On the ballot

I'm going to preface this entry by stating clearly that I am a terrible political writer, and that is why I haven't put this issue in my blog before. However, the election is soon, and if I don't speak up, I'll regret it. Over in my sidebar, you can notice a new banner. It says Vote No on 1 TN. Marriage equality matters. I want people to notice this, and I want to encourage all Tennesseeans to vote against the constitutional amendment which would eliminate the possibility of legal marriage between two people of the same sex. I want everybody to think about what this really means.

We are a country that brags about our freedom and our equality, yet here Tennessee is considering establishing a law that would define a specific group of people as less than equal and with fewer freedoms than others. It's blatant hypocrisy. Freedom isn't free means more than supporting a war, it means having the guts to tolerate people doing things you don't like as long as others aren't affected.

This is a Bible Belt state populated by a majority of Christians. I know that many will say that homosexuality goes against Christian religious principles, and that those should supercede the voice of the government. After all, the laws of God are greater than those of man. However, the more I study the Bible, the less clear this issue becomes. There are language and cultural issues which have clouded meanings over the years. When I, as a Christian, am unsure of the correct take on any issue addressed in the Bible, I look to Christ. In the words of Jesus, I find nothing about homosexuality and a lot about not judging other people. I'm reminded that everyone has sinned, not just some people. So if we want our laws to disenfranchise sinners, we'll soon find that everyone is outside the protection of the law.

I'm tired of hearing that same sex marriage is a threat to traditional marriage. I just don't see it. If homosexuals want to destroy the institution of marriage, why do they want in it? I just don't see how two people loving each other make the odds of divorce for other people higher. Look at the fights that have broken up marriages. Poverty is a far greater threat to marriage than sexual orientation.

I love that our federal government is for and by all the people in this country and that our state government reflects that, and I want the voters of my state to have the guts to live up to it.

tennessee constitutional amendment
marriage equality
homosexuality
christianity