Whether same-sex partnerships should be legal should not even be a question in this country. The whole problem is that from the get go, we have confused a religious rite (which for the sake of this post I will call "marriage") with a legal state (which, again for the sake of this post, I will call "unions").
For those who choose to practice a religion that does not allow for same-sex couples to be joined in their church, that is absolutely their right. I would not want to deny them that right.
For those who choose to practice a religion that does allow for same-sex couples to be joined in their church, that is absolutely their right. And there are churches today that perform services meant to join same-sex couples.
The problem is that while heterosexual couples who participate in this particular rite at their church are then considered to be legally joined, homosexual couples who participate in this particular rite at their church are not.
Why is this?
Because we have mixed up -- for neither the first nor the last time -- Church and State. We took something religious in nature (marriage) and we made it a legal state of being. That should never have been the case. What you do in your church is between you and your church and should not involve the government (assuming, of course, that you are not hurting anyone and everything is consensual).
Had marriage remained in the Church while the government granted legal unions, had Church and State been kept apart, there would be no present-day question about "same-sex marriage". The arguments you hear against such unions always have a moral or religious overtone to them. These arguments are rarely legal in nature. Because legally, outlawing same-sex unions is an equal-rights issue. Our Constitution has been read by the Court again and again to require that we all be treated equally, regardless of little things like race and religion and gender. Outlawing same-sex unions is denying rights to a whole group of people based on their sexual preference.
But we didn't keep Church and State apart. We got them all mixed up together and so now we have this mess today. Many get bent out of shape when a top politician says that he or she doesn't support gay marriage, while he or she does support same-sex unions. However, this should not get people bent. Because that is how it should be: religion left to the Church and laws left to the government.
What you practice in your church should not be a legal matter. Your religious union should not involve the government. However, the law should allow equal rights in terms of legal unions, whether those being legally joined are of the same or opposite sex. The law should allow both opposite-sex and same-sex partners to be joined under the law and thus to reap all of the same legal benefits.
See, it's really quite simple. We got it wrong all those years ago. And now we need to fix it. Because this mess we have today is going to be a really embarrassing blemish on the story of our country. Much like the embarrassing blemish from not that long ago when we didn't allow those of different races to marry.
Let's fix this now, and quickly, so that we can cut off the embarrassment and get on with the business of living with those we love.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
It's past time to shelve the politics.
I'm so disappointed -- disgusted? -- with the Ohio General Assembly. More to the point, with the Republican Senate "Leadership". I get that they are politicians and, as such, playing politics is a big part of their jobs. But there are times when the politics need to be shelved in order to get the job done.
It's been something like 70 years since Ohio has had to pass an interim budget because the GA couldn't hammer something out in time. This year we needed two of them. This year when people are struggling more than they have in many years, when unemployment is up, when services are down, when jobs just don't exist. The people of Ohio are hurting. And what was the GA's response? Two interim budgets.
From everything I've read, it was the Republican leadership in the Senate that held things up. It appears that it all came down to the video slot machines. Because Ohio voters have voted down gambling in the past, the Republicans did not want to risk being "blamed" for gambling being installed in our great state now. Also, gambling is likely to be on the ballot once again this fall, so the Senate Republicans wanted to wait and leave it to the people.
While I'm certainly not against letting the people decide (sometimes, for some things), it's not that simple. See, the Senate refused the terms before them and so just stopped playing. They didn't offer up any solutions. They simply refused to accept what was put before them.
Interim budgets cost money. A lot of it. Interim budgets require that money be spent in amounts that would have been reduced and on programs that would have been cut had an actual budget passed. Which means we're now in even more financial trouble.
Seems to me, some of our Senators are awfully out of touch. Apparently they don't realize that all over the state, State employees were (and are still) biting their nails wondering if they'll have jobs tomorrow. And wondering, if they do lose their jobs, how on earth they're going to pay the electric and the water and the rent. These Senators don't seem to realize -- or care? -- that the more they play games and put off a reasonable and responsible budget, the more they hurt us all. State workers and non-State workers alike.
It's so nice for them that they are so secure in their positions, that they're not concerned with losing their jobs when a budget is finally passed, that they're not concerned with how their rents are going to get paid.
Here's to hoping that these men are not forgotten when they're up for re-election.
It's been something like 70 years since Ohio has had to pass an interim budget because the GA couldn't hammer something out in time. This year we needed two of them. This year when people are struggling more than they have in many years, when unemployment is up, when services are down, when jobs just don't exist. The people of Ohio are hurting. And what was the GA's response? Two interim budgets.
From everything I've read, it was the Republican leadership in the Senate that held things up. It appears that it all came down to the video slot machines. Because Ohio voters have voted down gambling in the past, the Republicans did not want to risk being "blamed" for gambling being installed in our great state now. Also, gambling is likely to be on the ballot once again this fall, so the Senate Republicans wanted to wait and leave it to the people.
While I'm certainly not against letting the people decide (sometimes, for some things), it's not that simple. See, the Senate refused the terms before them and so just stopped playing. They didn't offer up any solutions. They simply refused to accept what was put before them.
Interim budgets cost money. A lot of it. Interim budgets require that money be spent in amounts that would have been reduced and on programs that would have been cut had an actual budget passed. Which means we're now in even more financial trouble.
Seems to me, some of our Senators are awfully out of touch. Apparently they don't realize that all over the state, State employees were (and are still) biting their nails wondering if they'll have jobs tomorrow. And wondering, if they do lose their jobs, how on earth they're going to pay the electric and the water and the rent. These Senators don't seem to realize -- or care? -- that the more they play games and put off a reasonable and responsible budget, the more they hurt us all. State workers and non-State workers alike.
It's so nice for them that they are so secure in their positions, that they're not concerned with losing their jobs when a budget is finally passed, that they're not concerned with how their rents are going to get paid.
Here's to hoping that these men are not forgotten when they're up for re-election.
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