Gay Marriage

It's sad to see the reaction of the gay community in California to the passing of Proposition 8 which bans gay marrige. They are busy shouting about bigotry and discrimination while trying to shove their own beliefs down our throats. I grew up in California and was always aware of the gay population there. I have never felt any hatred for them and I don't treat gays any differently than I treat anyone else. But I do object to their desire to take a basic pillar of society and turn it into something to benefit only themselves.

It's interesting that when you look up the definition of marriage the first one is always this:

American Heritage Dictionary
mar·riage n.
1. The legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife.

They can argue that it's because that's the way it's always been or because of Christian or other religious influence, but the truth of the matter is that it's defined that way because that's what marriage is and always was intended to be.

What disturbs me the most is the unwillingness of many of the gay community to actually listen to what their opponents are saying. They are so busy yelling and pushing and fighting that they don't take the time to open their minds, hearts and ears to what others are saying. They are just as guilty of judging, condemning, and being bigoted as the ones they are accusing!
I know that their feelings run high on this subject, and rightly so. They have the same feelings of love, concern, and loyalty to their partners that husbands and wives have for each other. BUT- this does not mean that they should have the same union.

I found two really great articles that sum up why marriage is ONLY between a man and a woman and the ramifications of marriage on society, especially children. It would take me far to long to reproduce what has already been well thought out and very clearly written. If you are interested, here are the links:

http://www.ejfi.org/family/family-4.htm#pgfId-1456780 (Here is the first passage in this one: "The argument for "gay marriage" is founded on the premise that marriage is simply a profound statement of devotion made between individuals, and denying homosexual couples this option is therefore discriminatory. It is a classic case of a perfectly logical conclusion arising from a perfectly false premise.
Marriage is an institution that exists in nature — it is the institution through which we propagate our species and inculcate our young with the intrinsic social behaviors that human society requires.")

http://www.nogaymarriage.com/talkingpoints.html (And here is a great quote from this one: "Marriage laws are not discriminatory. Marriage is open to all adults, subject to age and blood relation limitations. As with any acquired status, the applicant must meet minimal requirements, which in terms of marriage, means finding an opposite-sex spouse. Same-sex partners do not qualify. To put it another way, clerks will not issue dog licenses to cats, and it is not out of “bigotry” toward cats.")

I think that we will all be affected by the outcomes of the fight to preserve marriage as a union of a man and a woman. It's not about equal rights or discrimination. If it was the gays would be content to have civil unions that afforded them the same basic rights as most married couples. But they want to push it further and work to destroy a basic foundation of society. I don't think that most of them fully understand what it is they are fighting against and what they are really fighting for.
It's a shame to see the anger and hatred being poured forth from the same people who are preaching "love is the same for everyone." Just this morning they showed on the news that gays and lesbians were protesting outside a Mormon temple in Los Angeles because of the Mormon church's stand against gay marriage. That doesn't sound like the kind of people who are open-minded and non-discriminatory.

As a Mormon I have no fight with any individual gay person or the gay community at large. I am more than happy to let you live your life as you choose. I'd be happy to see you be given the rights that you are seeking to protect your property and you relationship with your partner.
But don't try to push your lifestyle on me. I am not requiring you to be straight or to be Christian or Democrat or Republican or anything else. I won't come preach to you that I think you should live a certain way. So quit trying to get me to accept your view of what marriage in America should be. Accept the fact that a MAJORITY of people in America still believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Accept the fact that this means that we should still have the right to decide whether or not our child is taught that homosexuality is "normal" or whether we teach that it's an incorrect choice being made. (These are things that should be taught at home and not in schools anyway!) I won't teach my child to hate you or judge you for your choices, but I also won't teach her that people screaming for "equality" means that they have actually been discriminated against.