Adam & Steve

In the beginning, God created man, and named him Adam. Adam needed a companion, so along came a woman named Eve. Let it be written, let it be done: man and woman unite in love, lust, and [eventual] betrayal of trust.

For anyone raised Catholic, or anyone who isn't located underneath the center of a rock, this is our first example of relationships. Man meets woman. Man falls in love with woman. Man is betrayed by woman but still builds a life and family with her. So what happens if one day, man meets man and falls in love?

"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." -Leviticus 20:13

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders. -I Corinthians 6:9

"God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." -words written on signs carried by protesters at anti-same sex marriage rallys.

Allow me to digress briefly: I spend a lot of time online. I'm a geek at heart. Message boards are a hobby of mine and I post on several. One such board is dedicated to politics. Back when the presidential campaign race was heating up, a wave of political discussion threads popped up on PPM (Poor Posting Me aka The Metallica Club's private message board). There were so many threads that the mod gave politics its own section (yes, metalheads have them there smarts, too!). About a week after the presidential election they closed the political forum, and from there, a few Clubbers (that is what Metallica calls their fan club members) spun off their own Political Discussion message board. This brings me back to same-sex marriage. It has been quite the heated debate on the Political Discussion forum.

One Californian woman who is a member of MetClub and the political forum, a happily married heterosexual mom, stated brilliantly:
"Marriage is marriage. It is not a religious institution and no one suffers from it. If same-sex couples want to marry, fine. Let them lose their asses in a messy divorce just like everyone else."

I concur.

It is also my opinion, that if a same sex couple is living together, caring for each other, and acting like a married couple in all ways with the exception of a marriage license, is it fair that they are not entitled to share insurance? If one half of a same-sex partnership dies, is it fair that the survivor is not entitled to his/her partner's life insurance and estate?

My answer is no.

I'm part of a very tight-knit old fashioned Catholic Italian family. I have recieved all of my sacraments (with marriage being the only one waiting in the wings. And yes, marriage is a sacrament in the Catholic church). Throughout my childhood and for most of high school I attended church every Sunday, and on holidays. I'd go to confession. I do not attend mass that ofetn anymore but I still have my faith. I pray and I [try] to follow the commandments. So taking all of that into consideration, I should be against same-sex marriages.

I am not.

I do not think it is a sin to be gay, and I do not think it is a choice either. A majority of my friends, plus a cousin of mine, are gay. They will each tell you the same thing: They didn't wake up one morning and decide to be gay. They were always gay, they just denied it because it isn't what society accepts.

Every mother tells her son/daugher how she can't wait for them to get married and have children. We are all raised to be heterosexual. If a child turns to his or her family one day and says "I'm gay" does that mean the parents did something wrong? No. Does that mean the gay individual wasn't raised right or taught the right things? Absolutely not. It just means they are attracted to the same sex. It just means that on an intimate level, they choose to be male-male or female-female.

I think it is hypocritical to be against same-sex marriage, but pro opposite sex marriage. People get married because (we hope!) they love each other and are committed to growing old together. Marriage is an offical declaration of two people's love for each other. Why be against that?

The bottome line is: if they aren't hurting me or you, why try and hurt them by telling them they have no right to be married?

I know one man who disagrees with me so passionately that he quotes the Bible each time he replies to one of my posts on the topic.

This is what he said to me during the discussion:

[Quote]"It is written in the Bible that 'Love is the greatest of all,' and that people should 'Love your neighbor, as you love yourself.' I think there are many types of love, but the kind of love that two gay people want, was made for a man, and a woman by the creator. Like you say, when God judges men, and women, straight, or gay....he will judge them according to how they loved their neighbor. However, God will also judge them according to how they loved him, and if people put him at the very top of their priority list. I'm not saying those who marry someone of the same sex are going to hell. I don't believe that. I think you CAN love God, and believe in him, and yet also choose NOT to follow the teachings of God's word. (sinning.) " [Endquote]

To that man and anyone who agrees with him, I say: The type of love gay people want is the type of love we all want. Don't criticize it, celebrate it. Celebrate the type of love you embrace for yourself as well. In a world where there is so much more hate than love, I think it is very non-religious of anyone to condem sincere love. Just because a man may intimately love another man, or a woman intimately love another woman, does not mean they are incapable of putting God at the top of their list.

Love, in any form, doesn't interfere with faith, if anything, it strengthens your faith.