What Can We Do About This Gay Marriage Thing?
What is Loving vs. Virginia?
Time changes many things. Attitudes and prejudices change with time. They change for individuals and they change for societies.
If you do not know what the famous lawsuit Loving vs. Virginia is, check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia .
In 1958, Mr Loving, a white man married Mrs. Loving, a black woman. In Virginia, in 1958, this was illegal, a crime. They were arrested. Does this sound ridiculous to you in 2012? I am sure no one was laughing in 1958. In 1967, it took a lawsuit appealed to The United States Supreme Court to allow this couple to enjoy the bliss of marriage.
Today we have a same sex couple that want to marry. Many people, most people think this is wrong. In 1958, most people thought that Mr. and Mrs. Loving should not marry. Does that mean that "most people" are right? I believe that, just as we look back to 1958 and ask ourself,"What were we thinking?", we will do the same thing in forty years.
Forty years from now, someone's gay son will bring home his boyfriend and announce that they are getting married soon. It will be a joyful occasion.
Today if you have a gay son or daughter, there is no definition to their relationship. Their parents and friends do not really know what their relationship is. If you have a straight son or daughter, you can plainly see how they feel about the person they love. If your straight son or daughter is living with someone that they have chosen not to marry, you know what that means. If your straight son or daughter marries that person, you know what that means. It is their decision. That decision announces to the world how they feel about each other.
If your son or daughter is gay, the law does not allow them to announce to the world how they feel. Their parents and their friends and their priest does not really know how your gay son feels. You don't know if their "significant other" is really significant enough to marry because our current laws don't allow your gay son or daughter to express their intentions.
The closet door is open and will continue to be more open. Do parents still "disown" their kids when they come out of the closet like they did ten and twenty years ago? If so, the parents need therapy. Don't you agree? How could anyone quit loving their kids? They are you. Whether it is environment or heredity, your children are part of you. Would you quit loving your white son because he loves a black woman? In 1958, maybe you would. I hope not but maybe your desire to conform with the the current social morays and customs would have overridden twenty years of loving your son or daughter.
It is not 1958. It is not 1858. It is 2012, the twenty first century. It is time that our laws catch up with our beliefs. Do you believe it is wrong or immoral to love a person of the same sex as you? It is not for me but I certainly am not going to quit loving my son or daughter because it is for them. I don't want my son or daughter to spend their live "living with'" their significant other that should be their loving spouse.
Your state lawmakers can not read your mind. Write them a letter. Ask your friends to contact your state senators and congressmen.
When you mention Loving vs. Virginia and Rosa Parks and sit in demonstrations at the Greyhound diner in Greensboro, young people don't even know what you are talking about. The people that were there when it happen certainly know what it was about. It was wrong. It was the law. The law said it was right but it was wrong. Today the law says your gay son can not marry. That is wrong. It is obviously wrong. This is not a religious issue. It is a legal issue. I don't care what the pope or the chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention thinks, I care what the person that makes my state laws thinks. You should also.
In forty years, attitudes about gay people will be the same story as race prejudice is today. Do we have to wait forty years? Let's get started changing these laws now.
