I totally agree with Mr. Ayanbadejo. This is a secular nation, founded on the Constitution and the rule of law. And no religion, not even the dominant religion in the U.S., should have any bearing on those laws. The government grants certain rights to married individuals, and since the Constitution guarantees all citizens equal rights, those rights should also extend to people with same-sex marriages (including the very basic right to marry the person you love). If you don't like same-sex marriage, then don't marry someone of the same sex. If your church doesn't like same-sex marriages, they have the right to refuse to perform those ceremonies. But neither you nor your church (or religion) have the right to demand our government treat any of its citizens unfairly -- denying them the rights given to other citizens.
" If you don't like same-sex marriage, then don't marry someone of the same sex."
ReplyDeleteHeh. Made my day. :-)
Thank you.
DeleteOn July 4, 1776, delegates to the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence."We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." The Declaration of Independence refers to “Nature’s God,” “Creator,” and “Divine Providence" and none of these link to Christianity directly. These words could just as easily refer to Paganism. Neither God nor Jesus appears in our Constitution either. In God we trust has only appeared on U.S. coins since 1864 and on paper currency since 1957. The Pledge of Allegiance has been modified four times since its composition, with the most recent change adding the words "under God" in 1954. So those arguing that the "founding fathers" intended the US to be a "Christian" theocracy are reading something into the paperwork that isn't there. References to God were added long after our country was founded and long after the founding fathers were dead. Marriage is not mentioned in the Constitution at any point. I believe if someone argues that same-sex marriage be denied on the basis that our "founding fathers", in 1776, established a Christian Theocracy and that because of that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, they would not have a Constitutional leg to stand on.
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