Here’s Jimmy Carter’s religious argument in support of marriage equality, and it’s funny — it’s exactly what gay activists have been fighting for:
Homosexuality was well known in the ancient world, well before Christ was born and Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things -– he never said that gay people should be condemned. I personally think it is very fine for gay people to be married in civil ceremonies.
I draw the line, maybe arbitrarily, in requiring by law that churches must marry people. I’m a Baptist, and I believe that each congregation is autonomous and can govern its own affairs. So if a local Baptist church wants to accept gay members on an equal basis, which my church does by the way, then that is fine. If a church decides not to, then government laws shouldn’t require them to.
The idea that gay people want to “force” churches to marry us has always been a straw man erected by the biggest liars of the Religious Right to scare people. Individual churches have always and should continue to be able to bless or not bless whatever unions they want to.
Why would we want to get married in a congregation that doesn’t support us in the first place?
[h/t Zack Ford]
That argument has always confused me. Where are these anti-equality people getting married? Does any straight couple who walks in off the street have the ability to get married in the crazy churches these people attend? Churches have always and will always be able to deny couples on their own basis. After all, some rabbis and some preachers won’t marry an interfaith heterosexual couple.
I think all the people that are married and think same sex couple should just have civil unions should get divorced and enter into civil unions.
And, have over 1000 less rights under the law…. Crazy right!!!
Who cares where anybody has their wedding? City hall, your back yard, a church — it’s all the same thing. Who care who plans anybody’s wedding? A professional, your Aunt Ethel, a church — the same thing.
Now marriage — that’s different. Marriage is a civil right. But why would any couple who is getting married want to have their wedding blessed by bigots?
If you do, go for it. It’s your wedding. But keep your bigoted hands off my right to marry.
Good comment, Eddie.
And Lacey, I have never understood churches claiming that if same sex marriages are legal they will be forced to perform the ceremonies. They have never been forced to perform ceremonies for anyone.
Not to forget that the minister/priest/whoever who marries a couple in a church is acting as an agent of the state. Churches do not issue marriage licenses, on the state does that. Beyond that, churches have always been free to marry couples or not marry couples and to come up with whatever other requirements they want. I think some churches require marriage counseling before they will do the ceremony. This is simply a bogus argument.
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