My friend Kristin wrote this, and I wanted to share it with you:

Look, if you're anti-gay marriage, I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise.

I mean it. I'm not, and I'm not going to try.

It doesn't matter that there isn't a legal argument I couldn't shoot down in about three seconds. It doesn't matter that there has been tons of research done on the subject of homosexuality. So don't think I'm not invested just because I'm not arguing with you, it's just that people who are against gay marriage are not really interested in things like law and science, so it's a waste of my time to try to present them as valid argument.

It's not even worth it to bust out my biblical study skills, if I thought that would work. The invention of the printing press occurring some 400 years after the death of Christ aside, it is totally pointless to bring up the clusterfuck that is Leviticus. And when you get angry about my saying that, I don't even see the point in bringing up the irony in your wearing polyester and eating a hot dog at the same time. Or the fact that homosexuality amongst women isn't even mentioned.

And I'm definitely not going to bring up the larger pictures, the idea that religion should be enriching, not destructive, that society abandons bad traditions all the time, and that nuance in law in something we already practice with a little thing called gun control, and how that means we can tell the difference legally between a six shooter and an Uzi.

But I will tell you this.

You know that grandparent you had? The one who got you kicked out of your 5th grade graduation because they declared loudly that they were not sitting next to the colored people? Who never got taken to Denny's again because they wouldn't take beverages from the black hostess? Who died alone on Christmas because everyone thought it would be too annoying to have to deal with them and Aunt Sally's new black fiance?

In 50 years, that's going to be you. Happy unending loneliness!


She's right. This is a subject I feel strongly about, but I don't often argue for it for exactly the reasons she mentions here. Either you already believe gays deserve the same rights as everyone else, or you don't and you won't be convinced by any argument you hear. So I'm going to say this once, and then I'll leave you to believe whatever you want to believe.

I believe that gays are people, no different than anyone else. I do not believe that they are inherently sinful, or at least, no more so than any of the rest of us. I believe they deserve the same legal rights as any other citizen. If everyone else gets to be married under the law, then so do gay people. You wouldn't stand for someone deciding that gays don't have free speech...why is this so different? Either they are citizens or they aren't.

However, I think that this is sort of a moot point, because I don't believe the government should be involved in the institution of marriage. There should be something called a civil union, and it should cover the legal rights and responsibilities of becoming a domestic legal entity, and it should be applied to both gay and straight partnerships. Taxation, insurance benefits, power of attorney, inheritance, all of these things are things the government should define, whether you're a man and a woman who love each other, two men who love each other, or permanent roommates who just want to make sure someone they trust gets to sign the forms at the hospital. You want to get married? Find a clergy member who will marry you. Some churches will refuse to recognize gay marriages, and that is fine. Hell, most Christian churches (particularly the one I was raised in) would refuse to marry me because I am no longer a member of any congregation. I accept that; they have every right to believe as they do. But if that is how they feel, then they are probably not a community I need or want to be a part of.

I believe that the church has a right to get involved in politics, in the same way that charities, special interest groups, and commercial entities do. A church, if you want to think of it this way, is merely a non-profit special interest group, and as such it has the right to represent the interests of its members in the democratic process. We have a separation of church and state in this country, but I don't think we violate it by having our churches help us to get our message out. However, it's crossing the line when a church, any church, spends millions of dollars in a state where it holds very little sway, to interfere in what should be a local election. If this had been a federal election I would understand, but it defeats the purpose of having local entities if we're just going to wander into other people's jurisdictions and tell them what to do anyway. I'm looking at you, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

It's crossing the line when you consider how much good that money could do in what should be the church's primary mission: helping people in need. Gay people don't want your help, churches. I'm sorry, but they don't. You have the power to do a lot of good in this world, but it's not any more right to use your influence to deny gays the right to marry than it was to forcibly convert natives in the Americas, or establish an Inquisition. If Christianity truly is about love and acceptance, then how about a little more loving and accepting, and a little less fire and brimstone? I remember being taught as a child that even a murderer can be forgiven, although if you equate homosexuality and murder, chances are you and I have nothing to say to one another. In any event it's God's place to judge, not yours or mine. As someone who has strayed from her church, and is likely to stay that way, I am here to tell you that you are losing and may have permanently lost young people like me. Going out of your way to deny rights to people I love? Not helping your case any.

There is a Prop 8 protest happening in Los Angeles today, and in a lot of other cities across the country. You'll notice that I'm sitting here writing a blog post instead of out in the street with a sign. Please don't think that this is because I don't support the cause. It's just that I haven't made up my mind that protests are the right course of action. It's a complicated issue, and mistakes were made on both sides, and if you know me at all you know that I like to weigh all sides carefully before taking action. However, I do believe that an opportunity will come for us to enact legislation that protects equality and the rights of all citizens. I hope that when that time comes, I will be able to vote for it knowing that my loved ones will, or would if they could, do the same.

I am hopeful.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/individual/#CAI01

But I worry.

Holy crap, it is incredibly hot in my polling place.

Mobile post sent by ValkyrieCain using Utterli.  Replies.

A classmate of mine did this mod in the Half-Life 2 engine. His thesis is a series of these, basically short interactive vignettes that operate in the same space as political cartoons. Can't wait to see more!