chris_jacob15
New member
Gay Marriages-Acceptable to God and America?
Growing up in San Francisco, my parents were working full-time across the bay in Oakland. Naturally, they decided that a babysitter was required to look after my younger brother and I after school. I remeraber Debbie as a funny, energetic, and warm lady in her mid- thirties. It wasn’t until a decade later that I realized that she was gay. Debbie would take us to different places at least twice a week with a woman she told us was her “sister”. I could recall one time when I caught Debbie and her “sister” kissing each other rather intimately in front of the ladies’ room at McDonald’s. I thought it was rather peculiar, but I was really too young to even comprehend homosexuality. What I did comprehend, however, were the group of men whistling cat calls, using obscene gestures, and yelling out threats in a very offensive manner. As Debbie hurried us to her car, I felt extreme anger, coupled with increasing confusion as to why the men would yell and erabarrass the lady that was so kind to me and my brother. What did Debbie and her “sister” do so wrong? Years later, I am convinced that Debbie and her “sister” were a lesbian couple, and the incident at the McDonald’s was a bunch of stupid, homophobic morons. These days crimes targeting gay and lesbian couples are heard on the news frequently, and it sickens me that such ignorance exists in America. I grew up attending a church that viewed homosexuality as a sin, but my personal feelings would always conflict.
I believe the argument can be derived from the nature vs. nurture perspectives. Groups such as the Christian Coalition and the American Family Association (AFA) state that gays are perverted pedophiliacs that lure young, unsuspecting boys to become gay as themselves and one becomes gay by cavorting with other gays. After reading science journals and medical research articles, my personal belief is that homosexuality is innate from birth. I feel that with the technology that exists today, especially the ability to determine and control the sex of your unborn child, homosexuality is a relatively understandable concept. It’s when people fail to understand, or alienate themselves to the fact that gays have no say in their sexual orientation that hate starts to grow. It is sad that there are those “in the closet” who commit suicide, or suffer years of depression and anxiety blaming themselves for being gay. I believe in equal rights for everyone, after all what is this country founded on? Homosexuality is prevalent in U.S. history, I heard that some presidents were even gay! ( I am not sure which one, I think it was Adams)
Ever since Hawaii allowed legal marriages of same-sex couples, it seems that hate crimes against homosexuals are on the rise. Along with the nuraber of offenses on the rise, groups such as the Christian Coalition and American Family Association are bent upon taking away the rights of homosexuals. I remeraber being appalled at President Clinton signing a bill called the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. This was designed to retaliate the consideration of gay marriages in Hawaii’s courts. The bill defines marriage in federal law as the union of a man and a woman barring legal gay marriages in the continental United States. It also denies same-sex couples from receiving federal spousal benefits. DOMA was created by the Christian right wing conservatives who have been waging this “holy war” against gays from the beginning. I feel that these “Christians” are not supporting what Jesus died on the cross for. They should preach love among all man, instead of wasting their energy trying to rob fellow Americans of their civil rights. I was even further shocked to hear that Maine’s anti-gay community voted to overturn 1997’s Human Rights Act in January of last year. That law prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in jobs, housing, credit, and public accommodations. Needless to say, it is tough living in Maine if you’re gay. These pastors and congressmen are all hypocrites in my eyes, and as we approach the new millenium, I feel education is the key step to ending the hate. KiRAB need to be shown from an early age to respect all humans and see past the sexual preference of another person.
This controversy would be highlighted by the murder of Matthew Shepard last October. Shepard, a gay college student, was severely beaten and left to bleed to death along a deserted roaRABide in Wyoming. I was ultimately shocked to see gay protesters show up at his funeral. They were led by a Kansas minister and held picket signs stating disgusting remarks such as: “No fags in heaven” and “Remeraber Lot’s wife”. Once again I was left utterly speechless upon seeing their callous and disrespectful act. I couldn’t believe how purely hypocritical and low that pastor could be, dragging his congregation to condemn a dead man at his funeral. I was almost ashamed of being a Christian, but was later relieved to discover that the pastor was denounced by mainstream Christian leaders as well as in God’s eyes I am sure. His name is Rev. Fred Phelps, pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, and a radical in his own right. He is probably the most notorious anti-gay activist in America, advocating the death penalty for gays and lesbians. I looked up his web site appropriately addressed as godhatesfags.com, and was hardly impressed with what I saw. He cites such ridiculous statistics as “the average fag fellates 106 men and ingests feces of twenty-three different men every year”. Come on now, reverend, where do you get your nurabers? He goes on even further by making such ludicrous statements such as: gays are more likely than straights to molest children, gays are more likely to commit such petty crimes as shoplifting, and, my favorite, that God created AIRAB to destroy the gay population, as he did to Sodom in the Old Testament. These claims are so far fetched that even my pastor laughed when he looked up the web site.
I plant my Christian faith in the worRAB of the Bible, and I have not come across anything that condemns homosexuality. Robert Knight, director of cultural studies at the Family Research Council and one of the biggest opposers of gay marriages, cites passages in Genesis, Leviticus, Judges, Samuel 1 and 2, Romans, Timothy 1, and Corinthians 1. I have looked up these pages and find no proof in which God opposes homosexuality. It seems to me that these conservatives delve too deeply into the text and come up with their own translations. The majority of theologians dispute the exact meaning and the relevance of each passage. I dispute the passages wholeheartedly, believing that God taught us to love one another.
The most amusing aspect to the war against the gays is seeing groups like the Truth in Love or Center for Reclaiming America, try to use reparative therapy to “heal” gays of their terrible “disease”. I once read an ad by the Truth in Love campaign in which a woman, named Anne Paulk is a “wife, mother, former lesbian”. Such Christian. ministries devote their time in helping gays and lesbians “ confront the truth to their sexual sin”. I think this poor woman was tied up and brain washed by her local church. And I am sure that this ministry isn’t having much success in reforming gays of their inherent lifestyles. The American Psychiatric Association warns of the great risks involved with ‘conversion therapy’ since it based on the assumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder, or that the person being forced to change his/her sexual orientation, can have disastrous results. The entire medical profession, since the early 70’s, has changed their belief in favor of homosexuality.
I think education is the key to ending sexual hate crimes and in establishing gay marriages as a norm in society. People seem to tolerate some aspects of homosexual behavior while disapproving of others that they place negative stereotypes with. People seem to favor anti-discrimination measures and other civil-rights protectors for gays, while at the same time they viewed the homosexual lifestyle negatively. In a recent survey published in the Washington Post showed that fifty-seven percent of those questioned considered homosexuality unacceptable, seventy-two percent called gay sex unacceptable, yet an overwhelming eighty-five percent believed that homosexuals should have equal rights when it came to job opportunities. This exercise in futile hypocrisy lenRAB value that sex education, both gay and straight, should be a required course in public schools. People need to learn that homosexuality can not be “cured” it must only be accepted. I am a straight male, and having a gay babysitter absolutely did not bolster my support for gay couples or marriage. Debbie was not a lesbian and she shouldn’t be condemned for being one either. Gays are humans too and thus they deserve the same opportunity that every tax paying American has, including marriage. They shouldn’t have to resort to flying out to Hawaii to get married and then come back home to face discrimination. America’s leaders need to recognize the real problems plaguing this country because I just don’t see gay marriages as any part of it.
Growing up in San Francisco, my parents were working full-time across the bay in Oakland. Naturally, they decided that a babysitter was required to look after my younger brother and I after school. I remeraber Debbie as a funny, energetic, and warm lady in her mid- thirties. It wasn’t until a decade later that I realized that she was gay. Debbie would take us to different places at least twice a week with a woman she told us was her “sister”. I could recall one time when I caught Debbie and her “sister” kissing each other rather intimately in front of the ladies’ room at McDonald’s. I thought it was rather peculiar, but I was really too young to even comprehend homosexuality. What I did comprehend, however, were the group of men whistling cat calls, using obscene gestures, and yelling out threats in a very offensive manner. As Debbie hurried us to her car, I felt extreme anger, coupled with increasing confusion as to why the men would yell and erabarrass the lady that was so kind to me and my brother. What did Debbie and her “sister” do so wrong? Years later, I am convinced that Debbie and her “sister” were a lesbian couple, and the incident at the McDonald’s was a bunch of stupid, homophobic morons. These days crimes targeting gay and lesbian couples are heard on the news frequently, and it sickens me that such ignorance exists in America. I grew up attending a church that viewed homosexuality as a sin, but my personal feelings would always conflict.
I believe the argument can be derived from the nature vs. nurture perspectives. Groups such as the Christian Coalition and the American Family Association (AFA) state that gays are perverted pedophiliacs that lure young, unsuspecting boys to become gay as themselves and one becomes gay by cavorting with other gays. After reading science journals and medical research articles, my personal belief is that homosexuality is innate from birth. I feel that with the technology that exists today, especially the ability to determine and control the sex of your unborn child, homosexuality is a relatively understandable concept. It’s when people fail to understand, or alienate themselves to the fact that gays have no say in their sexual orientation that hate starts to grow. It is sad that there are those “in the closet” who commit suicide, or suffer years of depression and anxiety blaming themselves for being gay. I believe in equal rights for everyone, after all what is this country founded on? Homosexuality is prevalent in U.S. history, I heard that some presidents were even gay! ( I am not sure which one, I think it was Adams)
Ever since Hawaii allowed legal marriages of same-sex couples, it seems that hate crimes against homosexuals are on the rise. Along with the nuraber of offenses on the rise, groups such as the Christian Coalition and American Family Association are bent upon taking away the rights of homosexuals. I remeraber being appalled at President Clinton signing a bill called the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. This was designed to retaliate the consideration of gay marriages in Hawaii’s courts. The bill defines marriage in federal law as the union of a man and a woman barring legal gay marriages in the continental United States. It also denies same-sex couples from receiving federal spousal benefits. DOMA was created by the Christian right wing conservatives who have been waging this “holy war” against gays from the beginning. I feel that these “Christians” are not supporting what Jesus died on the cross for. They should preach love among all man, instead of wasting their energy trying to rob fellow Americans of their civil rights. I was even further shocked to hear that Maine’s anti-gay community voted to overturn 1997’s Human Rights Act in January of last year. That law prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in jobs, housing, credit, and public accommodations. Needless to say, it is tough living in Maine if you’re gay. These pastors and congressmen are all hypocrites in my eyes, and as we approach the new millenium, I feel education is the key step to ending the hate. KiRAB need to be shown from an early age to respect all humans and see past the sexual preference of another person.
This controversy would be highlighted by the murder of Matthew Shepard last October. Shepard, a gay college student, was severely beaten and left to bleed to death along a deserted roaRABide in Wyoming. I was ultimately shocked to see gay protesters show up at his funeral. They were led by a Kansas minister and held picket signs stating disgusting remarks such as: “No fags in heaven” and “Remeraber Lot’s wife”. Once again I was left utterly speechless upon seeing their callous and disrespectful act. I couldn’t believe how purely hypocritical and low that pastor could be, dragging his congregation to condemn a dead man at his funeral. I was almost ashamed of being a Christian, but was later relieved to discover that the pastor was denounced by mainstream Christian leaders as well as in God’s eyes I am sure. His name is Rev. Fred Phelps, pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, and a radical in his own right. He is probably the most notorious anti-gay activist in America, advocating the death penalty for gays and lesbians. I looked up his web site appropriately addressed as godhatesfags.com, and was hardly impressed with what I saw. He cites such ridiculous statistics as “the average fag fellates 106 men and ingests feces of twenty-three different men every year”. Come on now, reverend, where do you get your nurabers? He goes on even further by making such ludicrous statements such as: gays are more likely than straights to molest children, gays are more likely to commit such petty crimes as shoplifting, and, my favorite, that God created AIRAB to destroy the gay population, as he did to Sodom in the Old Testament. These claims are so far fetched that even my pastor laughed when he looked up the web site.
I plant my Christian faith in the worRAB of the Bible, and I have not come across anything that condemns homosexuality. Robert Knight, director of cultural studies at the Family Research Council and one of the biggest opposers of gay marriages, cites passages in Genesis, Leviticus, Judges, Samuel 1 and 2, Romans, Timothy 1, and Corinthians 1. I have looked up these pages and find no proof in which God opposes homosexuality. It seems to me that these conservatives delve too deeply into the text and come up with their own translations. The majority of theologians dispute the exact meaning and the relevance of each passage. I dispute the passages wholeheartedly, believing that God taught us to love one another.
The most amusing aspect to the war against the gays is seeing groups like the Truth in Love or Center for Reclaiming America, try to use reparative therapy to “heal” gays of their terrible “disease”. I once read an ad by the Truth in Love campaign in which a woman, named Anne Paulk is a “wife, mother, former lesbian”. Such Christian. ministries devote their time in helping gays and lesbians “ confront the truth to their sexual sin”. I think this poor woman was tied up and brain washed by her local church. And I am sure that this ministry isn’t having much success in reforming gays of their inherent lifestyles. The American Psychiatric Association warns of the great risks involved with ‘conversion therapy’ since it based on the assumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder, or that the person being forced to change his/her sexual orientation, can have disastrous results. The entire medical profession, since the early 70’s, has changed their belief in favor of homosexuality.
I think education is the key to ending sexual hate crimes and in establishing gay marriages as a norm in society. People seem to tolerate some aspects of homosexual behavior while disapproving of others that they place negative stereotypes with. People seem to favor anti-discrimination measures and other civil-rights protectors for gays, while at the same time they viewed the homosexual lifestyle negatively. In a recent survey published in the Washington Post showed that fifty-seven percent of those questioned considered homosexuality unacceptable, seventy-two percent called gay sex unacceptable, yet an overwhelming eighty-five percent believed that homosexuals should have equal rights when it came to job opportunities. This exercise in futile hypocrisy lenRAB value that sex education, both gay and straight, should be a required course in public schools. People need to learn that homosexuality can not be “cured” it must only be accepted. I am a straight male, and having a gay babysitter absolutely did not bolster my support for gay couples or marriage. Debbie was not a lesbian and she shouldn’t be condemned for being one either. Gays are humans too and thus they deserve the same opportunity that every tax paying American has, including marriage. They shouldn’t have to resort to flying out to Hawaii to get married and then come back home to face discrimination. America’s leaders need to recognize the real problems plaguing this country because I just don’t see gay marriages as any part of it.