Opinion

Reshaping a country: Why gay rights matter

Dear readers, when my section editor said I should be the one to cover the topic of gay marriage, I paled. I was immediately scared to even try and voice my opinion.
But, that thought caused me to pause and ask: Why am I not entitled to give my opinion on this topic? Why am I wrong to side with traditional marriage? I am not against homosexuals, I am not a bigot or a homophobe, I just do not believe gay marriage is the right thing to do.
Here are some questions that need to be asked:
Why should the government have the right to change the definition of a word, that hasn’t been changed in over 2,000 years? According to a 2012 Gallup poll, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population in America is less than 3.4 percent.  Why should the Supreme Court have the right to redefine marriage, a sacrament among all of mankind, just to accommodate 3.4 percent of the American population?

 
If they decide to do so, how long will it be before the Supreme Court’s definition will be forced upon people of orthodox religious faiths?   Can a judiciary or a legislative body legally force its definition on people of faith, or is this a violation of the separation of church and state? Within the past few years, political activists have protested the wealthiest 1 percent of America, even occupied Wall Street.  This movement was, in essence, anti-minority.  The Occupy Wall Street movement even succeeded in coining a new slur-“one percenter.”
Illegal immigrants make up only 2.2 percent of the American population, but we are not changing the way we do things for them. In fact, we are making it harder for them to become citizens or even stay in this country.
America has not changed anything for the sake of the minority before, why are we starting to cater to them now?

“If we redefine marriage, then where will it end? We have already seen Hollywood embrace the idea of polygamy, a la ‘Sister Wives.’ And abroad in Brazil, trio same-sex unions are legally recognized,” Penny Young Nance, Christian Post special writer, said.
It is a sad fact that the mainstream media does a very poor job of presenting this issue. They make it look like the gay community makes up 25 percent of the American population, putting peer pressure on the rest of the country to accept their policies, even resorting to name-calling if we dare disagree with their views.
“…I oppose same-sex marriage because marriage is a sacrament, and there is a big difference between asking one to be tolerant, and demanding one condone,” John Nolte, writer for breitbart.com, said.
I am not against people who are gay. Civil unions were legalized in many states five years ago. But, that doesn’t seem to be enough. Now they want to change the definition of marriage to suit their needs and their needs alone.
 Religious institutions will suffer the most and are already beginning to suffer from the effects of Obamacare, which forces religious organizations to give women the option for the abortion pill. With this, the government is violating religious freedoms and now they are trying to force religious institutions to condone gay marriage.
“In New Mexico, a Court of Appeals charged a Christian photographer who refused to service a gay wedding with violating state discrimination laws. In New Jersey, a United Methodist Church was punished for refusing to allow same-sex weddings in one of its facilities, the judge finding the need for some intrusion into religious freedom to balance other important societal goals,” Koulungjim Nance, the defendant, said.
When did the government earn the right to say whom a private photographer, whether Christian or atheist, could say no to? Second, I restate, what happened to the separation of church and state?  What happened to religious freedoms?

Nolte, who is a supporter of the gay community, has a very good point about the difference between asking people to just be tolerant and demanding them to condone something. You cannot legislate morality, even if it is new morality.  It doesn’t work because people rebel against force.
Redefining marriage will force people of faith to choose between their consciences and faith to avoid harassment from the government and minority groups in the arena of politics.
I propose this, because any American, straight or gay, deserves the same benefits:
Give the gay community civil unions, giving them the same rights and benefits as straight married couples, but don’t call it marriage. We do not need to redefine marriage for the 3.4 percent.