{"id":423,"date":"2008-10-11T09:41:12","date_gmt":"2008-10-11T09:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/conversationswithgod\/2008\/10\/are-gays-people-too.html"},"modified":"2008-10-11T09:41:12","modified_gmt":"2008-10-11T09:41:12","slug":"are-gays-people-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/conversationswithgod\/2008\/10\/are-gays-people-too.html","title":{"rendered":"Are gays people, too?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday the high court in Connecticut overturned the ban on gay marriage there. It said that the State’s constitution did not permit the State Government to refuse to grant marriage licenses to gay couples. This is, the high court said, discrimination based on sexual orientation–an action not permitted by law.
\nThis leads to a critical question. Are gays to be treated like straight people, in every way? Do we as a society not have a right to say that gays cannot be married? Are we not in charge of our own country anymore?
\nYes, we are. We, the people (or at least the people living in Connecticut at the time) wrote<\/em> the Connecticut constitution. We, the people, decided<\/em> that we were going to make it against the law to treat one group of people differently from another group. By that decision, we made it illegal for the State to refuse to grant two people a marriage license simply on the basis of their sexual orientation.
\nOne member of the high court wrote a dissenting opinion, claiming that marriage laws are an effort to regulate procreation, and that on this basis gays could not marry under the law. Marriage laws are an effort to regulate procreation????<\/em> Wow, is that a stretch, or what? Do you really want the State to get into the business of “regulating procreation”? And what kinds of regulations would you suggest, while we are at it….?
\nA spokesman for the White House reacted to the news from Conn. by saying that it was unfortunate that once again “activist judges” have seen fit to undermine the will of the people. No…what judges have done is make sure that some people not be allowed to undermine the will of the people who wrote the State constitution.
\nWe have to make our minds up here. Either we ARE going to allow, in the conduct of official government business, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (or anything else, for that matter) or we are not.
\nWhich do we choose?
\nThe New Spirituality has no room for discrimination on ANY basis whatsoever–and certainly not on the basis of what person an individual falls in love with…
\nGay marriage should long ago have been made legal every place in America–the “Land of the Free.” I look forward to the day when other states will follow Connecticut, whether it is done legislatively or judicially, in making gay marriage legal. What right does any government have to tell you who you can fall in love with and spend your life with in marriage? And, pray tell, what right does the State have in “regulating procreation”?
\nIn Communist China they “regulate procreation” by telling you, by law, how many children you may have, and what gender. This is done under the guise of population control.
\nAt least it’s not done under the guise of “what God wants.” That’s a step forward, at least…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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