Marriage Equality Is The Only Right Choice

There are few instances wherein an opinion can actually be incorrect. But this is one of them. There's no solid legal or ethical reason to oppose same sex marriage. None. Especially as Governor Cuomo's recently propsed bill even includes a clause that would protect religious institutions, allowing them to retain the right to not marry gay people there if the choose. Yet I was horrified to realize that my state senator, Marty Golden, intends to vote against this bill. We need only one more GOP supporter to pass this thing, after Senator Roy McDonald's rousing (and sure to be historical) "Do the right thing" speech.


Gay couples work. They vote. They pay taxes. They're in every way citizens like the rest of us. So why do some people fight so hard to deny them rights? Because they've conveniently interpreted ancient religious texts with a hateful mindset? (Though, as a former Catholic, I can pretty safely say that Jesus valued love and tolerance over all things. I can't speak for other religions, but Christian bigots haven't even gotten their own faith right.) It's one thing if you hate homosexuals. If they make you uneasy because they're mere existance causes you to reexamine yourself...then that's your sad stance that you have every right to retain. But don't mix faith, hate and politics. This is not a redefinition of marriage. Marriage has always meant union. (Try looking it up.) This is a correction of our own oversight. Gay marriage does nothing to straight marriage, which has been on the decline for decades anyway. Divorce rates skyrockets and more and more young people (myself included) have chosen to opt out all together. Many people have decided against marriage specifically because they don't want to participate in a system that only recognizes certain kinds of love. I personally have no interest in marriage, but that's a choice I'm free to make. I'd like everyone to be free to make that choice for themselves.


And as we've seen, so many conservatives against gay rights have been discovered as being gay themselves, or some other sexual secret. To paraphrase Dan Savage - When will we finally get to the point where we hear this bigoted rambling and ask "So what are you hiding?"


And in case anyone's forgotten, we're in a serious recession. What better way to create new revenue than to give the right to marry to the group with the largest disposable income? Gay couples are literally clamoring to have weddings - the extravagent wedding they've always dreamed of. Since same sex love is no less flawed than any other kind, the burst in marriages will likely turn into half of those couples getting divorced. Divorces are expensive too. Don't we need to be branching out industries and creating  new jobs right now?


Anyone opposed to gay marriage really needs to look at themselves to ask why. How does giving rights to people who deserve them lessen your own? Do you really have so much hatred inside you that you can't stand gays being made equal? Do you really want yourself, your beliefs and your government defined by bigotry and exclusion? Or can we actually be...you know, American about it? Pretty sure we're supposed to believe in freedom for all people. 


Or have I just been lied to my entire life?




If you're a New Yorker, please call your state senator RIGHT NOW & urge them to vote for Marriage Equality. Read more: http://www.blogdoctor.me/2007/02/expandable-post-summaries.html#ixzz1Ygp5vxLJ