Something Political

It's election day, and I've been sitting on some thoughts because, well, I really don't want to get flamed. I hate that. But today I'm going to say them anyway because some people make me want to bang my head against a wall. If you are only here to read my stories, then you might want to leave now. This could get ugly.

I only want to talk about one topic because it's the one that's been really bugging me: gay marriage. Let me start by saying that I am for gay marriage. And I really don't understand why it is an issue. Well, I do. I understand that people feel the need to protect their family values and integrity. And considering I watched V for Vendetta last night and was reminded of how important integrity is, I respect that. If you don't believe in gay marriage, then that's fine. But this is my blog, dammit, and if you are reading it then you have to deal with what I have to say.

Simply put, I am confused. I hear a lot of people saying that gay marriage should not be legalized because it goes against the canon of a religion, or the beliefs of a religion, etc. But don't we have a separation of church and state? Legalizing gay marriage will not make it mandatory for your priest or pastor or whatever to perform one. In fact, if anyone tries to force that issue, then they are just as bad as the people trying to limit marriage. People like me who are in favor of gay marriage are not trying to force you to give up or corrupt your beliefs. We are just asking that you do not force your beliefs on us. Agree to disagree as it were. And if me saying this means that I am going to burn in a lake of fire for all eternity, then that is for God to deal with. Not you.

Alright, following me so far? Let's address the issue of marriage being a religious institution. After all, simply suggesting that we legalize gay marriage means that we are going against religion because marriage is inherently religious. Not true. Look at history. And I'm talking way way way back history. The act of marriage, of binding two people together forever, is performed, not by a church or religious representative, but by the highest authority within a community. Now, most of the time this ends up being a person connected to religion in some way. A shaman, or a wise man, or what have you. But marriages have also been performed by headmen, chiefs, and ship captains. For a very long time, religious organizations were the highest authorities, but this is not necessarily true for some people anymore. This is why we have a separation of church and state.

Ok, so let's look at this separation of church and state. For some people, the church is the highest authority, so they want to get married within their religion. Fine and dandy. For other people, the state is the highest authority. And they can be married by a judge at a courthouse if they so choose. So why can't a judge at a courthouse marry a man and a man or a woman and a woman? Separation of church and state. Religion does not need to be involved.

The last thing that I want to talk about is the Minnesota amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Though I hope the No votes win, I really am not concerned about the outcome. "Marriage" is just a word, and if people want to limit its definition, then we will find a new word. Gay marriage is inevitable. It is going to happen. It may not happen at this election, or the next election, but it will happen. Do you want to know why? Because our country is built on freedom, and the moment we start limiting that freedom is the moment when we are no longer Americans.

But that's just what I think. You are free to think and feel however you want to. And whatever you think or feel, please go out and vote. Don't take this freedom for granted.

The last thing I want to say is that I welcome your responses to this. Whether you agree with me or not, I would love to hear your thoughts. And if you can offer more research or information into my opinions, then go for it. Because I pretty much just word vomited this, so I'm sure it's convoluted and doesn't make a lot of sense.