Personal opinion #1: I can care less. If a gay or lesbian couple wish to be miserable for the rest of their lives through the bonds of matrimony like any other straight couple, who am I to deny them that wish?
Its hypocritical of the church, an institution that supposedly "seeks justice on this earth", to spend so much time, energy, & money on the very opposite. The last I checked, the New Testament is about loving thy neighbor, helping those that are less fortunate, sticking up for the oppressed, doing that to which you know to be right, saving souls, being honest w/ yourself & your relationship w/ God, healing the sick, etc. Its never about keeping people in bondage, making them be 2nd class citizens in the kingdom of God.
Personal opinion #2: When the church gets seeks change through the political process & betrays its own values, does it not demean its own moral authority?
Considering the scope of the (unfortunately) STILL ongoing pedophilia scandal here in the US as well as recently revealed abuses in Ireland, I'm puzzled why we citizens should take the Church seriously. Why should they dictate how OTHER CONSENTING ADULTS conduct their own business when they cannot control or ignore abuses in theirs. This is not even including the coverups that went on for DECADES.
I guess the message they're still trying to send is that 2 men screwing each other is a no-no but if its one of their one screwing a little boy or girl, its as Martha Stewart would say, "a good thing."
Personal opinion #3: Maybe the tax exempt status of the Churches should be revoked or more scrutinized. Or maybe gay & lesbian couples should get a reduction in their tax burden.
The Fourteenth Amendment gives "equal protection under the law." It broadly defines citizenship & the constitutional rights, particularly due process. Using this argument...if gay & lesbians do not have the same rights as straight folk, why should they be obligated to pay the same amount of taxes or serve on juries or other things like that. Also using that same logic, churches should start paying taxes. Are we the taxpayer not footing the bill from public services like fire & police protection? W/ that same line of reasoning, the gay & lesbian communities are essentially subsidizing their own oppression.
I'm honestly surprised in the NYS Senate debate, nobody framed it in such a way as helping ease the state's budget crisis. They could have had a nice windfall from all the new marriage licenses being issued to the new gay & lesbian couples. But then again, this is the same government body that was in session for the entire month of June because they couldn't act like adults & get a quorum. All the while getting no work done even though there's something like a $2 billion dollar budget deficit that (to this very day still needs to be resolved).
Personal opinion #4: Government at all levels should completely get out of the marriage racket & give everyone "civil unions" for all those who apply & qualify. It doesn't matter if 2 guys want it, 2 girls, & 1 guy & 1 girl. Completely leave the marriage business to religious institutions. Who they choose & deny should have no weight or special benefit w/ man's law.
Maybe I'm just a fallen Catholic who will burn in hell anyway (I'm a "pornographer" after-all who shoots half-naked girls that are wearing more real estate than the girls in the undies section of the JCPenny's catalog) but I can't take their mission seriously when I'm more educated about their own mission & what the messages of the New Testament than they are.
*sigh*
In other news...
This is Samantha & her fiancee, Ryan, in one of their goofy moments that is supposedly "pornographic" (like I'm supposed to be ashamed that is "porn).
For some reason I keep thinking of the song, "Anything You Can Do" from "Annie Get your Gun." The lyrics go, "Anything you can do I can do better!" "No, you can't." "Yes, I can." "No, you can't." "Yes, I can." & so on.
Feel free to opine, critique, whatever. Just be an adult & leave a name when you do.
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