For all those who talk about “traditional marriage based on the Bible”…
Now would that be Abraham and Sarah (half siblings), Jacob, Rachel and Leah, (not only bigamy but also cousins), David who loved Jonathan “better than any woman” and had multiple wives, or Solomon with his 300 wives and 900 concubines, or the one where a raped virgin is now ‘married’ to her rapist? Biblical marriage has never been one kind only, nor are all of them particularly just constructs.
At the end of the day, a marriage in the U.S. is a legal, civil contract. We only give pastors and religious leaders the courtesy of having the power to perform those ceremonies with legal binding. Preventing two adults from entering into that contract of their own accord based on gender is discrimination, and is not Constitutional, nor is it an American value.
In Minnesota, gay/lesbian marriage is currently illegal already. Can’t bring yourself to vote NO on the amendment? Then, I respectfully ask that you refrain from voting on that issue, as it is only mean spirited and discriminatory to vote for it. Utilizing empathy would be a good way to evaluate this issue.
I want to live in a country and a state that practices full equality as well as freedom of and from religion. Nothing in the idea of gay/lesbian marriage will force people of any religious faith to do anything against their faith. Concerned that pastors and clergy people will be forced to perform marriages they don’t agree with? Get over yourself. They aren’t forced to perform marriages for anyone they don’t like now. How do I know? A narrow-minded pastor who didn’t like what he thought were weaknesses in Kevin and my faith refused to marry us. Of course, he was wrong and 15 years has pretty concretely proven that one. Am I saying that religious leaders can be wrong? Um, hell yes I am. They are just as human as the rest of us.
The president of Chick-fil-A, the fast food chain with more than 1,600 restaurants and $4 billion in revenue, has come out against same-sex marriage.
“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’” Dan Cathy, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said in a recent radio interview. “I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.”
“Guilty as charged,” Cathy said. “We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”
“We know that it might not be popular with everyone,” he added, “but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
The company, founded by Dan’s father, Truett Cathy, in 1946, has a history of “unapologetic social conservatism,” as the Daily Caller put it. All 1,608 of its stores are closed on Sundays, a day of rest for most Christians.
According to Queerty.com, the WinShape Foundation—Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm—donated more than $1.1 million between 2003 and 2008 to anti-LGBT groups, doubling that amount to $2 million in 2009.
I have been eating that restaurant chain’s food products for many years, and I love them, but I cannot accept this expression of homophobia and religious bigotry. So as a matter of principle, I am calling for a boycott of this company by all those who support gay marriage.
“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’”
What arrogance! Assuming that there is a God, that this God is that of the Bible, and that this God of the Bible is still against gay marriage because of statements made in his name thousands of years ago is the height of hubris, not skeptics like me casting doubt on all three claims, which are empirically UNFOUNDED. And being willing to alienate a large portion of your customer base because of unfounded claims is stupid!
The American Family Association (AFA), a virulent anti-gay hate group based in Tupelo, Miss., has agreed to pay for a national day of prayer being organized later this summer in Houston by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a longstanding ally to prominent figures in the anti-gay movement.
Eric Bearse, a spokesman for the event billed as “The Response: a Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis,” on Sunday told Reuters that Perry contacted the AFA a month ago “to call Americans together for a time of prayer.” The rally will be held Aug. 6 at Reliant Stadium, which holds nearly 72,000 people.
Neither Bearse nor Perry’s press office answered email requests for comment. But in a written statement, the governor “urged fellow governors to issue similar proclamations encouraging their constituents to pray that day for unity and righteousness.”
The AFA is one of the most strident voices spreading malicious anti-LGBT propaganda. The group’s director of policy analysis, Bryan Fischer, claimed last year, “Homosexuality gave us Adolph [sic] Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews.” He has proposed criminalizing homosexual behavior and advocated forcing gay men and lesbians into “reparative” therapy programs. More recently, Fischer wrote that gays were the leading perpetrators of hate crimes.
With a long history of close ties to the anti-gay movement, it’s no surprise Perry would associate himself so closely with the AFA. In his 10 years as governor, he has waged a fight to keep “homosexual conduct” listed as a criminal offense in the state penal code – a law he has said is “appropriate.”
In 2005, while signing a bill to amend the state constitution to specifically prohibit gays and lesbians from marrying, Perry was joined on stage by Rob Parsley, a celebrity Pentecostal faith healer, who lauded the governor for “protecting the children of Texas from the gay agenda.” (The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately struck down the law.) Parsley offered a series of shocking statistics – for example, that only 1% of the LGBT population in American will die of old age. The numbers, in fact, were gross distortions pulled straight from pseudo-scientific studies by Dr. Paul Cameron, a crackpot psychologist and champion of the anti-gay crusade.
“The Response” is being promoted as an event to bring America together at a time of widespread natural disaster and economic turmoil. But, more likely, it’s a response to the hard-fought advances in the gay community, most notably the pending repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Materials promoting the event have said as much. “Our nation is at a crossroads. … The youth of America are in grave peril economically, socially, and, most of all, morally,” a description on the event’s website reads. “As a nation, we must come together, call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles. … There is hope for America. It lies in heaven, and we will find it on our knees.”
Whatever happened to church-state separation as mandated by the First Amendment? It is a lie told by religious extremists that it involves only the government not interfering with religion. If religion is allowed to interfere with government, than the rights of those who do not share the religion are still being violated. The 14th Amendment’s “equal protection” clause must also apply to people of all religious affiliations or even those of none, or it is meaningless!
Some people just don’t get it, like this guy who commented on the news report:
William C. said,
on June 7th, 2011 at 10:35 am
I don’t get it. How does the SPLC take themselves seriously when they consider groups like the American Family Association, a peaceful Christian group dedicated to preserving traditional moral values, to be equals with evil, racist, violent hate groups like the KKK and neo-nazi skinheads?
The first reply to him was
Linnea said,
on June 7th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
OK, William, here’s the deal. Maybe you haven’t bothered to read the SPLC’s definition of a hate group. Here it is in a nutshell: any group that persistently uses known falsehoods to attack and demonize a group because of their class characteristics (ie, race, religion, sexual orientation,etc.) Groups do not necessarily have to engage in violence to be named hate groups. The AFA and other religious groups do indeed engage in spreading known falsehoods about GLBT people, and in some cases, persist in nasty, groundless name-calling. You really need to do some homework before you make yourself look this dumb on a public forum.
I then stepped in:
Dale Husband said,
on June 7th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
William C. is typical of people with religious delusions and double standards.
First, there is nothing peaceful about anti-gay bigotry, so the AFA is NOT peaceful just because you are Christian and share some of its views. Bigotry is bigotry, and that some passages in the Bible condone or even support that bigotry doesn’t make it any less destructive. If the Bible openly supported racism, would you think racist groups are peaceful? Don’t you understand that KKK members also claim to be Christians?
At first glance, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka the Mormon Church, seems highly successful. It was founded in the early 19th Century and has spread over the world. Somewhat.
The term ‘Mormons’ most often refers to a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which is commonly called the Mormon Church. According to Latter Day Saint belief, Mormon is the name of the prophet who compiled the book of scripture known as the Book of Mormon. Also included are over 90 schismatic bodies. The map is dominated by the Americas. (Information source: Wikipedia)
So in the 150 years that the Church has been spreading, it has done little to become a world faith. Why not?
I’ve seen these missionaries in my community. They stick out like sore thumbs with their outfits, and thus give the impression that their own faith makes them and potential converts to their faith the same way. That’s bound to turn people off! You’d think they would dress more like everyone else to blend in and thus put people at ease!
The fact that Mormon missionaries are not paid for their work also must limit the number who would be willing and able to serve. I guess the Mormon leadership is too stingy.
BTW, whoever made this video didn’t want feedback on it:
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Cowards!
Imagine my astonishment when I looked at the Wikipedia entry for Salt Lake City, where the center of the Mormon Church is, and found:
The city was founded in 1847 by Brigham Young and his Mormon followers, who extensively irrigated and cultivated the arid valley. Due to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named “Great Salt Lake City” – the word “great” was dropped from the official name in 1868. Although Salt Lake City is still home to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), less than half the population of Salt Lake City proper is Mormon today.[5]
Less than 50% of Salt Lake City’s residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a much lower proportion than in Utah’s more rural municipalities; altogether, LDS members make up about 62% of Utah’s population.[55]
Salt Lake City has been considered one of the top 51 “gay-friendly places to live” in the U.S.[60] The city is home to a large, business savvy, organized, and politically supported gay community. Leaders of the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Utah,[61][62] as well as leaders of Utah’s largest Jewish congregation, the Salt Lake Kol Ami,[63] along with three elected representatives of the city identify themselves as gay. These developments have attracted controversy from socially conservative officials representing other regions of the state. A 2006 study by UCLA estimates that approximately 7.6% of the city’s population, or almost 14,000 people, are openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual, compared to just 3.7%, or just over 60,000 people, for the metropolitan area as a whole.[64]
Yikes! It’s like an apple that seems whole on the outside but is rotting from within!
What is causing the majority of Salt Lake City residents to reject Mormonism? Maybe stories like this:
When you are raised in a religion that condemns a basic part of your nature, of course you will do your best to suppress the “perversion” and pretend to be straight. Either that, or you will be ostracized by your own family members who share your religious upbringing if you cannot conform.
Though I’ve never been a Mormon, as both an ex-Christian and an ex-Baha’i I can identify strongly with people like Emily Pearson. When you leave a religious community you have identified with for so long and given so much of your life too, its like ripping out your own liver. But the resulting freedom you gain from the choice you make helps you grow as a person and makes you stronger in the end.
I wonder how many members of these Unitarian Universalist churches in Utah are ex-Mormons:
I counted about 655 UUs in Utah! That’s a lot of UUs in a supposedly conservative state dominated by one religious group! Most UU churches are also “Welcoming Congregations” meaning they accept as equals gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders.
As the old saying goes, what comes around goes around, so maybe its time the Unitarian Universalist Association sent hundreds of “missionaries” to Utah to encourage more people who are Mormons but questioning their faith to look at UU churches. And PAY those missionaries too!
And maybe someday, the state’s name will be spelled UUtah!
Having lived in the Fort Worth area all my life, I was never prouder of that than I was when I saw this video on YouTube. For the people of Texas, there is hope for greater enlightenment as long as people like Joel Burns and myself are around!
Such courage may cause him to be voted out of office, but it may also lead to a revolution. Let us keep up the pressure to stop the hate, the violence and the ignorance.
I’ll add this much older voice to Mr Burns’ as well:
Because bigotry is evil no matter where it comes from, and even if religion or social standards support it.
There is a public menace in the state of Michigan, a bully who is engaging in tactics that bring total disgrace to his office. And his name is Andrew Shirvell. He is an Assistant Attorney General in that state, and he is harassing a college student named Chris Armstrong who is the President of his student body at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Armstong is not even a suspect in any crime; his only ”crime” in Shirvill’s eyes is being openly gay. CNN has exposed the abuses of Shirvell:
Sorry, but while the First Amendment may allow individuals to express whatever views they wish, there is no prohibition against firing a homophobic extremist from any job he holds.
Indeed, not only should Shirvell be fired, he should immediatly be committed to a mental hospital and subjected to a battery of tests to determine what, if any, mental illness he actually has!
And next time Attorney General Mike Cox comes up for reelection, I call upon the people of Michigan to VOTE HIM OUT! How dare he duck his responsibilities in this case!
Oh, and Shirvill is not only a sick bigot, he is a coward too. He has hidden the blog he was using to attack Armstrong:
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In case you think I’m being hyperbolic, consider the case of San Francisco politician Dan White and his murder of two other politicians in the city, including Harvey Milk, who was openly gay. Can we risk a repeat of that in Michigan?
For the record, I am very critical of the Christian religion. But my slamming it ends when I am dealing with a Christian who is open-minded enough to befriend and respect me in spite of my hostility towards his religion. Such a person, in turn, earns my respect. I only do battle with bigots among the Christians, not Christians in general. If I hated all Christians, I wouldn’t be a Unitarian Universalist (UU). UUs, even those that reject Christianity, are still Protestants. If not for the Protestant movement in Christianity, UUs as a denomination wouldn’t exist.
I spent one Sunday talking with a young member of my UU church. She told me about how she visited a Baptist church while wearing a necklace with a rainbow on it, the rainbow being a symbol of gay rights. She was then confronted by the church’s pastor who demanded why she wore such a necklace. The girl then said that she liked other girls, which caused the pastor to give her a lengthy diatribe about how she was headed for hell for being gay.
Later, the UU girl brought to her church a Christian girl who was wearing a cross around her neck. The Christian was confronted by an old UU man who was quite hostile to her and an argument erupted. The UU girl was very embarrassed.
I think that old man should have faced some sort of punishment for his rude behavior. While many people, including myself, regard UU churches as a refuge from Christian fundamentalism, that does not mean we can lable all non-UU Christians as members of the “enemy”. Such an attitude never fails to disgust me. And when a UU teenager is smart enough to recognize the hypocrisy of one of her own elders, that actually gives me hope that the next generation of UUs will be more enlightened and pull UUs in general away from any form of fanaticism, including that of atheists and other anti-Christians. That simply has no place among the UUs!
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