It has nothing to do with religion., There is no basic right of people to marry someone of the same sex, and it is contrary to human dignity, basic biology and common sense.
Love is better than hate. If you have ever actually researched biology, you will find that there are thousands of animals that participate in homosexual activities with their species. Common sense says that science supports arguments for gay rights.
And it has everything to do with religion. I am a huge activist for gay rights. Recently, this battle became even more personal and important to me when I found out that one of my family members is gay. So naturally, I want to bring down all the obstacles I see that keep homosexuals from gaining their rights. And the biggest obstacle I see is, without a doubt, religion.
I want to give a solid argument for my idea that if religion did not discriminate against gays, then same-sex marriage would have been legalized years ago.
First, it is important to understand why religions such as Christianity are not ok if you are gay. In Catholicism, sex is moral only if it includes all three of these traits: the couple is married, the emotional connection between the couple is being enhanced, and the couple is open to the possibility of creating children. Gays cannot pro-create, so therefore it is immoral for them to waste their precious little spermies. A Christian will probably point to the many Bible passages in the Old Testament where it says if you commit sodomy, you will be stoned (stoning was the usual punishment if you broke any one of God’s Laws…I guess there were a lot of rocks around). Leviticus 18:22 says “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is an abomination.”
Times change and society evolves. At the time, I guess it made sense to do everything you could to pro-create, because there really weren’t that many people at all compared to today. Having lots of gays in a small village would decrease the chances of the village’s survival. But we don’t live in villages with a few hundred people. We live in cities, and there are millions upon millions of people. The world is overpopulated as it is. The world could definitely use a few more gays. Anyways, my point is that just because your holy book says it doesn’t mean it should apply to today’s society.
Now, if monotheistic religions would hold the belief that gay sex is wrong without discriminating against actual gay people themselves, I wouldn’t have as much of a problem (although I still wouldn’t agree). “Hate the sin, love the sinner” is a common Christian motto. But this phrase runs into a problem when you apply it to gay people. Because being gay is not an action. It is an integral part of who some people are. Many heterosexual couples would consider the love for their partner as a characteristic that defines them. It’s the same situation for gays. Besides, common sense says that if you hate what a person is doing, then chances are you don’t exactly love the person, either.
Let’s put dogma aside for now and look at the actions of religion concerning gays.
Just a few hundred years ago, you would be burned for being gay. The word “faggot” actual refers to a bundle of sticks that was used in burnings. Luckily, people aren’t killed for being gay anymore…well, not nearly as many people. There have been relatively recent murders and beatings in America due to discrimination against gays. The tragic case of Lawrence King, an eighth grader who was killed by a fellow classmate for being gay, is a terrifying example of this.
Of course, this case is an extreme situation. But I know people who are discriminated daily in their schools and workplaces because of their sexual orientation. People lose their jobs for being gay. They can be kicked out of their churches. My great-aunt, who was an otherwise wonderful lady, left her church until it kicked the gays that were going to it out. Churches protesting funerals of gay soldiers. How those soldiers are constantly harassed in their own military groups, and how that is considered lawful. And this is advocated by CHURCHES! Religion is comforting to millions of people in the world. It is a core part of who many people are. But what if your religion denounced who you are as a sin? What would you do if, rather than giving you strength in a crisis, your faith was the cause of your crisis? The advice many gays get from their religious leaders is to change who they are. Imagine being told that to be accepted into your faith, you must live a lie. That is no way to live at all.
You know something is wrong when gay teens are four times as likely to commit suicide as their peers. Imagine how you would feel if you were constantly harassed for being “different” – not just by your peers, but by your parents. Imagine finally being brave enough to show who you are – only to be rejected by those you love, even thrown out of the house. Imagine feeling so isolated that you wonder if anyone gives a damn whether you are alive – or dead.
It just plain sucks. And I know that if religion didn’t make being gay socially unacceptable, then Lawrence King would still be alive.
So I do get considerably angry when my Catholic school puts how being gay is evil into its curriculum every year, because I know this perpetuates the discriminatory attitudes that hurt a lot of people I care about. That’s not ok with me. Religious leaders should be teaching acceptance, not hate. People shouldn’t have to choose between living honestly and living in their faith. It’s hard for me to hear my friends and family being called evil in the name of God. But I know the hate that religion creates is the real evil. I just want to break down and cry sometimes because of all this. But I will always keep fighting, and I will never shut up, because I give a damn about equality. And so should you:
wegiveadamn.org/
