There it is. And it is beautiful. The idea that all people, no matter who they love, should be treated equally and given the same rights. I'm sure it is quite clear that I am in a committed, heterosexual marriage - so why should this even matter? It matters to me because I now have a child. Hopefully someday I will have another. There is nothing saying that one, or even both of those children WON'T be attracted to members of the same sex. And if they are, as long as they find happiness, it will make MY heart happy. It kills me to think that they would be made to feel like less of a human being, less deserving of that happiness than anyone who is attracted to the opposite sex. In my mind, this whole topic shouldn't even need to be discussed. It shouldn't have had to be from the very beginning, but I guess its just how we operate. I guess as long as there are any inequalities, racial, gender, religion...we will also need to consider the topic of same sex marriage. And as long as there are churches, Christian churches, which are perpetuating the idea that homosexual individuals are not welcome in the church, much less in heaven, there will be uneasiness in my heart. I have decided that if there IS a heaven where gay people are not welcome, then I don't want to be there, either. But I very firmly believe that this is not the case. I know there are those who will open a bible, and point out verses to me which they feel back their opposing point. And good for them! If I'm not mistaken, we could find verses to support slavery, prohibit wearing more than one type of cloth at a time, and I'll be darned if a lot of people I know today shouldn't have been stoned to death three times over for things that we just don't consider illegal any longer. I admit right now that I do not know the bible that well. I've read most of it, over the years. I'm not so good at remembering specifics and verses, as some people have a knack for doing. Its just not the way my brain works. I like to take away general ideas from what I read. Overviews. Good feelings. What did I take away from the bible? Love one another, as God loves us. Where in that can I interpret that a race, a gender, a sexual orientation is superior? I cannot. What I can do is be free from judging others, I can love, and I can hope for a better, more accepting world for my daughter. (I'll save my wishes for her to be able to make her own choices about her body and reproductive health for another fun-filled day:)
A few articles I read this evening that I really enjoyed, related: How to win a culture war and lose a generation and A challenge to both sides of the Amendment One debate and Ask a gay Christian
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