In a historic decision, same-sex marriage is going to be legal throughout the nation. I don’t have the most profound views on this or the most eloquent. I’m just trying to process this. I’ve seen so many people talk about gay marriage like it should be a self-evident right. And I hear that, and I can’t help but think of all of the previous generations who have never recognized these unions. Gay marriage was basically unheard of until about 15 years ago. I think the historical universality of the rejection of this should at least give us pause. I don’t think we’re inherently more righteous than the past.
I think about how fast this all happened. A little over a decade ago, people in same sex couples were fighting for the right to see their partners in the hospital.
I think about all of the states where people had the opportunity to vote and where their votes have been overturned by courts one by one. Of all the states who voted on the issue, only ONE voted in favor of gay marriage. I think the will of the people matters. Once again, I don’t look at the Supreme Court as being more righteous or moral than the American people. What they say may be the law, but it doesn’t mean that they’re perfect. They’ve gotten decisions wrong before. The Supreme Court upheld state’s rights to discriminate against African Americans in Plessy v. Ferguson. The Supreme Court allowed for Japanese Americans to be sent
to internment camps in Korematsu v United States.
As I’ve written before: Since 1998, in 32 states, it has come to a vote on whether or not the citizens of that state wanted to add constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. Minnesota is the only one of those 32 states where the majority of voters actually supported same-sex marriage.
In 13 of those states, the vote wasn’t even close, with more than 70 percent of people voting to ultimately preserve the traditional American definition of a marriage.
I see opinion polls that show that attitudes are changing. Are they? How can we know what people truly believe if we want to beat down those who think it’s wrong? So much pressure gets put on people to just accept what the social agenda is.
I think about God and how he is the one who ultimately decides what a marriage is. It’s unfortunate that people are hateful towards homosexuals. We should love all people. But love isn’t loving everything everyone always does.
jrb
Josh Benner 