Week of November 15, 2009: Tolerance

On November 3, 2009, the people of the State of Maine voted to reject legislation passed in May that would allow same gender couples to marry.  The so-called "Stand For Marriage Maine" movement campaigned against this legislation and now contends that the majority has spoken and that this is the "will" of the people - in a misguided attempt at protecting the "sanctity" of marriage.

What I witnessed was not a display of the will of the people of Maine.  It was a campaigned heavily funded and influenced by people who reside in other parts of the country, masterminds really, of marketing that preyed upon the fears of Mainers across the state.

During one of the most popular prime time shows in the country, "Dancing With the Stars," this coalition purchased advertisement airtime to run commercials which depicted homosexuals as a forceful crowd salivating to get their hands on the children of Maine to impose the homosexual agenda of teaching children about same sex marriage.  In fact, they went so far as to allege homosexuals were already being paid to teach homosexuality to children in Maine schools.

The vote was extremely close and the "majority" was a few vote points away from defeat.  Stand for Marriage Maine claims, "Marriage is a pillar of society and should be protected from distortion by politicians and homosexual marriage activists who want to redefine it to suit their objectives."  My objective ladies and gentleman, is to secure the same rights as a citizen of the United States that others enjoy.

They claim on their website's blog that, "In clear and concise terms, we presented the facts for all Mainers to
consider before casting their ballot. Our campaign was one based on truth..."

The truth is, they did not rely on the truth.  I saw the ads they ran on t.v. and the internet.  I heard their radio ads.  This was not truth by any means.  The truth of opposing rights for a minority group and disguising it as morality has been practiced before in this country against other minorities.

The truth is, that more and more people are realizing us gay folk are just like everyone else.  We have families, we have feelings, we have hopes and we have dreams.  We want freedom, we want love, we want better for our children.

Understand that gay rights are not "special" rights.  The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed all in our great nation.  Seeking to pursue happiness is not a crime when the object of your happiness is of the same gender as you.  The right to liberty does not cease because of your emotional and physical connection is most gratified by someone of the same gender.  The gay "agenda" is to ensure that our rights are not diminished.

Our "agenda" is to ensure that hate crimes against us are punished, not condoned.  Our "agenda" is to live with the same protections afforded other citizens.  Our "agenda" is to raise our children and to leave you to the responsibility of raising yours.

Learn from Jesus who embraced the lepers and prostitutes without judgment.  Judgment is what allows one to
dehumanize another human being.  Judgment gives one a sense of permission to hate and even seek to do harm to others.  Judgment allows homophobic people to think that homosexuals do not have the right to live.  Judgment is the evil which condones hate crimes.  Do away with your judgments.

Love thy neighbor (even if they are gay).  God commanded that we love our neighbor without qualifiers.

Give your time, attention, and energy to your own family and friends.  Spend your energy engrossed in sharing the love you feel in your heart for those around you - that matter to you.  In the last five minutes of your life, what you will reflect on and feel is most important are those times you shared love and joy with your family.  Don't waste your time with anger and hate.  You will regret it when you realize how much of your spent on wasted emotions.