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With the help of Rachel and the review team, I've just posted about a hundred and thirty new stories to the site. Thanks to the writers also of course, and, since I haven't put a guy on the cover for a while, thanks finally to chocho for the cover picture of her friend Andrew.
Now, I don't know why, and I make no allusions about Andrew, but that photo reminds me that I've got a few things to say about how
gay marriage is a litmus test for whether a society is “good” or not.
Right now the Canadian government is on the brink on ripping itself to shreds (there is a vote today to determine whether the government should be kicked out of office and a new election be held). To put it into context, a few years ago Canada's Conservative Party (ie. our “Republicans”) were violently taken over by Christian neo-cons, from something that was basically a traditional pro-business party to an American style fascist religious group.
Because of building up enough support from racists and bigots due to Canada's support of gay marriage and other socially progressive issues as well as a “deal with the devil” alliance with the Québécois separatist party that wants to actually secede, they've got enough power in the government to do real damage. Add to the mix a sponsorship scandal inside the current ruling party and they had both the power and the ammunition to try and topple to government.
But I really think it's important to understand that this all comes back to gay marriage and civil rights. Because most straight people will never really get gay people or truly understand the legitimacy of their lifestyle on a first-hand level, it's very easy to drum up fear and hatred. However, the fact is that what gays do with each other, who they choose to do it with, and what they choose to call it has virtually no effect on anyone but those directly involved. That is, gay marriage is a gay issue, and should be irrelevant to straights.
It has been shown over and over and over by every legitimate study on the subject that gays commit less crimes, are less likely to be pedophiles, are less abusive parents, are no more likely to have “gay children”, and so on, than their straight counterparts. The fact of the matter is that outside of the core fact of “being gay” there is nothing documentably wrong with lesbians or gay men. Nothing.
So gay marriage asks a very important question of society: Are we willing to allow people who we don't understand (or maybe even kind of creep us out on some level if we're closed-minded) to have the same rights as us? Or are we willing to take away their rights simply because we can and out of spite? Because that's what bans on gay rights are — hurting other people simply to hurt them. There is not one single positive thing that comes from restricting gay rights, nor is there a single negative thing that is stopped by it. All it achieves is putting gay people in pain. Is that really an admirable goal?
As soon as a politician or a political party — or a country — raises the banner of blocking marriage rights for gays they have crossed into the darkness and can no longer be trusted as leaders. Any political leader that decides to institute legalized abuse of one group of people simply out of hatred (whether it be his hatred or whether it be hatred drummed up in the constituents letting him do a power-grab) is dangerous for the freedom of all people inside his control.
What disgusts me even more is when they use “The Bible” or “traditional Christian family values” to justify their hatred. What, is the average person a moron?
If you want to play that game, you'd better start banning Hindu marriages since the Bible is very clear on the “no other gods” malarkey — and outright bans Christians from marrying non-Christians (why not legislate that as well?). And in terms of heterosexual marriage, the Bible also says that it's OK to have multiple wives and concubines, that brides who are not virgins should be executed, that divorce is banned, and if your brother dies before his wife has a child, you have to impregnate her for him.
It's not as if there aren't plenty of gay people in the Bible who could be argued to be living God-sanctioned gay marriages. It's right there in the fucking Bible. Ruth and Naomi would be one of the most obvious examples — hell, the passage describing their love is often read out as a part of straight marriage ceremonies —
Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, [if ought] but death part thee and me.
That's not about a man and a woman. That passage was literally about two women getting married. The Bible supports gay marriage, m'kay? There's also David and Jonathan, who fall in love and move in together.
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
There's another passage that talks about them kissing until David “became great”. Interpret as you see fit. Finally, there's also the eunuchs Daniel and Ashpenaz (their relationship in the KJV translation is described as a “tender love”, with the root Hebrew being the word for “physical love”). So to be very clear: the Bible supports gay marriage. People who tell you otherwise are not Christians, but simply people twisting the Word to support their hate-mongering.
Why do I say they are not Christians? Let's look at what Jesus says in John 13:35 in terms of how to recognize a Christian:
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
I'll take it a step farther — people who hate gays or support anti-gay legislation also hate God. Quoting from 1 John, start reading at 4:19.
We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Finally, one of my favorite pieces of scripture (which I've had tattooed on me now for almost a decade),
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.
1COR13
