Let me first say that I am in favor of gay and lesbian marriage. I have written on this extensively and I have tried to define the differences between Civil Union, Marriage and Matrimony, which I first wrote about on March 27, 2013 as a response to a question by one of my Twitter followers.
At the end of the commentary, I agreed that same sex couples should be able to marry and enjoy all the benefits, legal, emotional and psychological, associated with marriage. And who are we to say they shouldn't?
This past June, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of gay and lesbian marriage as a civil right which previously was denied.
However, I want to say this to my gay and lesbian friends: This does NOT give you the right to dictate to those who, on religious principles, oppose your agenda and beliefs. You DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to take away someone else's civil rights.
This was NOT a ruling which allows you to BULLY those who are opposed to same sex marriage on religious principles. How soon you forgot how you did not like to be bullied.
I am not a very religious man. I have chosen, as is my right, to disavow organized religion and instead embrace a more philosophical and spiritual belief system, which encompasses many theological and secular bases.
But my first belief is in the Constitution of the United States. To me, this document is the Sacred Document. This encompasses our Basic Law that all Americans must abide. Included in this Document is our Bill of Rights, the original Ten Amendments, which further protects our Freedoms and our Liberties.
The First of the Amendments outlines and guarantees to each of us five freedoms which cannot be taken away under any circumstances, either by our government,
and its state and local subsidiaries, or by each other. These are our Freedom of Speech, Freedom OF Religion, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Assembly and Freedom to Petition the Government to Redress Our Grievances.
Using the fifth freedom I cited, supporters of gay and lesbian marriage were successful in achieving a change in the laws of all the States, due to the discriminatory practice of prohibiting marriage between people of the same sex. I applaud your achievement.
But, this does NOT give you the right to bully those who disagree with you and force them to give up the second of the freedoms I cited, to wit, the Freedom OF Religion. If one chooses to be free FROM religion, that is a choice he or she makes outside the guarantee expressed in the Constitution. NO ONE, and no government entity, be it an agency, court, state legislature, etc, has the right to take away or force someone else to betray his or her religious freedom and liberty.
There are many people who can perform a same sex ceremony, bake a cake for a same sex couple, put together a flower arrangement for a same sex wedding, without forcing someone who feels it is a violation of their civil rights, as you felt the denial of marriage was a violation of yours. And any entity of ANY local, State or Federal agency, court or government is acting unconstitutionally when they rule against or imprison someone for standing up for his or her Civil Rights.
How dare you, State of Kentucky, put someone in prison because she stood up for her rights under our Sacred Document!! I am sure someone else in the entire county and state would be willing to issue marriage licenses for gay and lesbian marriages. How dare you make a statement by denying this one employee her rights!
I trust any fair-minded person will agree that imprisoning Kim Davis was wrong morally and ultimately unconstitutional. We need to flood the Supreme Court of the United States with letters to vacate the order to imprison Ms Davis and to remove her arrest from her record.
This is the American way. Liberty and Justice for All. Even if their individual beliefs are diametrically opposed to ours. They are still entitled to their Freedom and Liberty.
Our soldiers died to defend and preserve these concepts for all of us. Let us not forget this.
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