Gay, Fine By Me

Original entry drafted 6/26/05, edited slightly 6/3/06:

A few weeks ago, mid-sentence, during a instant messenger conversation, Ben told me that Charlie (his roommate, and our mutual friend) was wearing a T-shirt that read: "Gay, Fine By Me". I immediately said, "what does that mean? Charlie isn't a complete asshole?" and Ben confered, "I guess so." He really should have said, "I guess ... not?"

I am offended for my fellow human beings. Can we be so stupid that we have to come up with gay rights campaigns (for straight people) that praise people for giving basic equal rights to gays? Oh, but wait, the campaign doesn't go so far as being pro-gay marriage or pro-gay family...this organization only goes so far as to say that Gay is Okay...

Sound familiar? Fine by you? Who cares what you think? Gay people...real gay people, the couple dozen I know in real life and not from the movies, don't want to be FINE in straight people's eyes. They want to be free to live their lives. Who doesn't? like all of us, they just want to be unique and in the same vain like everyone else.

Here in Oregon, our anti-gay marriage proposal was called 36. YES was a vote for a proposal that was poorly worded and meant gays could not be married. And I was shocked to see so many "YES on PROPOSAL 36" signs in my neighborhood. The YES campaign went with the simple "ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN" slogan...at first, even I thought the proposal was about poligamy...The first thing that crossed my mind was, "is someone proposing that ONE MAN should be with THREE WOMEN?"

I was even more shocked, amazed and uplifted to see that the "NO on proposal 36" campaign was coming at it so level-headedly. The TV commercials showed straight couples and families, saying, "I don't know how I feel about gay marriage, but I know Proposal 36 is poorly writen."

What does gay marriage threaten? Family? The families that already exist with two same-sex parents, without equal rights to their child? No, family values only serve the families that are practically extinct in our culture, the nuclear one mother, one father, two-point-five child homes. That isn't our America. It isn't our place to say if it should be, but I know it isn't right. Step-mother, step-fathers, half-children and grand-step-cousins-once removed, that is today's family. Children shouldn't be punished for the world they inhabit. And I do not mean that children should be punished for having gay parents. But instead, I mean children shouldn't be punished for their human parents short-commings and the close-minded settings of their community.

What does gay marriage threaten? Straight-marriage? I have had this conversatation a dozen times with my favorite Catholic Democrat Bartender, Glenn. Glenn is 50+ years old, he's been Catholic all of his life, married only 20 years of his life and worked at the same company over 25 years of those 50-plus, under 3 or more different owner/managers. Glenn is very educated and very political. He loves to stress both of these features. Glenn, like myself, doesn't feel gay marriage threatens what him and his wife hold as holy vows. He doesn't think a man marrying a man takes anything away from him, as a man, marrying a woman. He is very level-headed, hard-working, likes to drink and enjoy himself, and knows bullshit when he sees it.

What does gay marriage threaten? God? "It's against The Bible", being the most common response I can get from those so opposed. My response never falters, "Who are you to judge? Let them bring it up with God." If we all believe in The Bible and Judgement Day, and it actually turns out to be truth, we will all have to face our maker on the day of our demise. We will all have to account for the sins we have concured along the way...being gay and "acting upon" that gayness is no difference. Who are we to judge? God, did not put us here for that purpose. The great scripture states..."judge not lest ye be judged", "no one but God has the right". Jesus himself says, “Judge not, that we cannot judge." (Matthew 7:1). Let us all just stop playing God for a minute (in the form of the Father, Son or Holy Ghost) and let's try to live our own lives in the way of The Savior. Let us try to lead our own lives down a path of salvation and bring as many as will join us along. Jesus didn't want it and not even angry, vengeful New-Testimate God wanted us to live bullying and dragging people by their ears down the path of salvation.

I won't believe in a God who doesn't love all of his creatures.