Why I Support "Gay"
Why I Support "Gay"
If you’ve followed me for very long, you will have noticed that I support gay rights. You might wonder why a straight, white, middle-aged Lutheran woman would not only care, but actively champion the queer community, and stand up for their rights to partner, marry if they choose, parent, etc. I have my reasons, one of them quite personal. But it all comes down to equality.
To start, my oldest son is gay. He was born that way. It was not something he chose. I didn’t make him that way, and neither did anyone else. It’s just what is. Since I happen to have a personal faith, I believe the Creator (God, if you’d rather) made my son gay. So it angers me when “Christians” (who really ought to return to Christ-centered faith) say my son, or any other gay person, is sinning and will be condemned to some awful hell if he doesn’t repent. Repent of what? Being how God made him?
But even if I didn’t have a gay child, I hear from kids every day who are struggling with their sexuality. Struggling to fit in where, often, they are ostracized for being how God made them. Struggling to find the right words to tell their parents and friends that this is WHO THEY ARE. Struggling to believe they are okay. That it’s normal to be gay. That people will accept them and love them and not keep telling them that while God may love the sinner, He hates the sin. What sin?
This post comes up now because of a Facebook thread which started with me joking about Chris Matthews’ contention that Jeb Bush will be the de facto 2012 Repub presidential candidate. Others jumped in and the jokes started flying and then someone got offended that we “liberals,” and therefore “sinners” would make jokes about Republicans and before you know it, the thread was hijacked and became about gays/sin. One young man posting there was struggling with his sexuality, especially how that plays out in the face of his own religion. While most of us were trying to tell him he was how God made him, another young woman jumped in to give her Bible-based opinion that he was, in fact, a sinner. Apparently, gay or liberal, God’s got us all on his shit list.
Here’s what I think about sin. I think it takes intent. In Nevada, both our governor and one of our U.S. senators were caught with mistresses. The senator allegedly used campaign funds to buy off his mistress’ family. The governor actually moved out of the Governor’s Mansion (his wife stayed), and in with his girlfriend. (Should I mention they’re both Republicans?) Now I guess these guys could claim God made them horndogs, so screwing off on their wives wasn’t sin. But I’m saying there was intention in their actions.
Sexuality is inborn. It is a thread in our individual weave, the same as race and gender and intelligence factor. There was a time in this country when women didn’t have the same rights as men. A time when black people didn’t have the same rights as whites. (God help us not to regress to those times.) Why shouldn’t gay people have the same rights as heterosexual people? Give me one good reason why they shouldn’t be rewarded for staying in a committed relationship, and allowed to call that relationship “marriage” if they choose to. Why they shouldn’t be allowed to raise children-children who, no doubt, will grow up with a broader view of humanity and a kinder sensibility. How dare we disallow the queer community the rights the rest of us enjoy, for no other reason than because they are the way the Creator made them?