks!
So what exactly makes this amendment discriminatory? Are laws regarding smoking discriminatory towards smokers? Are speeding laws discriminating against people who consistently sleep in by accident and have to speed in order to get to work on time?
I think the big misconception the people seem to have is that the amendment says that heterosexual marriage will be the only union recognized by the state. But actually, it's now the only LEGAL union LEGALLY recognized in the state. Who's gonna stop two guys or two girls from having a committed relationship and calling it marriage (save a few Westboro Baptist types, but they deserve no recognition.)?
So what are the poor, mistreated, persecuted, hated gays missing?
Legal benefits.
But...
Why should they get legal benefits from their version of marriage?
What makes them entitled to partake in someone else's system?
Gay couples and straight couples have very little in common. Should polygamists get special treatment? Should someone be allowed to marry his or her dog and recieve legal benefits?
Should a man marry another man and get the same benefits that a married man and woman get?
If yes, why?
There is simply no reason for daddy government to grant you anything special just because you decided to cohabitate and have a committed relationship.
The world doesn't owe you a darn thing. You DO NOT have any rights to marriage benefits for a version of marriage that's not seen as legally valid by the state.
However, a group of people who DO owe gays something are those who make them feel less than human by hating them, and ACTUALLY descriminating against them, and ACTUALLY persecuting them, and ACTUALLY being bigots. The amendment does none of these things.
ALL the marriage amendment does is help prevent the gay/straight-but-cohabitating-and-not-married community from eventually recieving legal benefits that don't belong to them.
That's about it.
Nobody's child is losing their health care as a result if this amendment.
Nobody's beating their wife without consequence as a result of this amendment.
Nobody's being told they can't have homosexual tendencies or a homosexual lifestyle as a result of this amendment.
A close examination of what the amendment ACTUALLY SAYS (and not what your confused liberal atheist friend thinks it says, or what your confused fundamentalist Christian friend thinks it says) will make this apparent.
Get it right, and God bless you.
Peter
Dat Blogger
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