Now that it's been a bit since the Prop 8 thing started, I've been doing a little reading here and there on the issue. I consider myself the ideal centrist when it comes to politics, because I'm not so pig-headed one way or the other on issues that I'm not willing to see what the other side has to say. I'm willing to do research or discuss an issue, and change my opinion on it as I gain further knowledge and understanding. I learned something today that put a little bit of an itch in me to change my views on Prop 8. Not enough to convince me to vote yes, but it made me start thinking in even broader terms about the issue.
An innocent bystander that will be hurt by the legalization of gay marriage is adoption. But, not in the way you may be thinking right now. No, I don't think that a gay couple is any less capable of raising a child. That's not the issue. The issue with adoption is that of the social services that exist to place children in homes.
Religious organizations are a HUGE avenue for adoption. I couldn't find any real numbers on it, but when you look at the number of adoption agencies there are out there it certainly seems that the Catholics, Mormons and Evangelical Christians bear the larger burden of placing children in loving homes. The government is heavily reliant on these non-profit organizations to do this charitable work.
Due to the beliefs in traditional family structure, these organizations do not place children in homes of gay couples (I've heard, but not verified, that they usually don't place children into homes of single people either - but I could be wrong on that). Because of this fact, the Catholic, Mormon and Evangelical Christian groups that deal with adoption have withdrawn their services from the state of Massachusetts. The have done this because of discrimination lawsuits that have arisen since the legalization of gay marriage there. They refuse to place children in the homes of gay couples due to their religious stances, and the ACLU is going to town on them under the banner of anti-discrimination. So, to not get tangled up in legal battles like that, they have elected to withdraw their services from that state.
That is really sad to me to think that there are so many children in that state that no longer have the support of so many adoption agencies to try and place them in loving homes, due to those agencies fears of being exposed to costly lawsuits. Now those children have to wait on state resources, and waiting on the state to do something for you is never a good thing.
I'm all for equal legal protection of same-sex couples under the law. Heck, even the church in it's statement last week about it's stance against gay marriage was willing to concede state-recognized legal rights for those couples:
The Church does not object to rights (already established in California) regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference. The Divine Institution of Marriage
But, I want those equal rights to come in such a way so that they don't infringe on other people's rights to continue practicing their religions they way they choose to. Why can't same-sex couples in California be content with the fact that they have pretty much every right that married couples do, even if it's not called "marriage"?
Score one for the "Yes on 8" group.
17 August 2008
28 July 2008
It's Gonna Be A Long Few Months
The next few months are going to be a bit arduous I do believe. Yesterday at church during Priesthood meeting the bishop stood up and made an announcement about people supporting Proposition 8, and how the church has encouraged us to give of our time, talents and "means" to support the prop. Proposition 8 is the amendment to the California constitution, defining marriage as between man and woman - i.e. no gay marriage.
It appears that the area presidency requested that our stake donate $100,000 towards the cause. The bishop was pretty tactful in presenting the announcement, but unfortunately other people in the audience were not. Later on when the new people visiting that day were being introduced, one elderly gentleman stood up, introduced himself, and said, "I fully support what you guys are doing against this proposition. I was molested when I was 12 years old, and it devastated me." (or something like that)
Sigh. It bothers me that people still equate "gay" with "child molester". That's a big problem. And I think that's one of the reasons why so many people are against gay marriage - ignorance about what it really is.
Time to talk to the bishop and relay my concerns to him about the whole ordeal. I don't want church to turn into a gay bashing arena. If it does, I honestly won't be able to go.
It appears that the area presidency requested that our stake donate $100,000 towards the cause. The bishop was pretty tactful in presenting the announcement, but unfortunately other people in the audience were not. Later on when the new people visiting that day were being introduced, one elderly gentleman stood up, introduced himself, and said, "I fully support what you guys are doing against this proposition. I was molested when I was 12 years old, and it devastated me." (or something like that)
Sigh. It bothers me that people still equate "gay" with "child molester". That's a big problem. And I think that's one of the reasons why so many people are against gay marriage - ignorance about what it really is.
Time to talk to the bishop and relay my concerns to him about the whole ordeal. I don't want church to turn into a gay bashing arena. If it does, I honestly won't be able to go.
16 July 2008
Standing Up for Tolerance
Today I received a mass email from my uncle with a link to this video in it. He knows that I'm gay.
He's never been one for anything other than black/white. No gray in his life. Nor does he have a filter that keeps him from being rude to people.
I decided that I couldn't let this opportunity slide. Here's the response that I sent via "reply to all". I knew half the emails on the list, the other people are just going to wake up tomorrow morning with a random email from some strange person. How exciting for them to meet their first gay person! I hope I get some responses. :D
--------------
Sorry, but I can't let this one slide. I find this video to be offensive and moronic.
The love that two people of the same sex can feel for each other is every bit as real, honest and sincere as the love that each of you feel for your spouse. If two people love each other, then they as adults should be able to freely choose who they want to share their mortal life and legal rights with. God loves them every bit as much as he loves any of you, maybe even more because they've been given special challenges in this life.
It boggles my mind that we as a church can recite the 13 Articles of Faith, but we don't seem to actually believe number 11: We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
You don't have to like gay marriage. You don't have to accept it as part of your beliefs. But you do have to respect the freedom of choice that God gave all his children in this life.
This is just another lame, holier-than-thou video made by the same "Christian" bigots who think that Mormons are all going to hell. Plus, this song is scientifically inaccurate anyway. There are a multitude of case studies of same-sex coupling in the animal kingdom. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15750604/
Kevin
He's never been one for anything other than black/white. No gray in his life. Nor does he have a filter that keeps him from being rude to people.
I decided that I couldn't let this opportunity slide. Here's the response that I sent via "reply to all". I knew half the emails on the list, the other people are just going to wake up tomorrow morning with a random email from some strange person. How exciting for them to meet their first gay person! I hope I get some responses. :D
--------------
Sorry, but I can't let this one slide. I find this video to be offensive and moronic.
The love that two people of the same sex can feel for each other is every bit as real, honest and sincere as the love that each of you feel for your spouse. If two people love each other, then they as adults should be able to freely choose who they want to share their mortal life and legal rights with. God loves them every bit as much as he loves any of you, maybe even more because they've been given special challenges in this life.
It boggles my mind that we as a church can recite the 13 Articles of Faith, but we don't seem to actually believe number 11: We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
You don't have to like gay marriage. You don't have to accept it as part of your beliefs. But you do have to respect the freedom of choice that God gave all his children in this life.
This is just another lame, holier-than-thou video made by the same "Christian" bigots who think that Mormons are all going to hell. Plus, this song is scientifically inaccurate anyway. There are a multitude of case studies of same-sex coupling in the animal kingdom. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15750604/
Kevin
07 July 2008
Sunday Funday
We had a great one in Fast and Testimony meeting today.
I sat there in Fast and Testimony meeting today, and was quite bored. The people getting up to talk were none too interesting. The microphone was not turned up very much, so it was mostly mumbling that you heard from them anyway. My seat was uncomfortable. I really just wanted the meeting to end so I could go get candy from the clerk's office.
I started texting a friend to do something to keep myself from falling asleep. We traded a few messages. Then at 10 after the hour, I sent him anther message that said, "It's 10 after! Why do people keep on walking up there." This of course referred to it being 10 after the hour, and people being told at the beginning of the meeting that we were ending at 5 after the hour. They should not have been walking up there any more. His reply was, "Ha ha. Don't worry. That's when the good one happen." And he was a prophet.
No sooner did I get that message from him than the last person to share their testimony got up to speak. She has only been a member of the church for a little less than a year, so isn't quite into all of the culture of it. She gets up and introduces herself and says, "Now, I'm not sure if this is appropriate or not..." Stop! Rule number 1: If you ever find yourself saying "I'm not sure if this is appropriate" then you are most likely correct.
She continues on saying that there is someone, a young man, who she has felt really strongly about. He needs guidance and help. He needs our prayers. The thing she wasn't sure about was to have all of us right then join in a prayer with her.
That's a little out of the ordinary, to have a random prayer in the middle of the meeting. Spontaneous prayers are something that you don't normally see in one of our meetings, since everything is scheduled out. I thought, "Wow. This should be interesting." So I bowed my head.
She started praying, and almost instantly I felt that twinge of discomfort inside of me. Do you know that twinge? It's the one where someone is doing something that makes you feel really uncomfortable for them because they don't know that they should be feeling uncomfortable. Yeah. I felt that twinge because she started praying for David Archuleta while he is on the American Idol tour.
I knew I shouldn't laugh. I knew that she was relatively new to the church, and maybe didn't understand the finer aspects of Mormon's churchy traditions and methods and manners. I knew it, but I couldn't help myself. I am a bad person, and I'm probably going to hell for laughing. It was actually a really nice prayer, and she was praying for him to be safe and to be a good missionary and was so sincere about it. But, it was just so bizarre to have that happen randomly in the middle of testimony meeting.
Good times. Good times.
I sat there in Fast and Testimony meeting today, and was quite bored. The people getting up to talk were none too interesting. The microphone was not turned up very much, so it was mostly mumbling that you heard from them anyway. My seat was uncomfortable. I really just wanted the meeting to end so I could go get candy from the clerk's office.
I started texting a friend to do something to keep myself from falling asleep. We traded a few messages. Then at 10 after the hour, I sent him anther message that said, "It's 10 after! Why do people keep on walking up there." This of course referred to it being 10 after the hour, and people being told at the beginning of the meeting that we were ending at 5 after the hour. They should not have been walking up there any more. His reply was, "Ha ha. Don't worry. That's when the good one happen." And he was a prophet.
No sooner did I get that message from him than the last person to share their testimony got up to speak. She has only been a member of the church for a little less than a year, so isn't quite into all of the culture of it. She gets up and introduces herself and says, "Now, I'm not sure if this is appropriate or not..." Stop! Rule number 1: If you ever find yourself saying "I'm not sure if this is appropriate" then you are most likely correct.
She continues on saying that there is someone, a young man, who she has felt really strongly about. He needs guidance and help. He needs our prayers. The thing she wasn't sure about was to have all of us right then join in a prayer with her.
That's a little out of the ordinary, to have a random prayer in the middle of the meeting. Spontaneous prayers are something that you don't normally see in one of our meetings, since everything is scheduled out. I thought, "Wow. This should be interesting." So I bowed my head.
She started praying, and almost instantly I felt that twinge of discomfort inside of me. Do you know that twinge? It's the one where someone is doing something that makes you feel really uncomfortable for them because they don't know that they should be feeling uncomfortable. Yeah. I felt that twinge because she started praying for David Archuleta while he is on the American Idol tour.
I knew I shouldn't laugh. I knew that she was relatively new to the church, and maybe didn't understand the finer aspects of Mormon's churchy traditions and methods and manners. I knew it, but I couldn't help myself. I am a bad person, and I'm probably going to hell for laughing. It was actually a really nice prayer, and she was praying for him to be safe and to be a good missionary and was so sincere about it. But, it was just so bizarre to have that happen randomly in the middle of testimony meeting.
Good times. Good times.
30 June 2008
Nothing to Speak Of
I went to church yesterday with a bit of anxiety, because a friend of mine had sent me a copy of the letter that was being circulated on the internet about the church's active support for the upcoming marriage amendment here in California. It was read yesterday, and I was expecting there to be a big to-do about it. But, nobody really said anything about it. It was fairly anti-climatic.
I got the letter a week ago and was very saddened by it. I've stated my position before. I believe everything the church says in the Proclamation on the Family about man and woman married as part of God's plan. I have no problems, no disagreements, no concerns with that. However, I view gay marriage as purely political, not as something that will challenge the church's authority or stance on this issue.
I spoke with my mom about it on the phone and told her that I supported gay marriage and hoped that some day the church would recognize civil marriages between gay people and accept them as full members into the church. As we discussed it she brought up the standard argument of marriage between a man and a woman as being part of God's plan, and that is how people have children and provide bodies for all of the spirits still in heaven waiting to come down. I said, "Mom, gay people don't want to get married to members of the opposite sex. They aren't going to have kids anyway." She paused for a moment, and agreed with me. And the conversation kind of ended there. I think that she started bemoaning the fact that I probably won't produce any grandchildren for her.
I'm not angry with the church. I don't hate the leadership. I understand and sympathize with their position on the issue. But as far as I'm concerned, all people should have the choice of who they want to share their legal rights with, be it someone of the opposite or same sex. I don't ever expect the church to accept gay marriage per se, but it would be nice if gay couples could enjoy fellowship with the Saints.
I got the letter a week ago and was very saddened by it. I've stated my position before. I believe everything the church says in the Proclamation on the Family about man and woman married as part of God's plan. I have no problems, no disagreements, no concerns with that. However, I view gay marriage as purely political, not as something that will challenge the church's authority or stance on this issue.
I spoke with my mom about it on the phone and told her that I supported gay marriage and hoped that some day the church would recognize civil marriages between gay people and accept them as full members into the church. As we discussed it she brought up the standard argument of marriage between a man and a woman as being part of God's plan, and that is how people have children and provide bodies for all of the spirits still in heaven waiting to come down. I said, "Mom, gay people don't want to get married to members of the opposite sex. They aren't going to have kids anyway." She paused for a moment, and agreed with me. And the conversation kind of ended there. I think that she started bemoaning the fact that I probably won't produce any grandchildren for her.
I'm not angry with the church. I don't hate the leadership. I understand and sympathize with their position on the issue. But as far as I'm concerned, all people should have the choice of who they want to share their legal rights with, be it someone of the opposite or same sex. I don't ever expect the church to accept gay marriage per se, but it would be nice if gay couples could enjoy fellowship with the Saints.
03 June 2008
It Should Be This Every Day
My horoscope opened up today with this statement:
Today it will be nearly impossible for you to find someone who is smarter than you.
It's hard to argue with the truth.
Today it will be nearly impossible for you to find someone who is smarter than you.
It's hard to argue with the truth.
22 May 2008
Straight Guy Activities
So, in spite of the fact that I love so many gay things (such as Broadway musicals, great haircuts, and shopping at H&M), there is a part of me that really gets into some "guy stuff." For example, I love automobiles. I love driving fast in sports cars. I love old American-built muscle cars (the 1968 Chevy Camaro SS is my dream car). I love trucks with big tires, climbing over huge boulders out in the desert. I love the Baja 1000 (and I intend to enter it some day before I die). I can also fix cars quite adeptly (I used to work as a mechanic for a few years while at BYU).
Another thing that I always really enjoyed while growing up was marital arts. I became a student of Jiu Jitsu when I was a teenager, and participated in that for almost 4 years. I competed in the Judo competition at the Utah Summer Games the first year that it was an exhibition sport (I'm not sure if it ever made it beyond that first year as a sport for those games), and I won a gold medal. I haven't done any martial arts since high school, and I admit that it's something I've missed.
Well, I decided to remedy that. I have taken up Muay Thai kickboxing. I did my first workout session last night, and I am so sore today I could die. I feel great! The gym I'm attending is one of the premier training gyms for a few of the professional fighters that compete in the Ultimate Fighting Challenge series, and a few professional kickboxers. They are all pretty mellow, low-key dudes, but still a little intimidating. Hopefully none of them are homophobic, although I don't really plan on flaunting that aspect of my persona in a place like that. ;)
Oh yeah, and now that I've gone through a workout session, I have a whole new respect for how incredibly in-shape boxers are.
Another thing that I always really enjoyed while growing up was marital arts. I became a student of Jiu Jitsu when I was a teenager, and participated in that for almost 4 years. I competed in the Judo competition at the Utah Summer Games the first year that it was an exhibition sport (I'm not sure if it ever made it beyond that first year as a sport for those games), and I won a gold medal. I haven't done any martial arts since high school, and I admit that it's something I've missed.
Well, I decided to remedy that. I have taken up Muay Thai kickboxing. I did my first workout session last night, and I am so sore today I could die. I feel great! The gym I'm attending is one of the premier training gyms for a few of the professional fighters that compete in the Ultimate Fighting Challenge series, and a few professional kickboxers. They are all pretty mellow, low-key dudes, but still a little intimidating. Hopefully none of them are homophobic, although I don't really plan on flaunting that aspect of my persona in a place like that. ;)
Oh yeah, and now that I've gone through a workout session, I have a whole new respect for how incredibly in-shape boxers are.
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