I a thriving world of opposing view points, it is nice to see that a civil rights struggle can be turned into a "get out the vote" campaign. What is even more interesting is the fact that many Americans can not see what any of these issues are truly about. What I am addressing is the new legislature that is being introduced in over 16 states that would ban gay adoption. In all essence, this entire situation is spiraling out of control.
In a story by the Associated Press, here in Ohio, "When anti-gay activist Fred Hutchison of RenewAmerica testified before a subcommittee of the Ohio Senate on the anti-gay marriage measure, he spoke at length about the "dangers to children living in gay households" and linked gay people to pedophiles. Christian groups sent more than 100 volunteers to lobby for the adoption/foster care ban last year, but the legislation was never introduced. This year's bill was the first of its kind. Like most states, Ohio has a surplus of children waiting to be adopted. According to one adoption foundation, at least 3,000 children in Ohio need home placements." Now, I can understand that people do have bias based on their religious preferences, however, to introduce a law that would actually harm children is ludicrous. There are a surplus of children who need a foster parent or other adoptive guardian, and because of someone's sexual orientation, they will be denied that right. Does hatred and bigotry really run that deep? I guess the answer is yes in this situation. The scariest statistic is that 1 in 5 girls are molested, while 1 in 7 boys are, and the perpetrators are predominately heterosexual, not homosexual. To make a statistic, then try to back it up with no information and your religious viewpoint, does nothing more than show the hypocrisy of your cause. It is very disheartening.
The worst thing is that going into the grocery, I have seen children swear, yell, and hit their parents, however, just because they are heterosexual, they should have a right to raise these children, and yet, I will be denied the right to be a father because of who I love, irregardless of the fact that we could provide a more stable, loving home than some parents out there.
In a "free" country, it is becoming more obvious that you are only free if you choose to have the same religious preference as the majority, and if your view point is in opposition, then you will be discriminated against. What is even more sad is the fact that many analysts realize that this "culture war" is unwarranted and out of control. As far as gay adoption goes, Richard Carlson, a professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, says adoption laws based on judgments of morality offer "a weak argument" and will face legal challenges. He cites U.S. Supreme Court rulings striking down bans on interracial marriage and sodomy, which reflected prevailing views when enacted. The high court has not taken up a state ban on gay adoption. In addition, many Republicans have admitted that they see this as a "get out the vote tactic," although Whit Aryes, who is a Republican Pollster, is very skeptical, saying that adoption does not have the emotional power of "sanctity of marriage," and will fail if continued. Let us all just hope that this is the case, and this discrimination will not continue.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 20
November 16, 2004
Open letter to Southeast Christian Church:
I held this letter for two weeks; long enough to know that it expresses my true beliefs, not emotions.
Southeast Christian Church crossed the line. Your last minute pre-election phone message was an unethical invasion of my time and home, and a disgraceful assault on my values. I issued no invitation to your hatred and bigotry. I gave no indication I wanted to forfeit my intelligence or independence to join a cult or big business disguised as a house of God. I am not Christian or hypocritical. I value independence, freethinking, fairness, and choice. Therefore, I must ask on what criteria you based your assumption that I would welcome your bigoted opinions and what made you think I would endorse your insult to 'non-believers'?
You opened the door to communication through a recorded message that offered no opportunity for discussion or rebuttal. While preaching might be acceptable in your forum, it is unacceptable in mine, and you were in my home. I will not surrender my voice to you.
In my opinion, the downward spiral you worry about is due in large to Christians, through their hypocrisy, duality, air of superiority, and prejudice for anyone who doesn't share their beliefs. Your certainty that I must be lost because I don't want to be where you are and that you have permission to find me requires a sickening level of gall.
As a 'non-believer', I hold myself to a higher set of values than you have demonstrated. I offer those who willingly joined your flock the same choice and individuality that I treasure instead of asking them to share my opinion of organized religion. However, you and they ignore my beliefs and waged a relentless campaign to drag me to your headquarters for indoctrination into darkness (or maybe to help foot the thirty-five-million-dollar commitment). Your cult members annoyed me even after I expressed satisfaction with my own beliefs, (I understood how you earned the Godmart and Six Flags Over Jesus monikers). Then came your television ads, requiring effort on my part to ignore you even when I was alone. And finally, you dropped the gauntlet and crossed the line of civility with the pre-election telephone call.
My silence did not indicate acceptance of your invasion into my life; that conclusion came from an aborted understanding of justice on your part. I will clearly state my position now.
I understand you are proud of your twenty thousand-and-growing number, and you believe it is your duty to evangelize the lost and be a conscience in the community. I remind you it is not your duty to determine my status in the lost and found. You are not my conscience, and you do not have permission to involve me in your beliefs, at any time, ever. My life and my soul belong to me. I am as certain my beliefs are accurate as you hope yours are, maybe more so since I'm comfortable without the endorsement of twenty thousand others. Numbers don't impress me, nor do they make anything you believe right. Charles Manson attracted believers. Jim Jones amassed quite a crowd. Hitler had plenty of supporters, and Al Qaeda shares your bragging rights. I'd rather know one person on the right track than fifty thousand on the wrong. This is life, not a popularity contest.
I ask you to stop insulting me with your assumptions. Please don't send others to do it in your name, Jesus' name, or anyone else's name. Speak for yourself, and call off the dogs. You have become a nuisance in my community. You have unfairly disparaged non-believers and others who don't adhere to your version of right and wrong. Christians do not hold the market on values, nor do 'non-believers' represent the majority in the downward spiral.
You have invaded my community, and now my privacy. Should the invasion continue I plan to investigate how far you've gone toward eroding my rights.
Sincerely,
Sandy
p.s. If you have any influence with the Mormons, I'm tired of their parking lots crusade also.
Sandy Knauer
I'm not sure that the root cause is bigotry and hatred, but rather that those are symptoms of simple misunderstanding and fear. If those opposing adoption could take the time to see just how normal day to day life is for most gay couples, they would have little argument against it's stability, especially when compared with some of the truly dysfunctional straight families out there.
This insures that the real issues and the rights of the majority (who seemingly think that the majority viewpoint will win out even if they do not vote) are not discussed due to the volume of the seemly affected.
It would be beneficial if we, as a minority, had a common language/religion/race/cultural heritage or whatever to bring us together. We do not have a common source of information or even an economic base in which to do business to empower our community before moving it into a large exchange. Aids brought us together but has sadly lost its cohesive quality. This issue, although at the heart of our humanity, will not spark that energy again.
Advocacy and speaking so that it reaches the minds of those within the apparent unthinking mass needs to be done in such a way that the message hits home before the defenses go up.
Thank you from one who keeps holding a high watch and works to insert some integrity into some seemingly hardened hearts.
That being said, I do not endorse the gay life style, but I firmly believe that ALL people in this country have the right to choose how they will live their life, be it straight, gay, monastic, hedonistic, single, married, whatever, as long as it causes no harm to another. No one needs my permission to be what they are, and I have absolutely no right to impose my beliefs on anyone. If we, as a people, give up protesting the schisms that some people want to happen here, all will be lost. Human dignity outweighs race, color, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or any other catagory that can be mentioned.
Knowing that there are gay people who are very capable of providing a loving home for an abandoned child is every reason for that gay couple ( or even a single person) to be able to adopt a child. On any day of the year, the news will carry a story about some severely abused child, victim of parenting "skills" practiced on that child in the most cruel and inhumane manner imaginable! So the "powers that be" propose to put that child into a system little better than warehousing rather than allow any person of character and love to adopt. Utterly ridiculous, also cruel, and all being said, stupid!
Keep up the fight, don't let the bastards wear you down! Nothing good is ever easy.
As Americans, we have the right to the pursuit of happiness. If that means being gay/lesbian. Fine by me. If that means a child being adopted by a gay couple that will give him/her a great life, perfect. I don't think our founding fathers quite had that in mind at the time, but hey - our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other laws were meant to be open-ended - to be interpreted as modern life needs it to be. I am inclined to think our founding fathers would be disappointed with the judgements passed on many of our citizens today. I know I am.
Jon, hon, I am so proud of you. As Paul said above, nothing good is ever easy.
funny how alot of straight folks like when we help their fashion-handicapped learn how to dress, use eating utensils, and walk upright without draggin' their knuckles. and just who is it that makes the straight women beautiful and dress them in fab clothes and design gorgeous hair for them and give them beauty, beauty, beauty? yep... the fags! the straights love our cooking, decorating, design, fashion, ability to put together the weddings and parties and when we move in to a neighborhood and clean it up and raise property values. we're great doctors, teachers, lawyers, politicians, business owner, hair designers, contractors, rock-n-roll stars, etc. we're everywhere. we always have been and always will be and without us this would be one ugly-ass drab hillbilly-ghetto grey world!
:::breath:::
ehem... we can heal them, cook for them, clean for them, sing and dance for them and
design their clothing and homes and decorate... we can do all of this for the straight community, but for goodness' sake, don't let us faggots raise a child that 2 straights made but didn't want.
that is plain stoooooopid!