A Call to Arms

A Call to Arms
Even though I have been closely associated with the Republican Party, same sex unions has always been something I have been in favor of. Before I get much further, I want to thank troystopher for providing me with the links to the right and some of the information on IL HB-01826. As I think has been shown, at least to an extent, is that I am more of a moderate, and believe that in order to get things done a certain level of compromise is not only important but required for our government to function, give and take if you will. It is this same approach that I have taken when looking at gay marriage as well. Let me begin by giving a brief overview of how I see the debate over gay marriage, first up are the three options marriage, civil unions, or nothing at all. Second is the players, you have the gay rights activist at the far left, the Christian/moral/family values activist on the far right, and in the middle are the moderates who can come to some sort of middle ground consensus. Now I know that is a gross oversimplification of the issue at hand but for the purposes of this it will provide just enough background on how I am looking at this so that my ramblings might make a shred of sense so don’t judge me yet wait till your done reading this then tell me I’m full of shit after you’ve read the whole thing.
The first question of this debate is should homosexual unions be allowed, and if so, what should they be, marriages, civil unions, or something entirely new but still guaranteeing the same rights. The response of the activists on the pro-gay marriage side want the whole ball of wax in many cases and want fully recognized marriage for homosexual couples. Now the opposite side, the anti-gay marriage activist want the whole ball of wax also, they don’t want any type of legalized, legitimized unions for same sex couples. Now again I am using oversimplifications and generalities but this is leading into my take on the issue so hang on.
Now my thoughts on this are somewhere in the middle, both sides have valid arguments when you cut out the bullshit, the rhetoric, and the just plain stupidity of some of these peoples arguments on both sides. First I am going to take on the opposition groups arguments. The primary argument of the Christian/moral/family values people is that somehow gay marriage or civil unions would damage the institution of the family, and make it less meaningful. Those opposed to gay marriage also frequently state that gay marriage would destroy the sanctity of marriage. Well my response to that is that when little pop princess can get drunk, get married in Las Vegas drive thru wedding chapel and then get an annulment less than 72 hours later, the sanctity of marriage has already been destroyed. And as far as the institution of the family is concerned, when a large percentage of people in the world live in family units without being married, I don’t think allowed homosexuals would cause any further destabilization of the family unit. Now for the part of their argument I can at least understand. For many religions Marriage is an institution of the church and is something that is deeply rooted in some religions as an institution of the church under holy doctrine. Now I am going to come back to this notion in just a minute so hang on.
Now for my summary of arguments from those in favor of gay marriage. For the most part it’s a straight forward argument that same sex couples should be afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples, including marriage and partner benefits, including spousal privilege and the right to make medical decisions for your partner. Now as I said before, many of the people in this group are just as unwilling to compromise and that is exactly what I am trying to get at.
This country was founded on a principle of freedom from persecution for one beliefs, and the freedom of religion. In the end there is going to have to be a compromise made somewhere. Many religions believe acts of homosexuality to be a sin, and that is their right to believe. My biggest issue with so many people who argue for gay marriage is that they are so willing to call the beliefs of those opposed to gay marriage wrong. I do support same sex civil unions, I do support IL HB 01826, however I don’t think churches or religious organizations should be forced to recognize such unions if it is against their faith, we may not agree with their beliefs, but in the end their beliefs right or wrong are just as important as our own. If there is ever to be “peace” between these two groups, it is going to take both sides sitting down and coming to an agreement, neither side can have 100% of what they want, its doesn’t work that way. I want to see a day where same sex couples can be married or have civil unions, And I think we are slowly getting there. The more we can work state by state, changing minds one at a time the close we will get to our goal. I know some of what I said might be considered way off base, but I think if you look at the argument objectively, you will see there is only one way to win. I like HB 01826 and encourage anyone in the state of Illinois to contact your legislator and encourage them to support it also. I also encourage you to check out the links I added for more ways to get involved. Together we can make a difference if we are all willing to work together and be as understanding as we want everyone else to be towards us.