I live in California and most of the people I know are fairly excited that a landmark ruling by our supreme court has decided that homosexuals can marry starting…now.
I think it’s great. I’ve always been a big advocate of gay marriage. I don’t see any problems with it and those who do see them because of religious reasons. And, as our founding fathers declared, religious reasoning has no place in judicial or civil rulings.
I grew up in an oddly conservative area, where many people are not only opposed but disgusted by gays. Sitting in class one day, a peer motioned toward a sign on the door that read “NO ROOM FOR HOMOPHOBIA“.
“You agree with that sign Brandon?” he asked me.
“Sure,” I said.
“Not me,” he groaned. “I’m totally a homophobia. I hate faggots.”
And that conversation has sticked with me every since.
Don’t the religious right folks know, deep down inside, that they are battling a losing fight? Don’t they feel like the people who protested civil rights for everyone in the 60’s? The natural movement of America is forward (with a few unintentional steps backwards). We are a nation founded on the ideas of freedom, equality and blah, blah, blah. As jingoistic as that sounds, many times it’s true. And while we have a long way to go before all Americans are equal (including immigrants, the poor and Scientologists) we are making strides. They might not be huge but they are forward. And this is a good step. The country’s most populated state letting two people of the same gender marry? That can only lead to more states following in our footsteps.
I know a few people who plan on getting married under the new law. Will it last? I sure hope so. I will commit myself and others to vote against that silly amendment that will be on the November ballot. I know that the same thing happened in Massachusetts. A load of conservatives bellowed and cried when gays were permitted the same rights as straights. A year later, the issue was all but forgotten and now some gays are lining up for divorces.
I predict that my children, Epic and Charizard, will live in a world where people of all sexual orientations marry. Some people say that this sort of thing opens the door for people marrying goats or children or really smart amphibians. No, it doesn’t. It opens the door for two people, of legal age and intelligence, to marry.
And a note to Christians: you have more important things to worry about. Like the fact that capital punishment disrespects your lord, or the fact that you do little to help the poor or that your president is stinking up your entire cause. So, get on that and then bring some cookies to the new married couple next door. Their names are Alan and Lance.