To My Fellow Christians,
I am a 52 year old, gay, life-long Catholic man who still attends mass every Sunday. I have a total of 16 years of Catholic education. I pray to my God every day and I am convinced he hears me. I would like to think that we as Christians share the belief that a loving, benevolent creator watches over us and wants only the best for all of us. Most importantly, I want to share with you the very strong belief that I have that our God loves every single one of us equally. Unfortunately we can’t share that belief because many of you believe that our God somehow loves me less.
The joyousness of the Supreme Court’s enlightened decision on marriage equality engulfed this country from coast to coast as millions rejoiced and love truly did win. To see the White House bathed in the colors of diversity and acceptance is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime. I thank our God that I was fortunate enough to still be here to witness that momentous occasion. But I am truly dumbfounded and saddened by the response of so many of you, my fellow Christians, to this SCOTUS decision.
Since the decision was handed down, I read on a daily basis story after story of “christians” (lower case and quotes intentional) launching into unhinged rants about the end of civilization due to marriage equality, or how the LGBT community is going to infiltrate elementary schools to turn children gay, or, thanks to 5 lawyers in black robes, religious liberty is dead. Even worse, I’ve seen calls for violence and civil disorder aimed at the LGBT community and our supporters. One word for all of you, my fellow Christians: ENOUGH!
First of all, no one is impinging on your religious liberty. The marriage equality ruling in no way impacts any religion. There is absolutely no requirement for any religion or religiously-affiliated individual to marry a same sex couple. NONE! So you can immediately dispense with this line of attack, my fellow Christians, because it holds absolutely no validity.
In a similar vein if you argue that your religion forbids you, my fellow Christians, to perform any kind of service for a member of the LGBT community because you do not agree with their life choices, then we get into a whole new territory and it’s called discrimination. I’m talking to you, county clerks! You were either voted into your position by the people of your county or appointed to your position and you work for ALL people in your county. All of them – regardless of gender, race, creed, and sexual orientation. You are not performing a marriage act, you are simply issuing a required document and that is where your involvement begins and ends. You do not have any right, earthy, heavenly or otherwise to deny anyone the service your office provides because you disagree with their life choices. If you are unable or unwilling to perform the duty for which the taxpayers of your county are paying you to do, regardless of the reason, resign immediately. Those you serve are not and should not be expected to bend to your will.
I recently read an amazing blog entry by Rachel Held Evans titled For the Sake of the Gospel, Drop the Persecution Complex. Her words, so lucid and so true, really helped me better understand what is happening with some of you, my fellow Christians. You are manufacturing a persecution complex. Because the world is changing around you, and because you don’t like these changes, and because you are being challenged by those that don’t share your beliefs, you feel under attack. I hear this line of reasoning on a daily basis. Well, I don’t buy it. This country is predominantly Christian and the vast majority of our elected leaders at the local, state and national levels (including our president, believe it or not) are practicing Christians, on the right and the left. To claim you are being religiously persecuted while you comfortably sit in the religious majority causes your complex to implode. Further, through your words and actions, YOU are actually the persecutors and anyone challenging your beliefs are the persecuted. Not very Christian of you, my fellow Christians. And not very American of you to suddenly support the out-right contravention of the marriage equality law. Where was your righteous indignation when the Supreme Court made the appalling Citizens United decision or gutted the Voting Rights Act?
And so, my fellow Christians, I am hoping that this irrational negativity and rage that is on full display is only a momentary gut reaction to the inevitable and unstoppable evolution of our society. It’s important to understand that we in the LGBT community are not out to get you and we really want only one thing from you: respect. Just as you demand that everyone else respect your rights, we now possess that very same right. It really is a two way street and despite the fact that we may not agree with each others opinions, we can coexist in peace and harmony. Tonight I will say a special prayer for you, my fellow Christians, that the veil of ignorance and hatred will fall away and that your hearts will fill with love and respect for all of God’s children.
