Posted on 01/11/2010 6:23:41 PM PST by steve-b
Together with my good friend and occasional courtroom adversary David Boies, I am attempting to persuade a federal court to invalidate California's Proposition 8—the voter-approved measure that overturned California's constitutional right to marry a person of the same sex....
Many of my fellow conservatives have an almost knee-jerk hostility toward gay marriage. This does not make sense, because same-sex unions promote the values conservatives prize. Marriage is one of the basic building blocks of our neighborhoods and our nation. At its best, it is a stable bond between two individuals who work to create a loving household and a social and economic partnership. We encourage couples to marry because the commitments they make to one another provide benefits not only to themselves but also to their families and communities. Marriage requires thinking beyond one's own needs. It transforms two individuals into a union based on shared aspirations, and in doing so establishes a formal investment in the well-being of society. The fact that individuals who happen to be gay want to share in this vital social institution is evidence that conservative ideals enjoy widespread acceptance. Conservatives should celebrate this, rather than lament it.
Legalizing same-sex marriage would also be a recognition of basic American principles, and would represent the culmination of our nation's commitment to equal rights. It is, some have said, the last major civil-rights milestone yet to be surpassed in our two-century struggle to attain the goals we set for this nation at its formation....
The dream that became America began with the revolutionary concept expressed in the Declaration of Independence in words that are among the most noble and elegant ever written: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
God defines marriage and morals.
That's the faulty premise he starts with all along (even though it's towards the end of the article, that's why he erroneously compares this issue to the civil rights movement, etc.)
California's Proposition 8 is particularly vulnerable to constitutional challenge, because that state has now enacted a crazy-quilt of marriage regulation that makes no sense to anyone.
Because California is run by a bunch of lunatics.
I guess I have a different interpretation of the "two become one" part of the marriage ceremony. I used to think as you did, but then it dawned on me that it is about procreation.
My husband and I are two, and then we became one and her name is Erin. My husband and I are two and then we became one and her name is Kerry.
Sometimes I sit alone and serious thoughts will occur to me, and this was one of them. I am sure that those of you who know your Bible inside out will have an argument for me; but, this interpretation seems to fit better for me.
The proper way for same-sex marriage to become legal is for it to be passed by each state legislature, individually, one at a time.
Yes, it will take decades. But it is the right way to do it.
It is, for example, the way the right-to-carry movement has proceeded. One state at a time, allowing each state to learn from the experience of the others.
Why "two" individuals, Ted? What is so special about "two"? Why not three, four, or even twenty?
There's a profound truth about the number "two" in this context. Are you smart enough to see it, to understand it, Ted?
Hint: it's about how two become one and then three. And two boys or two girls can't get it done you ignorant jackass, Ted.
Uh....Ted. Homosexuals don’t reproduce, they recruit.
and for what it’s worth Ted, sodomy is not a civil right.
How can a moral wrong be a civil right?
Next it’ll be multiple partner marriage.
You’re wrong on this one Ted. Queers do not need special rights, and homosexual marriage is not a conservative institution.
coming up...
The Conservative Case for Raising Taxes
The Conservative Case for kissing up to Al Qaeda
The Conservative Case for Socialized Medicine
Prostitution solution
Now imagine all those problems solved with one simple innovation. The answer: temple prostitution.
I know, I know. Outrageous and offensive. I can hear readers already dismissing the idea out of hand. And I admit that we may not be ready for it quite yet. But please hear me out on this.
First off, let’s address the common objections. Sure, there are a handful of Bible verses that might seem to condemn the practice. But all the condemnation of temple prostitution involves pagan practices or worship of false gods. The objectionable thing is the idolatry, not the physical act itself. Sanctified, faithful prostitution in service of the true God is a new thing. The Biblical writers never foresaw or contemplated sanctified, faithful, God-pleasing prostitution in the churches and thus never wrote about it. Attempts to find a Biblical injunction against the practice therefore fall short.
Interpretive nuance
Secondly, let’s not cherry-pick verses selectively. We don’t stone disobedient children to death. We don’t refrain from pork or sodomy merely because this or that verse says we should. We have to look at the whole Biblical witness in light of the freedom we have in Christ. For example, God ordered Hosea to marry a prostitute. Such Biblical precedent offers interpretive nuance to seemingly black-and-white prohibitions.
Thirdly, Jesus himself seemed to have a soft spot for prostitutes. Many reputable scholars today think he may have been married to one. And Jesus showed radical inclusivity, breaking taboos by hanging out with prostitutes. So he would want us to celebrate and affirm their prostitution and give them a venue for making it their true vocation, a way of serving God by serving man—selflessly and with their whole being.
Fourthly, some primarily Lutheran nations in Scandinavia have already legalized prostitution. Left-hand kingdom legalities need not stand in the way of the general idea of sanctified, faithful, God-pleasing, church-sponsored prostitution.
http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2009/12/temple-prostitution-a-modest-proposal/
Indeed, why humans at all? Who is Ted Olson to deny my deep, passionate "love" for horses, male or female? How long will we allow this bigotry to stand? Because interspecies marriage isn't allowed, I have to insure my loved one out of my own pocket, and he/she/it isn't allowed to inherit the property that both of us have worked so hard to accumulate.
Gotta go barf now, but you get the general idea here.
“The dream that became America began with the revolutionary concept expressed in the Declaration of Independence in words that are among the most noble and elegant ever written: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal....”
and....?
“that they are endowed by their *Creator* with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
A Creator that is against gay marriage.
Who the hell does this guy think he is kidding? He's no conservative. He's one of the many self-appointed Republican Party leaders trying to destroy the party from within.
Absolutely true....Satan to Eve in the Garden of Eden "Yeah hath God said....?"
Liz, you have stumbled onto ultimate truth. I say ‘stumbled’ only because you seem uncertain of your assertion.
We are created in the ‘image and likeness’ of God. ‘Male and female, He created’ us. Yet, He is three (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) while we are only two as husband and wife. We reflect Him fully only as a family. When two become one flesh, their love is so real that nine months later, they give it a name. Just so with God. The Love that is God is so fully realized and reflected by Jesus that He has His own identity as the Holy Spirit.
and that they should also eat their kids
And temple gambling, as in the Church of the New Revelation (Fosterite) from Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land.
The pont is GAYS can marry who says they can’t?
They can’t change what marriage is 1 Man and 1 Woman of age non related...
Stupid article
the last major civil-rights milestone yet to be surpassed in our two-century struggle to attain the goals we set for this nation at its formation.
He even quotes Jefferson to pimp the Sodomist propaganda! What a truly despicable man.
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