Last night as I left my car in my parking lot after work, I was approached by a man who asked me why I had a Prop 8 sticker on my car. This man was homosexual, was in a relationship with another man, and said that he hoped at some point to get married. He said it offended him to see a sticker that promoted a measure designed to defend traditional marriage. He asked me "How does it effect you?"
Over the course of about 20 minutes, this man and I had a cordial and respectful conversation about some of the issues we both feel are at stake in this decision. I spoke to him about many of the reasons I support Prop 8, including things that have been written in this blog, such as the way religious freedoms are curtailed by the legalization of same-gender marriage, the need of children to have a stable family relationship with their two biological parents, and the unacceptable and un-democratic back-door-ing used by homosexual activists to legislate their agenda. I was surprised that my friend was completely unaware of most of these issues.
My friend basically had only one point, which was the question he asked me in the beginning: "Why can't you tolerate my lifestyle? Why do you want to deny me my rights? Why are you attacking me by voting this way?" As the conversation progressed, I found it increasingly clear that there was a fundamental disconnect between us. Although he logically conceded to each point I made about why the legalization of same-gender marriage was wrong, he couldn't reconcile my points with what he had been taught about the lifestyle he has chosen: that it doesn't hurt anybody else.
While that may be true in a very limited scope (I say may because it very well may hurt people close to him or people close to his partner), and while I respect his right to choose his lifestyle without being a subject of prejudice, I reject the argument that legislating that lifestyle into mainstream society will not affect anybody. For reasons well-documented in this blog, the legalization of same sex-marriage is extremely harmful to everyone in our society. I claim the right to feel that way about the issue. I claim the right to voice my feelings on the issue. The legalization of same-sex marriage is determined to deny me those rights (see posts below about religious clergy being thrown in jail in Canada for preaching that homosexuality is immoral, and about the man in Massachusetts being thrown in jail for objecting to his child being indoctrinated with homosexual teachings in classroom at school without the parents being informed).
Legalization of same-gender marriage WILL have these and many other detrimental effects on society. If you value the family; if you believe that the family plays an essential role in the health of our society, then you must vote YES on Prop 8. Don't be deceived by the pseudo-morality that has become so rampant among people of good conscience in our society, which says that the greatest good you can do is to not disagree with the choices of others. There is such a thing as right and wrong, and if people of good conscience do not take a stand for the right, then the others whose choices we refuse to disagree with will take our rights from us.
I feel a great deal of compassion for my friend in the parking lot. He and others like him are not the ones driving the agenda to legalize same-gender marriage. He and others like him do not understand the true intentions of those driving that agenda (as is evidenced by his unawareness of most of the issues that I brought up in our conversation); unfortunately, he and others like him have been unkindly placed at the center of this controversy by those driving the agenda. Those driving the agenda have not told my friend and others like him what they're really about. A YES vote on Prop 8 is not an attack on my friend and others like him, who is being used as a sort of human-shield in this battle by those driving the same-gender agenda; a YES vote on Prop 8 is a rejection of that agenda. We can accept and respect my friend and others like him without letting those behind the same-gender agenda achieve their malicious ends.
Dennis Prager, speaking about the very obvious and well-documented negative effects on children in a same-gender family, says this about unwillingness to take a stand on this important issue:
"And what about the heterosexuals who support same-sex marriage? They ignore the issue of its effects on children because they either do not want to confront the issue or because they are so intimidated by the liberation trinity — "equality," "rights" and "tolerance" — that even children's welfare becomes a non-issue."
Over the course of about 20 minutes, this man and I had a cordial and respectful conversation about some of the issues we both feel are at stake in this decision. I spoke to him about many of the reasons I support Prop 8, including things that have been written in this blog, such as the way religious freedoms are curtailed by the legalization of same-gender marriage, the need of children to have a stable family relationship with their two biological parents, and the unacceptable and un-democratic back-door-ing used by homosexual activists to legislate their agenda. I was surprised that my friend was completely unaware of most of these issues.
My friend basically had only one point, which was the question he asked me in the beginning: "Why can't you tolerate my lifestyle? Why do you want to deny me my rights? Why are you attacking me by voting this way?" As the conversation progressed, I found it increasingly clear that there was a fundamental disconnect between us. Although he logically conceded to each point I made about why the legalization of same-gender marriage was wrong, he couldn't reconcile my points with what he had been taught about the lifestyle he has chosen: that it doesn't hurt anybody else.
While that may be true in a very limited scope (I say may because it very well may hurt people close to him or people close to his partner), and while I respect his right to choose his lifestyle without being a subject of prejudice, I reject the argument that legislating that lifestyle into mainstream society will not affect anybody. For reasons well-documented in this blog, the legalization of same sex-marriage is extremely harmful to everyone in our society. I claim the right to feel that way about the issue. I claim the right to voice my feelings on the issue. The legalization of same-sex marriage is determined to deny me those rights (see posts below about religious clergy being thrown in jail in Canada for preaching that homosexuality is immoral, and about the man in Massachusetts being thrown in jail for objecting to his child being indoctrinated with homosexual teachings in classroom at school without the parents being informed).
Legalization of same-gender marriage WILL have these and many other detrimental effects on society. If you value the family; if you believe that the family plays an essential role in the health of our society, then you must vote YES on Prop 8. Don't be deceived by the pseudo-morality that has become so rampant among people of good conscience in our society, which says that the greatest good you can do is to not disagree with the choices of others. There is such a thing as right and wrong, and if people of good conscience do not take a stand for the right, then the others whose choices we refuse to disagree with will take our rights from us.
I feel a great deal of compassion for my friend in the parking lot. He and others like him are not the ones driving the agenda to legalize same-gender marriage. He and others like him do not understand the true intentions of those driving that agenda (as is evidenced by his unawareness of most of the issues that I brought up in our conversation); unfortunately, he and others like him have been unkindly placed at the center of this controversy by those driving the agenda. Those driving the agenda have not told my friend and others like him what they're really about. A YES vote on Prop 8 is not an attack on my friend and others like him, who is being used as a sort of human-shield in this battle by those driving the same-gender agenda; a YES vote on Prop 8 is a rejection of that agenda. We can accept and respect my friend and others like him without letting those behind the same-gender agenda achieve their malicious ends.
Dennis Prager, speaking about the very obvious and well-documented negative effects on children in a same-gender family, says this about unwillingness to take a stand on this important issue:
"And what about the heterosexuals who support same-sex marriage? They ignore the issue of its effects on children because they either do not want to confront the issue or because they are so intimidated by the liberation trinity — "equality," "rights" and "tolerance" — that even children's welfare becomes a non-issue."
Posts
1 comment:
You raise some really good points and something that makes this so personal for some in the homosexual community -- for them this issue is really about acceptance. While I suppose some will vote for proposition 8 mostly to reject the gay lifestyle, the most compelling reasons to Vote YES on Proposition 8 are to protect traditional marriage, all it stands for, and all the good that come from marriage between one man and one woman. If it was the gay lifestyle that was really at the heart of this issue, you would have seen more opposition to the law giving gay partners all the same rights as married couples. However, you did not see people mobilize against that like like they have mobilized in favor of Proposition 8. The reason is because protecting traditional marriage is the core issue behind proposition 8, not the gay lifestyle.
Post a Comment