Back in the Pool: Gay Marriage

(20 November 2008) On Tuesday, November 18, 2008, I had the amazing opportunity to have dinner with a friend of mine from high school, Gina (on my left [right if you're looking at the picture]), and we talked about a lot of things, most of which I won't talk about here but during dinner, she says to me, "You're an amazing writer."

That, of course, is an ultimate compliment for me, especially coming from her because she, too, is an amazing writer -- a lot of what she writes makes me jealous because she is absolutely phenomenal in her writing ability.

Anyhow, that being said, I was thinking to myself that I haven't written anything of substance in a very long time and I realized that I am missing that from my life so here I am writing again.

Now, I don't know how often or regularly I'll be writing, but I definitely need it.  Writing cleanses my soul and makes me feel whole. 

I don't anticipate, in any way, being as prolific as I once was but I do plan on writing (publicly and privately) a lot more but this time around it'll be a little different.

This time around I will not write for kudos or views or popularity -- I will write for ME.  I will not obsess or lose myself in the "craze."  And while I will still post on MySpace and Facebook, I will focus mainly/mostly on my own site -- just because it is mine and I can write for myself.

Anyhow, with that being said, today I decided to jump in with a few (hundred) words on gay marriage:

Back when I was much more prolific in 2006, I wrote my thoughts on gay marriage by saying the following ...

I think it is absolutely ridiculous for grown men (and sometimes women) to be so adamantly disgusted by the thought of men being together.  It's okay with me if you're disgusted by gay relationships altogether.  (Meaning you're against lesbianism as well as homosexuality.)  I still think it's pretty closed-minded and wrong, but that's up to you.  However, when you just hate on the men who are with other men, I think that's just ...

Hell, I don't even know the word for it.  It's definitely ignorant, but I think it's deeper than that.  I think that it has a lot to do with the sexual aspect of it ... and if that's the case, then it's pure stupidity.  Okay, roll with me here ... I'm going to point out why I think it's so stupid ...

First of all, I think men are so disgusted by the idea of men being together because when two men copulate, we all know how it's done.  I won't graphically detail it.  And yes, to me, it is a little disturbing to think about.  But why the hell would I even be thinking about it?!  That brings me to my second point ...

When looking at a heterosexual couple, whether it be on TV or in real life or where/whatever, no one, in their mind, flashes to what happens behind closed doors between the two.  However, when looking at a lesbian couple or a gay couple, I think, whether it be consciously or not, the people that have such a hard time dealing with men-with-men, flash almost instantaneously to the logistics of the gay coupling.  And it's not so hard to deal with in women because women are all internal whereas men have external parts.  And that brings me to my third, and final, point ...

Love is NOT about sex.  Generally, when heterosexual couples hook up for relationships, sex is NOT the foremost thought in the two people who are involved's minds.  DUH!  This, logically, follows for those in same-sex relationships.  So if it's the sexual logistics of the situation that bother you, why the hell does it?!  What takes place in the bedroom, behind closed doors is what takes place in the bedroom, behind closed doors.  It's none of my business or anyone else's.  The love, compassion, companionship, and caring for one another is what's paramount to the relationship.  Love is love!

Now, of course there's going to be those of you that say, "I'm okay with it as long as it's not all up in my face."  But how hypocrtical is that?  That's like saying, "I'm okay with black people as long as they don't live in my neighborhood."  Or, "White people are cool, as long at they don't attend the same school I (or my kids) do."  It's along those same lines.  It's like you're saying that it's okay just as long as it doesn't exist.  That gay couple, Adam and Steve, walking hand-in-hand at the mall aren't doing anything radically different than Jane and Tom, who are walking in the opposite direction, holding hands as well.  Yafeelme?!

So ... there you have it.  Love me or hate me.  Just quit with the double standards!!

MARRIAGE IS ABOUT LOVE

Now, the preceeding was back in 2006 and a lot has happened since then.  Among those things, is that I've found a closer spiritual connection with God and I must now not just approach the situation simply as "love is love," but also by looking at what the Bible teaches me and as far as that goes, I shall completely quote another friend of mine from high school, M. Schnippert:

As a believer in the Bible, I can come to no other conclusion than that the Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin. At the same time, it also condemns many other forms of sexual immorality supported broadly by American society, and it condemns divorce, something as common within the church as outside of it. America was NOT founded by Christians, and is not a Christian nation. America is a nation where all men and women of every creed, origin, and race are entitled to certain unalienable rights.

The first colonists of America came for the freedom to not have others' religion imposed upon them, and yet today we have done just that. You can argue with me until you are blue in the face whether homosexuality is a choice or a person's nature. You can try to argue that homosexuality is unnatural, and I know that many will argue that homosexuality is just a baseless lust and abomination.

While my faith says that homosexuality is a crime against God, I can not [sic] argue with the many homosexuals I have known to have true, loving relationships (often with far more love than the many poor marriages or relationships I have known among heterosexuals).

It is not our right to legislate the behaviors of consenting adults. I have yet to see a single person argue for Proposition 2 without basing their argument on their faith, on the tenuous claim that homosexuality is "unnatural", [sic] or on the even worse argument that homosexuality is "destroying" the "traditional" family.

None of these is an acceptable argument in a secular nation to so greatly limit the rights of our fellow citizens .... [I]t is important to realize that imposing one group's morality on the nation as a whole is the beginning of a very slippery slope.

One hundred years ago, the majority in Florida would have voted to deny the right of blacks and whites to intermarry (or even denied the rights of blacks to vote). Christians should know better than anyone that the majority is not always right. If another group gains majority status, a clear precedent has been set that creates a process to legislate morality, and next time that morality may not be your own. We must realize that Christ asks us to love our fellow man, and I have seen far more hate than love when this issue has arisen. He reminds us to judge not, lest we be judged.

I don't know a single homosexual who is not well aware of what the church believes, and their salvation is an issue between them and God. I know plenty of Christians who persist in other sins, yet stand high and mighty judging this one.

And with those words shared, I close.

That is all.

-Kornika