May 20, 2014 - A quick word on marriage equality

I've mentioned this before, but I'm against bans on same-sex marriage.  While I do believe that God intended for men and women to marry, that's my personal religious belief.  One of the fundamental tenets of my church is that "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."  It is not a stretch to extend the right of worship to consenting moral questions; indeed, it seems natural and appropriate to me.

Despite my church's disapproval of legal same-sex marriage, I have not yet heard any church leaders address this apparent contradiction.

My second reason for being against bans on same-sex marriage is more selfish: we ought to be spending our time and energy on something more important!  Like drug prevention, pregnancy prevention, adoption, income inequality, anything!  The portion of the population that needs marriage equality is small, and has very little impact on those of us who already have the right to marry who we choose.  So give it to them, and let's move on already!

In that light, I just want to mention that I'm happy to be living in this moment of history.  Oregon struck down a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage yesterday, and Pennsylvania did so today.  By that count, 19 states now have marriage equality on the books.  There are stays in some states (Fed courts are striking down state laws), but so far all 19 fed courts have struck down similar laws.  None has ruled the other way.  Soon this battle will be behind us, and we can focus on more important issues.