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01/18/2007
What, you think we want 'You may kiss your fellow sinner' to close our vows?
"Pro-family" folks are predictably hailing the announcement that clergy members will not be required to perform civil unions for gay couples in New Jersey. However, Peter LaBarbera of the so-called Americans For Truth warns that those pesky, militant homosexual activists are gonna be less than civil to those who abstain, saying to Focus on the Family' s CitizenLink:
"To me, what's shaping up is, yes, they are not forced to by the law," he said, "but we will see the other side start to demonize and ostracize pastors that do not bless homosexual unions."
But the thing is -- virtually none of us on the pro-gay side of things are surprised or angered by this development! Pastors are never required to marry ANY couple! If anything, the Attorney General's legal opinion just solidifies our argument that what we are talking about when we discuss same-sex marriage is civil, not religious marriage. By baselessly putting it out there that local gays are gonna riot in the streets if a Catholic priest refuses to sanctify a same-sex couple's union within the confines of his Hoboken church, Mr. LaBarbera is trying to keep the allowance of same-sex unions painted as some sort of an attack on organized religion. But if we react the way we should on this and say that we don't WANT to be joined in matrimony by any religious leader who deems our coupling less than moral, then we'll help show the nation and the world how they'll still be allowed to demonize us as freely within the confines of their house of worship as they always have, even if our unions are legalized. What a goal, huh?
Now that being said, we will of course work diligently to also show these religious leaders that we're not immoral Hell-bound heretics who are choosing a lifestyle of sin, as gay-unfriendly religious teaching has helped keep anti-gay bias alive and (un)well. We will plead with them to re-examine their Bible, their WHOLE Bible, and beg them to please consider the gaps in translation that lead many to believe that gay couples as we know them today are barely, if ever, mentioned within the pages of the good book. We will seek their love, compassion, and understanding, and show them why, exactly, their religious freedom should not be allowed to trump our freedom to live equally in the eyes of mainstream society. We will challenge their hypocrisy in judging what they perceive as our "sin" greater than those that are, even under the strictest of interpretation, held in the same or greater weight. And last but certainly not least -- we will do as we think any powerful and mighty God would want us to do, and ask questions rather than just accept the multi-translated word of man as undebatable fact!
Later in the same CitizenLink piece, C.J Doyle of the Catholic Action League chimes in with:
"The whole tendency is once something is legalized, it moves from being simply a liberty or a right, so-called, to something that is required," he said. "This is something that is very dangerous."
...
"Though it's gratifying that members of the clergy will not have to perform civil unions," he said. "It also raises the issue of what about the Justices of the Peace and Town Clerks who, in conscience, do not wish to participate in this."
But again -- questions and issues are only being raised because these guys are putting it out there. It's actually VERY simple: Religious leaders don't want to perform RELIGIOUS ceremonies -- FINE! Civil leaders don't want to perform their government duty within the parameters of defined law -- NOT GONNA EVER BE OKAY! It's really not so difficult!
We know folks like Mr. LaBarbera and Mr. Doyle have to be able to grasp these concepts, as they both study gay issues with a fine tooth comb and presumably have a capacity for rational thought. Therefore, we can't help but think that they are deliberately trying to muddy the waters so that those who accept their every word will also jounrey with them on this flawed train of thought. After all, positioning same-sex unions as a threat to religious freedom is the strategy that has allowed these guys to rally their troops in such impressive ways! But if they would just stop and look at the evidence and present the facts rather than the fear-mongering, the course of this "debate" would change overnight!
Mr. Doyle and Mr. LaBarbera: We are never going to stop challenging your rhetoric. But we never started challenging your right to express your convictions within the confines of your church! Now do us a favor and stop trying to use your religious freedom to squash our right to express our love within the confines of OUR COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!
N.J. Pastors Spared from Performing Civil Unions [FOF CitizenLink}
Technorati Tags: C.J. Doyle, civil unions, gay marriage, New Jersey, Peter LaBarbera, religious freedom
Your thoughts
Apparently, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" has been redacted from LaBarbera's copy of the bible.
As for judges, mayors and town clerks who don't want to officiate civil marriages involving same-sex couples, if they feel that strongly about it then they should, in good conscience, resign from their position.
Posted by: Ian D. Stewart | Jan 18, 2007 1:12:56 PM
The only caveat to your last comment is in regard to mayors, who are not technically required to perform marriages. So it's possible they could get away with not performing civil unions IF they also stop performing opposite-sex ceremonies.
Posted by: G-A-Y | Jan 18, 2007 1:15:54 PM
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