March to a Different Drummer

Come on now people. Haven’t you ever watched a couple – at a family reunion, while at the beach, at any of our daily activities – and given a thought of how uncomfortable you might think of those two people being sexually attracted to each other. Perhaps sometimes they aren’t – but often they are. We might find it gross, or amusing, or repulsive, icky, or strange. But we usually are willing to not want to intrude on that couple’s right to private sexual experience. Come on people. We don’t deny people who are in apparently loving relationships be denied of those relationships – not if they are adults, and especially if that relationship is also caring and loving and mutually supportive and monogamous. Most in today’s America are, if not reluctantly tolerant and overlooking of a gay couple living together, are more accepting. It is more and more of a fact in our experience as we see more gay couples in our daily experience and in the images we see in media. How do we in our civi...

Even traditional man/woman heterosexual marriage can be presented in an unfavorable light. Still, it’s perfectly legal for this couple to get a civil marriage license and receive from our government the full civil rights and responsibilities that marriage is entitled to by law. . . . adultery is a choice . . . homosexuality is not a choice . . . divorce is a choice . . . homosexuality is not a choice . . . marriage is a choice . . . homosexuality is not a choice 200 years ago perhaps it could be understood that society would view homosexuality as immoral. 100 years ago perhaps it could be understood that society would view homosexuality as immoral. Even 50 years ago perhaps it could be understood that society would view homosexuality as immoral. But today, in 2006, with the current psychological, medical, sociological, anthropological understanding about homosexuality – what basis, other than Biblical, would cause an intelligent, fair-minded, enlightened person to view homosexuality as...

Last Sunday The Council for Social Justice of Congregation Beth Ahabah sponsored a panel discussion on the proposed Virginia marriage amendment. The panelists were uniformly impressive and the event was well attended. However, I was troubled by Ms Gastañaga’s, professional lobbyist for Equality Virginia, response to a question from the audience about polygamy. Her response that she didn’t think that there was a “slippery slope” was unconvincing. And I think in this debate it is much easier to construct talking points suggesting that gay marriage will open the door to a myriad of other relationships demanding equal recognition. I don’t have an easy answer either but I add an anecdote. I recently lived for six years in Riyadh and my best friend was a Saudi whose traditional father had two wives. I asked my friend Bandar many times about the experience of growing up in such a family and he consistently described it as a healthy and happy situation for all involved. I do think that t...