Virginia Marriage Amendment

If two people have an authentic and mutual and deep and abiding genuine love for each other, such that they wish to commit to each other and care and love each other “until death do they part”. Then that is wonderful and welcomed and sanctified by the church and afforded special rights and benefits by the state.

Unless those two individuals happen to be of the same sex.

This is a subject that intelligent and fair and thoughtful, and even good people of faith, are wrestling with in many western countries. And in some, civil unions and same sex marriage has been adopted – for example, countries in Europe, Canada, and in Massachusetts in our country.

Good and reasonable, even deeply religious people, are divided on this. There are good and reasonable and deeply religious people who can and do fall on both sides of this issue.

This, in a way, is a confluence of several very basic and deeply held feelings – the idea that although individuals are inherently different, that they are to be treated equally; that individuals have reasonable rights to live their lives without interference by others’ religious beliefs; that there are long held community traditions about marriage; that the desire to be bonded together in a loving mutually committed relationship is a characteristic of being human.

And perhaps overlying all of this is that in recent times there is a new realization and new information about sexuality.

With this in mind, can we ask each other how appropriate is it to decide now, in the midst of this flux, and emerging understanding, to make such a long standing and fundamentally basic change to our agreement among one another – our Bill of Rights?

I have asked this many times and I ask it again now. Try and compose an explanation in the simplest and clearest of language, such that it could easily be communicated to the average Virginia high school student who will be living under this community policy, just why is this amendment so important now and what common good will it produce for Virginia?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 10 Consequences Of Voting Yes On The Virginia Marriage Amendment

The following is offered as there are opposing lists being circulated by the religious right. So, here are my Top 10 Consequences of Voting Yes on the Virginia Marriage Amendment. 1. Voting Yes is unnecessary, as marriage is already defined in Virginia by statute. 2. Voting Yes ignores the facts – ignores the accepted medicine and science on this subject. 3. Voting Yes to constitutionalize such a socially charged issue, in flux, is clearly in opposition to Jeffersonian Democracy. 4. Voting Yes is an unabashed ploy by cynical Republicans to get out their base. 5. Voting Yes is in opposition to the maintaining of a bright line between church and state. 6. Voting Yes could bring about a myriad of unintended consequences to unmarried heterosexual couples. 7. Voting Yes will continue to paint Virginia as a cultural backwater and an unfriendly place for the location of new high tech businesses. 8. Voting Yes will hardly benefit the thousands of children in gay families nor give hope to many...
Read more

I Am Ashamed That Eric Cantor Is My Congressman

I understand that most don’t have the leisure I have, as a retiree, to follow issues, to stay tuned to political debates, to spend time and become involved in local politics. However, it is appalling that those fellow citizens of my 7th District in Virginia have such a knee jerk reaction to this current financial crisis such as to swallow the political rhetoric of Congressman Cantor and to not see this partisan politician for who he is. To see Congressman Cantor spotlighted on national news holding up House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s floor remarks and using this as the reason that Republicans failed to pass their administration’s backed financial crisis bill was nauseating. Cantor was playing politics. Cantor was petty. Cantor was being used by his party handlers to try and shift this failure to reach accord onto the Democrats for political gain. Cantor was seen as a safe spokesman who is from the brightest red district of a red state with little formidable opposition to push this mal...
Read more

Yes Virginia, There Are Homosexuals – In Spite Of Mean-Spirited Marriage Amendments

You don't need to be a lawyer to write a marriage amendment apparently, but you could use some common sense. A high school student could have written a better amendment than the proposed Virginia marriage amendment. And if it weren't so poorly written, this topic wouldn't be the subject of debate and discussion all across the Commonwealth. Just using words like "approximate" and "qualities . . . of marriage" for example --- these words mean something different to every one who reads them. At least, you will have to admit that for a constitutional amendment to our Bill of Rights, this language is far from ideal. And more importantly is not easily and consistently communicated to the general populace. But why tiptoe around this. Delegate Robert Marshall has admitted in interviews and debates that he seized onto this quest after Lawrence v. Texas and his homophobia and obsession with sodomy (overlooking that oral sex within heterosexual couples is sodom...
Read more