Vote Your Moral Conscience

Priests bring up the marriage amendment with varying approaches. Some are frighteningly heavy-handed, last spring, Father Izen of St. Raphael's gave me my first dose of this bitter brew. He threw oh-so-casually into his homily the "fact" the children must be raised by their biological parents,  that adoption means one or both biological parents doesn't love them enough to stick around. After Mass, I sat in the car for a good ten minutes sobbing ~ not a discrete little sniffle, we're talking full bawling with fluids pouring out of every facial orifice. Never, ever, was I made to feel like a second-class citizen until that sermon. And Father Izen, I sincerely hope that on your first day of purgatory you can feel the pain you caused adoptees & their families and gays & those who love them, during that sermon, because Jesus talked a lot about love, and he seemed pretty darned fond of children, and I cannot believe that he'd like hatred spewing from the altar in his name.

Today, Father Don (St. Hedwig Church's greatest asset) brought up the election. He doesn't do well with the mean approach. At the Prayers of the Faithful, he reminded us of the upcoming election and prayed that everyone would pray and, "Vote your moral conscience." What a beautiful way to put it. Isn't that what priests should tell their parishioners, "Vote your moral conscience"? I seem to recall my seventh grade religion teacher telling us we shouldn't follow anyone, even bishops, blindly, lest we be led astray by false prophets.

If you pray on the subject, and open your heart, and listen for God's answer, won't you vote properly? I've prayed and prayed. The answer that keeps coming is "Love one another." As a Catholic, chapter & versing doesn't come naturally, I had to actually look up the verse I wanted. It's Matthew 22:39, "Love your neighbor as yourself" That's a quote, from Jesus; he's kind of a bigshot with us. I love myself enough to marry the person I truly love. Jesus keeps whispering "love" in my ear. So, I have to vote "NO!" because that is clearly the more loving choice. I don't presume to know God's mind (unlike Mr Nienstedt). What I do know, is that if I'm wrong, and I could be, it will be a lot easier to face the Final Judgement having wrongly supported love than wrongly supported bigotry.

I think I should be able to marry whomever I chose (and I did, woo hoo!) without the state saying I picked the wrong gender of person. It's a slippery slope we're on. First, the big push to decide which gender one can marry, next they'll decide which race is appropriate. Pretty soon, the government will decide which religion your prospective spouse must be.

There is a great song that everyone pondering voting yes should listen to. The first time I heard it, I felt the Holy Spirit and it wasn't saying anything bad about homosexuals, it was agreeing with the song.  You'll have to follow the link because I couldn't embed it. For all the children.
God bless and vote your moral conscience.

What About the Children?

Cue Helen Lovejoy, "Won't somebody please think of the children?" It's the latest attack in favor of the marriage amendment. Yes, in favor, remember, this amendment is to illegalize already-illegal same-sex marriage. Idiocracy in action. If it seems I hit this topic a lot, it's because it matters, and we're running out of time.

Apparently, the big risk in legalizing same-sex marriage is that children will be raised by someone other than their biological parents. It tells the children that one or both people who made them, doesn't love them enough to raise them. Children should only be raised by the mommy & daddy who made them.

BULLSHIT!!! The best way to be raised is by two people who love you & each other and that doesn't have a damn thing to do with genetics. Trust me, I'm an expert. My more-or-less-sane-and-well-adjusted children were raised by the couple who created them, who love them and love each other, for always (26 years and counting). It seems to have been good for them. But that is so not always true.

Minnesota for Marriage would have you believe I should have been raised by my sperm & egg donors. She was a teenager, he was married and a father. So, I guess, Minnesota for Marriage supports polygamy? Instead, I was adopted by a couple who couldn't have any more children, but wanted another. They're still in love after 57 years, and comparing me to "regular" kids, my mother once told me, "Their parents got stuck with them. We picked you out special." Mom, you totally rock.

Two boys, two girls, a boy & a girl? Who cares? If they love each other and the children, if they're committed to each other and the children, the children will be fine.

Let the constitution protect freedom. Vote NO! Love is love and it's what children need most.

An Open Letter to John Nienstedt

He's getting quite a few of these open letters lately, hope he appreciates the sentiment behind them. I am Catholic (as in, I drag my butt out of bed to attend Mass every week because Jesus is more important than sleep) and I have no problem with homosexuality. I find myself increasingly embarrassed by Archbishop Nienstedt and actually wondering when he'll start demanding that homosexuals wear pink triangles so good people can avoid them.

The truth is, the church has NO business in this matter. No one is trying to make any church perform what it considers inappropriate weddings. To sue the government over Obamacare then argue that her stance on secular marriage must be enforced by law makes a hypocrite of the Church. That makes me sad. So, Mr Nienstedt, I'd like to share a few quotes with you. All Biblical quotes are NIV.

This one is frequently used in marriage Masses, even though it is Ruth speaking to Naomi ~ but, oh no! Wouldn't that be the evil same-sex marriage? Ruth 1:16 ~ Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

We all need to practice this more. No mention of only loving heteroes. John 13:34-35 ~ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

Matthew 7:1 ~ "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "

You say homosexual marriage is immoral and should be banned but, and this might be my favorite, it's from the then Bishop of New Ulm, John Clayton Nienstedt, "We cannot legislate morality."  

Tea with Tumnus

National Coming Out Day was this week (October 11). That occurred to me as I was walking down a hall at work and "Mark" was coming out of his office. It was hard not to chuckle out loud, as "Mark" is so far in the closet he's sipping tea with Tumnus. Everyone in the office, except "Mark," knows he's gay. It's a bit funny, but it's more sad. When I expressed confusion that an adult could not know he's gay when it is so obvious to everyone else, a friend explained that she was in her early thirties before she came out or even fully accepted her own lesbianism. On some level, she'd always known, but tried to convince herself otherwise, because gay is wrong. And that's the story all around. We expend a lot of energy telling everyone that it's wrong to be gay. By the way, National Depression Screening Day is also October 11 ~ I'm assuming that's intentional.

According to the Surgeon General, homosexual males are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual counterparts. Four times. Four times. I don't know about you all, but I find that number horrifying. The Ruth Institute (big supporters of strait [pun intended] marriage) tries to claim that less than 1% of the population is truly gay since many gays have dated members of the opposite sex in their teens. This is true. Not necessarily because of heterosexual feelings, more because of a culture that tells them they are sick and perverted. Passing a constitutional amendment to permanently ban gay marriage will do wonders to reassure lonely teens of their importance to society. And why, if less than 1% of the population is gay, does the Ruth Institute even care? How much damage to traditional marriage will they do?

We. Must. Stop. Torturing. Children. We have to stop encouraging bullies ~ and if you think passing that consarned amendment won't encourage bullying, you're kidding yourself. Being gay is no more perverted than being straight. Gay or straight, tall or short, black or white, that's how God made us ~ and it's about time we accept that and let adults marry the adult of their choice: gay, straight, tall, short, black, white, whatever. Even the Catholic Church has declared homosexuality to be nature, not a choice. Why would God make someone want to "pair bond" with a specific gender, make them attracted to only one gender, then deny them the option of bonding because it's the wrong gender? It's really such a little thing, why not tell gay teens it's okay to marry who you really want. It's okay to love who you love. It's okay to be who you really are. 

Vote NO!

Quote of the day, and isn't this the love we want all our children to find: "Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people." Ruth 1:16 (GNT) That's right, an Old Testament quote from a woman to woman. 

OMG! Homosexuals in love!

A gay couple might want to get married someday. Here. In Minnesota. Oh, the humanity! For years, Minnesota was a haven for people who didn't (or at least, tried not to) hate groups of people for something they couldn't help. I'm talking after World War II, of course, we were atrocious in the twenties. Lately, though, we seem to be getting good at that hate thing again.

This whole business of a marriage amendment is silly at best ~ hateful at worst. I think most supporters are drinking the Kool-Aid and have decided that if we don't have a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage (which, by the way, is already illegal in Minnesota) that we'll be overrun by all sorts of special interest groups who want to redefine marriage as a legal opportunity to bond with children, farm animals and their ten best friends.

Proponents claim that gays will destroy marriage if they can marry. How much damage did Sally Ride and her wife do to the institution of marriage? None. How about Larry King, with seven exes? He makes a mockery of it. Easy divorce does far more damage to the cultural institution of marriage than gay marriage ever could. Welfare wreaks havoc on the family by encouraging couples not to marry ~ if Antoine marries Shauniqua, he'll have to get a job to support his kids, if he doesn't, he can live off her check; that destroys marriage and shreds the traditional family. Mai and Toua can marry at 15 and somehow that's okay, but Ryan and Mike can't marry at 30? Preposterous.

Churches should certainly continue to be allowed to pick and choose who they'll marry ~ if you don't like their rules, go to another church ~ it's called Freedom of Religion and is guaranteed by the First Amendment. The state is another subject entirely. The state should only be allowed to discriminate in marriage based on age (and 15 is way the heck too young). If we must have an amendment defining marriage, let's define it as a "binding contract between two consenting adults".

Marriage is the only contract where gender matters. And it shouldn't. Love is love and should be something we celebrate. Happy couples ~ all happy couples ~ are good for us. Emotions are contagious, so let's spread love & happiness instead of bigotry & bitterness. Vote NO.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Genealogy tip of the day: If Great-UncleWalter, the confirmed bachelor, shows up on several consecutive censuses with the same male roommate, they were probably more than friends. Wouldn't it be nice to end the lie for future generations?