I went to a wedding the other day and it was a very gay
time. It was gay as in happy and it was gay as in
homosexual.
The couple consisted of my uncle Tim and his longtime
partner Andrew. The two were legally registered as domestic partners in New
York City when that became legal in the 1990s, but an official marriage
sanctioned by New York State gives them more protections and they wanted to
make it official.
True to form, their wedding was a class-act through and
through and it took all the hype and bluster surrounding the gay marriage issue
and flushed it down the proverbial toilet. It contained more dignity and
heartfelt honesty in the few minutes it lasted than most of the church services
I have had the misfortune to sit through. And by my count there were way more Christians and heterosexuals at
this than Atheists or gays.
It was not that long ago that the term ‘gay marriage’ was an
oxymoron—Of course gay people don’t get married; they’re gay, duh. One can
support gay marriage without switching away from the default definition of
marriage being a heterosexual institution; it’s how most of us came to identify
the concept. You’re not a homophobe if announcing someone “husband and husband”
sounds bad. You can support the rights of gays and still love the English language
more. Gays aren’t asking for your approval; they’re asking to be left alone.
The debate over gay marriage in the U.S. consists of people
of different political camps overlooking the same essential issue. The issue
is: does the government have the right to regulate or the moral authority to
approve the personal relationships between consenting adults? I think most of
us agree it does not.
The reason gay marriage should be recognized is not because
the government needs to be on a crusade to make us all love the gays. Society is
changing its views of gays on its own. Gay marriage should be nationwide for
reasons that Americans of all political stripes ought to believe: that free men
and women have the right to determine their own next of kin and form
relationships with whomever they choose. Put that
to a vote and America will say yes.
1 comment:
Well said my friend!
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