{"id":530,"date":"2009-05-29T15:24:09","date_gmt":"2009-05-29T15:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/progressiverevival\/2009\/05\/sexual-orientation-and-the-pur.html"},"modified":"2009-05-29T15:24:09","modified_gmt":"2009-05-29T15:24:09","slug":"sexual-orientation-and-the-pur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2009\/05\/sexual-orientation-and-the-pur.html","title":{"rendered":"Sexual Orientation and the Pursuit of Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness….<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n


These values are enshrined in our Declaration of Independence as inalienable rights of every American.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n


Generation after generation, people have fought to get rid of the “….except for”s: except for blacks, except for women, etc.  Today, we challenge the latest prejudice to raise its ugly head and seek to repudiate the fundamental American dedication to freedom and equality for all. The idea that there should be God-given life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness “except for gays” is unworthy of our national character.
       <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

If someone thinks homosexuality is immoral, they have a right to believe that. But they do not have the right to change our fundamental freedoms. For many, many people, getting married is one of the most important things they will ever do in the pursuit of happiness. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing, in the Constitution of the United States that suggests any group of people has the right to limit another, no matter how many referendums or propositions they put onto a ballot. The U. S. Constitution reigns supreme.
      <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

I do not feel the upset I would have expected to feel about the recent ruling by California’s Supreme Court. I don’t feel the upset because it seems so clear to me that this issue is already decided in the hearts and minds of Americans. We have a new generation of citizens who can’t even believe we’re having this argument; for whom the inalienable rights of all people – yes, all<\/i> people – is such a no-brainer that they are stymied by the fact we’re even discussing this. They don’t see gays as second-class people, and they don’t think they should be treated as second-class citizens. In my heart, I believe that the Supreme Court of the United States is going to agree with them. God loves gay people every bit as much as He loves the rest of us, and the idea that “God shall not be mocked” means that He isn’t. God is limitless in His love, and asks that we at least make the effort to be limitless in ours. <\/font>
<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…. These values are enshrined in our Declaration of Independence as inalienable rights of every American. Generation after generation, people have fought to get rid of the “….except for”s: except for blacks, except for women, etc.  Today, we challenge the latest prejudice to raise its ugly head and seek…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[406,404,405,407],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homosexuality","tag-freedom","tag-gay","tag-lesbian","tag-marriage"],"yoast_head":"\nSexual Orientation and the Pursuit of Happiness - Progressive Revival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2009\/05\/sexual-orientation-and-the-pur.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sexual Orientation and the Pursuit of Happiness - Progressive Revival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…. 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