You Know, I'm So Sick of Congress I Could Vomit

Yes, all of this has been said before, and probably more eloquently than I can put it. But this is my bully pulpit and I intend to use it! Besides, writing about it makes me less likely to YELL AT C-SPAN, thereby scaring the bejesus out of my coworker. I'm nice like that.

Stop. Just stop. Enough with the gay bashing already; I'm sick of hearing it. Putting down other people just because they aren't like you won't work for you now anymore than it did in high school. (Oh wait...)

Seriously, you all need to get over yourselves.

First, marriage is -- and always has been in this country -- a secular institution. Marriage, whether conducted in a courthouse or a church, confers upon the parties certain legal and property rights. You know that "by the power vested in me by God and the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife" part? Read that line again. THE STATE OF NEW YORK grants the minister power to declare two people married, in the eyes of the government.

Marriages are not universally recognized between church and state. My church, for example, does not recognize a marriage performed by anyone other than a Catholic priest. That's its prerogative. Similarly, not all marriages performed by religious groups are recognized by the state. (See: Polygamy.) No church should be forced to recognize a marriage between two men or two women, if it conflicts with church teachings. But that's not what most church leaders are concerned about. They know it'll never happen.

No, what many church leaders are concerned about is the so-called sanctity of marriage. Perhaps we should review what Jesus had to say about marriage:

"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.'

But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:31-32)

Seems pretty clear to me. Divorce, bad. Adultery, bad. You want to protect the sanctity of my marriage? You want to bring morals to our amoral society? Let's start enacting new and enforcing existing adultery statutes. The gay married couple next door isn't a threat to the sanctity of my marriage; the hussy down the street is. [Editor's note: Not that there's anything wrong with being a hussy. I love hussies. Can't get enough of them. People should feel free to be hussies. Just don't act like one openly, don't tell people you are one, don't live down the street from me, and for Pete's sake, don't go looking for special treatment, like being able to love/have sex with/marry whomever you want.]

Finally, a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage is nothing short of legislating bigotry. It's bad enough that church leaders are willing to rely on shaky biblical evidence, theological hypocrisy, and blatant double standards (Divorce is ok! Adultery, pshaw! But NO GAY MARRIAGE - God said so!) but the worst part of this episode is the bigotry embodied in the proposed amendment. Of course, there is the obvious bigotry of preventing gays from enjoying certain legal rights that the rest of us can avail ourselves of. But more sinister is the underlying argument that what this country needs is moral values -- CHRISTIAN values. This is insulting to anyone who does not subscribe to Christian doctrine (some 20% of the U.S. population, according to an ARIS study).

And, quite frankly, it's insulting to me as a Christian. In promoting this kind of bigotry, we are being judgy, not welcoming.

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:1-2)

We are not recognizing the love that God bestows on all of us -- the same love that should be embodied in a strong marriage.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John:7-8)

And we are certainly not loving one another in the way in which we were called to.

When the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking,

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:34-40)

The theological question? That's for churches to decide. The legal question? That's for policymakers and the courts to decide. But you have a decision to make, too. Are you going to remain silent, tacitly agreeing with those who are vocal and powerful? Or are you going to work for justice and give voice to the persecuted?