Referendum 65
Tim Eyman and Gary Randall are working hard to get Referendum 65 on the ballot here in Washington. What is that? Well, the Reader's Digest version is this - the state legislature passed a bill (HB2661) to add "sexual orientation" to the state law against discrimination and 65 would throw it out for a public vote to repeal it. Eyman claims to want this on the basis of letting the voters decide. Randall wants this because he claims that otherwise the courts will legalize gay marriage. Even with both of them and others working hard for this, the signatures are not coming in fast enough for it and it does not look like they will get their way.But it does bring us back to the whole issue of gay marriage once again. And it makes me wonder once again if that really is the issue anyways. HB 2661 does absolutely nothing to advocate or encourage any special treatment for homosexuals - it simply attempts to make ANY discrimination against ANY sexual preference illegal. It's the root of striving for equality and eliminating efforts of hate and discrimination. And the Religious Right is lining up in force against it. It's no shock to me that homosexuals might think Christians hate them - here is a bill to end discrimination for everyone and the Christians are against it just because they don't want homosexuals to get the right to marry - which is not what the bill is about anyways.
Furthermore, let's look at this objection to gay marriage by Christians. It's centered on the belief that the Bible opposes homosexuality as a sin. So we must assume that this means we cannot have sin connected with marriage? Where are the legislative bills forbidding marriage to those who have been unfaithful or abusive? If we wanted to do something to support traditional marriage - shouldn't we be opposed to EVERYTHING that would be bad within marriages? I know, Christians do oppose infidelity and abuse and do work against those things - but they don't legislate against them, now do they? Why is that? Too hard to prove? Don't think those sins are AS BAD as homosexuality? Or is it just that the Christians (and the legislators) have far too many people who are already guilty of those things?
posted by gurufrisbee @ 2:39 AM
