Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Please leave God out of it

Here's my issue with bringing God and religion into Civil Rights' issues like marriage equality:

"He" doesn't belong there.

He doesn't. God can belong in your religious ceremony where you and your loved one get married. You can bring God into your home and worship him any way you feel is appropriate.

But God does not belong in a Civil Rights conversation. Separation of Church and State SHOULD mean that, well, the church and the state are SEPARATED.

Your church does not have to recognize a marriage. They don't have to perform ceremonies on anyone they feel do not meet their criteria. Whatever floats your boat, guys.

If I get married in a court house or a ceremony at the beach with a Justice of the Peace, I am not getting married in a "House of God*." Your religious views should have no bearing on whether or not two people have the "right" to wed. Not anymore. Not here. Not in this country.

If you can prove that there is some other reason why 2 people who are committing their lives to each other should not receive the EXACT SAME BENEFITS from the government, including all medical, property, taxes, etc., then please: let's discuss. But do NOT bring a religious deity into the conversation.




*My opinion is that the entire world is the House of God and that churches are buildings where people go to try to become closer to the religion, not God. But that is my own experience and (hopefully) not yours. I just know that being surrounded by strangers who may be judging what I am wearing and judging the behavior of my family in a building is not the most comfortable place to commune with the Universe.

8 comments:

Melisa Wells said...

Well said, sista.

Ariana G said...

I wrote a similar post, perhaps not quite as succinctly though. It is a very emotional subject.
http://arianaisstillgrowing.blogspot.com/2013/03/growing-into-marriage-equality.html

Kamis Khlopchyk said...

YES. This is so well written and I love it from the first word to the last.

Anonymous said...

Love it :)

Sounds like you and I have a similar perspective on God, too. I told Kelly that if Illinois passes the marriage bill this week, I would propose. After 11 years together, I think I've finally scared the pants off her!

Mel S. said...

Totally agree with you. Can we please stop fighting over this?

Anonymous said...

I'm always so baffled that the forgiveness messages (among other love messages) that comes with worship can be so handily severed when applied to same sex families. What do rights have to do with religion? And how is it acceptable to forgive and love most people but not my family?! Well put post and thank you for saying it. Amen!

CJ said...

You would think such an easy concept would be understood and enforced. Yet, here I am, legally domestically partnered... not married. Yet I paid the same price for my partnership as hetero couples pay for their marriage... but I was not even allowed to change my last name. Ridiculously sad and unfair.

Rachael said...

This is so great! I am glad to see your post in the LGBT blog hop. I am not legally anything to my partner and our daughter is not protected because of this. I'm so happy to see someone voicing the same issues I have with the civil rights discussion and GOD being the be all and end all of the debate. Thank you for standing up and speaking this very simple truth!

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