Posted on 02/18/2005 7:11:48 AM PST by srm913
Why can't my moms marry? His parents have been together for 27 years, yet many still question their right to tie the knot, says Matthew Eaton-Kent
It was the day before Father's Day and my Grade 1 class was just putting the finishing touches on the wooden desk organizers we had made. My class had spent weeks sanding down the blocks of wood, adding magnets for paper clips, holders for pens and a spot for an eraser. Today was the day we were going to engrave the word "Dad" into the top of the organizers.
I had worked really hard on my present but I had a problem. I was not going to give my organizer to my dad because I didn't have one. I was going to give my present to one of my two moms.
I wasn't sure what she would think if I brought it home and it had the word dad on it. So I sat there quietly as all the other children took turns hammering the metal stamps, which read "dad," into the wood. I was getting nervous as my turn with the engraving tool grew closer. Finally, I got up and approached the teacher's desk.
She asked me what was wrong. I reluctantly told her that I didn't have a dad and that I was making this gift for my mother. She told me I had nothing to worry about and handed me the stamps with the "m" and "o" for mom.
That's how it has always been in my family. One of my mother's celebrates Mother's Day while the other celebrates Father's Day. Sure, it was a bit awkward at school but it didn't make my family any less of a family. In fact we kids thought it was a great way to recognize both of our moms.
However, there is something that makes my family different from a lot of families. The difference is that my parents have never been married.
The reason my parents have never been married is not because they don't want to but because, by law, they couldn't.
Their relationship was not recognized because marriage was defined as between a man and a woman. It has been very hurtful to my parents, the gay community and believers in human rights that there has been so much opposition to same-sex marriage. It's been hurtful to my sister and me, too. Very hurtful!
Personally I am perplexed by the extreme opposition to changing the definition of marriage so it can include unions between two people, any two people. As someone born into a generation of political correctness and void of any blatant racism, sexism or xenophobia, it is hard to deal with the hateful nature of the opponents of same-sex marriage.
I am not sure why they don't view the love of my parents as equal to the love between two people of the opposite sex. If they question the commitment, they should note the 27 years my parents have spent together and the way they have cherished my sister and me.
I find a lot of the hate and opposition comes from many of the institutions that promote peace, love and understanding. Some churches have fought the right of same-sex couples to marry.
I wish they would look back in history to a time when religious freedom was jeopardized. People who were historically persecuted are all too willing to be prejudiced, all in the name of God.
I am a teenager growing up in an era of equality, an era where blacks are equal to whites, where a man is equal to a woman. This era should include same-sex marriage and my parents.
All of us are made in the image of God, are we not?
Matthew Eaton-Kent, 17, is a Grade 11 honours student and avid athlete. He lives with his two moms, 14-year-old sister, two dogs and one cat in Halton Hills, just outside Toronto.
<< Whey can't your mom marry a goat if she loves it and makes a commitment? >>
That's coming.
[I kid you not!]
When I've talked about marrying a goat, I wasn't kidding. If someone can change the definition to fit their needs, why can't it be changed by someone else? They will say that an animal can't give consent. So what? You just change that part of the definition.
More like "Gag me with a bowling ball."
Not sure he can find the plumbing...
<< When I've talked about marrying a goat, I wasn't kidding. If someone can change the definition to fit their needs, why can't it be changed by someone else? They will say that an animal can't give consent. So what? You just change that part of the definition. >>
And when I said I 'kid' you not, I wasn't 'kidding,' either.
I kid you not.
I notice that in New Zealand one is required to obtain a government permit to keep a goat.
Is that an indicator of your guvvning fasciSSocialist sheocracy's anticipation of the inevitable spiralling Doug has laid it out here, shaggs?
Is that a Clark-type 'marriage' licence?
Shudddddddddderrrrrrrrrrrrrr ......
That's a keeper.
Other people must have wondered this too. The Republican Party of Texas platform (2004) had to make it clear that the Party supports marriage as a "God-ordained, legal and moral commitment only between a natural[-born] man an a natural[-born] woman."
.... spiralling AS Doug ....
Socialist area, Toronto.
11th grader with a 5th grader's vocabulary and writing skills.
A claim of it being equal to racism.
A claim of 27 years of commitment. (Where did he come from? Artifical insemenation? Why did it take 10 years for them to do it?)
It tells me they WANTED a family, just not men. They were willing to raise a child, but unwilling to marry someone who could provide one naturally.
$10 says this kid is really some guy(or guy-wannabe) in the northeast spouting articles from kids in the name of some pro-gay organization.
Heh, he just forgot the part where the teached handed him an "H" as well.
;) You can figure that out on yourself I hope.
Just find the one that furnished the sperm that created you, and you will have a dad, dummy.
Troll much?
I don't think anyone on here would even jokingly call another a "homophobe"
Such a liberal word.
I would make a suggestion to this young 'man'...WHY NOT GO OUT AND FIND YOUR REAL 'FATHER' ??
Wait wait wait... you sure you thought this through?
TWO mother-in-laws telling you they could have done better?
Dear MacDorcha,
"Wait wait wait... you sure you thought this through?
"TWO mother-in-laws telling you they could have done better?"
That's what duct tape is for!
;-)
sitetest
Matt may want to marry one of his dogs, or the cat, or even his sister when he grows up.
Yes. What is speech but an expression of thought? It is one thing to threaten to harm an individual, it is another matter entirely to criticize a persons behavior. What homophiles want to do is equate criticism with threats. The logic is that if you can control what people say in public, then you can ultimately control what the say in private. Of course, its twisted logic, and the notion of thought crimes may seem ridiculous, but it is the ultimate goal.
Certainly they do, and as you say, they shouting already. Their rights to express themselves are protected by the Constitution. But they do not want to allow the same rights for those who disagree with them.
Our Constitution grants people the freedom to practice their religion without federal intrusion. Most religions do not view homosexual relations as a legitimate basis for marriage. What is going on in Philadelphia right now is proof that the freedom of "sexual orientation" trumps religious beliefs. How is it possible that people quoting from the Bible get arrested for "ethnic intimidation?" How is it that telling someone they're "going to hell" (a place that legally does not exist) constitutes a threat? And what about people like myself, who regard marriage as a natural institution for one man and one woman in which to raise children, but do not base this view on religion?
I find it highly contradictory that certain groups advocate unconstitutional Hate Speech Laws, but then view an attempt to amend the constitution as political sacrilege.
I'm sorry if my post wasn't clear. I am a newbie, but not a troll. That WAS my attempt at sarcasm. I should have used quotes or rant/sarcasm tags. I find the term homophobe to be rather silly so I like throw it back. Please read my other responses for further clarification, if you'd like.
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