Posted on 04/01/2015 10:37:28 AM PDT by wagglebee
March 31, 2015 (MercatorNet.com) -- March 29 marked the first anniversary of legal same-sex marriage in England and Wales. Look around, say the twitterati – no plagues of locusts and frogs have blighted the land; no fire and brimstone have rained down upon Westminster; no earthquake has swallowed up Sir Elton. All is well.
Well, actually not.
In an article in The Conversation, an academic at the University of Kent, Dr Mike Thomas, reported on how happy gay couples in the UK, the United States and Canada feel after tying the knot. He found that most of them welcomed the benefits that legal recognition of their relationship gave them.
But this was not matched by social recognition. Even though the majesty of the law shone upon them, relatives often shunned them and snubbed them.
For many couples, the wedding or civil partnership ceremony was a more bittersweet occasion, bringing difficult family relationships to a head – and reminding same-sex couples that despite their new legal status, they could not necessarily expect to be treated as equals.
Relatives often had few qualms about refusing to attend a ceremony; one couple’s same-sex wedding was boycotted by the entire family. The idea of a same-sex relationship may have been just about tolerable in some families, but being asked to turn up at the town hall and look like they were enjoying themselves was often too much to stomach.
A very positive milestone in a new couple’s life often turned out to be surrounded by bitterness and rejection. “Negative reactions were a surprisingly regular feature of the research interviews, giving rise to complex emotions, including anger, resentment and a sense of despair about the prospects for achieving equality,” Dr Thomas reports.
This complaint is ominous for those who have watched the juggernaut of same-sex marriage roll across its opponents. What is the ultimate purpose of same-sex marriage? Supporters of “marriage equality” contend that it is simply access to the same rights as other married couples, without any discrimination. Equality means equality of opportunity in parenting, employment, in exercising civil rights and before the law.
But the implication of Dr Thomas’s research is that many gays and lesbians believe that legal same-sex marriage ought to confer a right to be welcomed and cherished. He concludes that “Legal reform only takes us so far; it’s usually one of the first steps towards real equality, but it’s certainly not the final one. So one year on, we should raise a glass to same-sex marriage, but not lose sight of the challenges that lie ahead in delivering meaningful, day-to-day equality.”
What is implied by this “meaningful, day-to-day equality”? That relatives, neighbours and colleagues must extend warm congratulations and shower gay and lesbian couples with best wishes and toothy smiles?
Dr Thomas’s research is a bit unsettling if it suggests that gays and lesbians are expecting even more than the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Law in a democracy has limits. It is not a remedy for lack of self-esteem. It cannot force your relatives to attend your wedding or your neighbours to invite you over for a barbeque. It cannot make people like you; it cannot stop people from scowling at you. Only in North Korea does the law compel you to love the Dear Leader and to laugh at his jokes.
Same-sex marriage is controversial enough. But a debate over enforcing “meaningful, day-to-day equality” after same-sex marriage is legalized could be even more traumatic.
Reprinted with permission from Mercatornet.
The grace of God (not even “morality”) is needed to overcome such sieges of the spiritual enemy.
That cuts against our worldly instincts which say simply to punish the culprits.
But this misperception is a result of our all having been lost in the sin of Adam. God never quit being Love. We started becoming Hate.
Is it a Cosworth Vega?
Even then I would never go to bed with it
Shoved down our throat. Yeah, that sure is a way to get accepted.
I know people who are force fed REALLY REALLY enjoy and appreciate it....
At any rate, God is sovereign. He shall not permit wickedness to continue unabated. He will stop it all in His time, thankfully!
And I am referring to the wickedness of perverted behaviour as well as the wickedness of those who have nothing but hatred for those who are lost in their sin.
Next? Judeo-Christianity is silenced.
The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride will be stilled. Babies will disappear. Our land awaits the LORD.
Jeremiah 33:11
the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD.
Get rid of the age of consent.
Then get rid of incest.
Then have polygamy.
The have bestiality.
Communists rules 1963 http://www.uhuh.com/nwo/communism/comgoals.htm
Libertarians, liberals, and communists have ben working hard to get us where we are and that is why I have much distain for libertarians as I do for communists . They are from the same cloth.
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
Assisted suicide is will be legal throughout the nation very soon unless something drastic happens.
The federal government has all but publicly declared that states can legalize marijuana if they want (and by the same standard ALL other drugs will eventually be legalized), and those states that don't legalize it will soon realize how much tax revenue they're missing out on.
And polygamy is far more justifiable from a historical viewpoint than same-sex marriage.
It’s not about same-sex marriage or anything to do with homosexuality.
Once they’ve used opposition to same-sex marriage to oppress as many Christians as they can,
they’ll move on to something else to use the law to criminalize Christian belief.
Maybe it’ll be pedophilia, maybe beastiality, maybe child sacrifice.
But, whatever it is, it will be something Christians oppose, and opposition to it will be criminal.
These folks are not totally logical. There is an illogical hate element in their lust (think about it, since when was buggery NOT mean?)
agree I saw Pence and ASA and felt like smashing the TV
Have some frigging balls and stand up to these bigots and communists.
I was just going through this http://www.uhuh.com/nwo/communism/comgoals.htm
Rules around 27.
There is no way anyone can not know about this in Government or even on here and yet another troll got zotted today calling freepers backwards and bigots. This troll had been on here for a couple of years.
The first sign of trouble, much/most of FR seems to want to kick them in the, you know. REJECT! NEXT!
This shows an astounding combined misunderstanding and rejection of the grace of God. Christian life always was a communal thing. It can not be farmed out and contracted to a Ronald Reagan.
Thanks for the response.
And blood will be spilled.
Yes, but will it be enough of the right blood?
Who was it?
Destruction of the church is the end game. Actually the real end game is the destruction of society and the Constitution but destroying the church is the pivotal step in that direction.
LOL
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